The Emerging Dancer Award offers an entertaining evening of world-class dance. It allows audiences to get to know dancers from the English National Ballet and see the results of their hard work and dedication – an event that celebrates talent development, creativity, community and artistic growth. English National Ballet’s Artistic Director, Aaron S. Watkin, hosted this year’s event.
Each year, their peers select six of the most promising dancers to perform a mixed repertoire for a panel of judges. This year’s dancers included Anna Ciriano, Breanna Foad, Shunhei Fuchiyama, Jose María Lorca Menchón, Thiago Pereira and Anna-Babette Winkler. Breanna Foad was crowned the winner for 2024 with her performance of the Venetian Carnival duet from Satanella and Penrose, a new contemporary work by Ching-Ying Chien, alongside her partner Thiago Pereira.
Additionally, Anna-Babette Winkler, another Emerging Dancer finalist, received the Corps de Ballet Award for her exceptional work over the past year. Soloist Precious Adams was awarded the People’s Choice Award, voted by the public throughout the season. The announcement was made during the Emerging Dancer event hosted by Artistic Director Aaron S. Watkin at Sadler’s Wells on Friday, 24 May.
This year’s esteemed judging panel included Amanda Britton MA, Chief Executive, Principal and Artistic Director of Rambert School; Monica Zamora, former Principal Dancer of Birmingham Royal Ballet; Edward Watson MBE, former Principal Dancer of The Royal Ballet; and Isabela Coracy, Senior Artist of Ballet Black.
The evening featured live performances by the English National Ballet Philharmonic. It concluded with the “Delibes Suite” pas de deux performed by the 2022 Emerging Dancer winner Eric Snyder and People’s Choice Precious Adams.
Join Dance Informa as we speak to Breanna Foad about her experience.
Congratulations on winning the Emerging Dancer Award for 2024. Please tell us about your preparation for the event.
“All six dancers who were colleagues within the company worked with mentors. Mine were two of our lead principals. They coached me throughout the whole process. It was really special to get such feedback and guidance when doing big roles. Over the last six weeks, we’ve been rehearsing between all our other main company rehearsals.”
What new choreography did you perform, and how did you connect to the music and movement?
“My partner and I, Tiago, performed a new piece for our contemporary, Penrose, a new work by Ching-Ying Chien. She’s an amazing dancer and choreographer, so it was incredibly inspiring to work with her to develop her movement and learn about her movement style. It was an honour to work with her.
Her husband, Joseph Ashwin, created the music alongside her choreography. It was very interesting for us to bring both the music and the movement together simultaneously because I find that you usually have one or the other. It was very interesting to have them both together and to have them work with each other and us as well.”
Could you describe what you most enjoyed about your selected classical repertoire?
“We performed the Venetian Carnival duet from Satanella which has these two characters; it’s very playful. I enjoyed it because it’s quite a sweet story of young love between a boy and a girl.
After working on the technical elements, it was nice to develop the character and bring this side out on top of what we had already done. I also get on really well with Tiago, so we both found it very fun to put a character on top and to play around with it.”
We are eager to learn about the inspiration you drew from the other emerging dancers.
“Seeing them grow and develop from the glimpses into rehearsals was inspiring and beautiful.”
How has this recognition elevated your career?
“The whole Emerging Dancer process has been really important for me as a dancer. I think I’ve gained so much more courage and confidence in myself. The recognition and winning are like the cherry on top for me. Everything I have learned I will carry throughout my career with me, and it’s always a learning process.”
Can you share what you are most grateful for about this event?
“I’m grateful for the opportunity and space to make mistakes and improve. I’m also grateful for the encouragement, which is what the whole event is based on. Everyone at English National Ballet just wants you to do your best, and I think this is always possible in a positive environment.”
In your own words, how would you describe the Emerging Dancer Award as a celebration of talent development, creativity, community and artistic growth?
“Emerging dancer is such a rare opportunity for young dancers. Including it in the English National Ballet repertoire is also really special for young dancers to develop and grow. It’s such a personal process. Rehearsing these roles is beyond anything we’ve ever done – probably anything we’ve ever dreamed of doing. We had the chance to dance principal roles, which is rare, and I have learnt so much about myself and trusting myself, as well as developed my confidence and artistry. I think all that is important.
Thanks especially to my partner. We went through everything together, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. We helped each other develop and grow and pushed each other further than I thought we were able to. The same goes for my coaches, who are the main people who believed in me and supported me. That was very special to me.
I feel like this is just the beginning. It will be an ongoing process to keep building and developing all these things, and it was wonderful that it was recorded for my family to see. I am just very grateful.”
