By TheatreVillage 
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After an illustrious 21-year career with the Birmingham Royal Ballet, Principal dancer Tyrone Singleton will be leaving the company. Carlos Acosta praised Singleton, saying, “He is a Birmingham Royal Ballet legend. He is adored by audiences and greatly respected by every member of the company. His tremendous contribution as a dancer, with such powerful stage presence, is undeniable; but also his work as a photographer, which I am sure he will continue, marks him out as an incredible multi-talented artist.”
Assistant Director Dominic Antonucci added, “Over the last twenty-one years, Tyrone Singleton has had an incredibly impressive career at BRB. Ty is a rare talent that possesses great technique, exceptional partnering skills, deep and sensitive artistry alongside boundless versatility.”
Singleton expressed his gratitude, saying, “I have been given a vast range of opportunities and experiences which have not only developed me as a dancer and artist, but also as a human being. There are too many people and productions to name individually, but they have all shaped me, and the love and appreciation I have for that will stay with me forever.”
Born in Surrey, Tyrone Singleton trained at Arts Educational School in Tring and the Royal Ballet School. Joining BRB in 2003 and being promoted to Principal in 2013, Singleton is the longest-serving Principal dancer in the company’s history. His repertoire includes iconic roles in productions like MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet, Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée, and Bintley’s The Tempest.
Singleton’s final performances with BRB will be in Black Sabbath – The Ballet in Hamburg on 9 & 10 July 2024.
Several dancers have received well-deserved promotions:
- Beatrice Parma has been promoted to Principal.
- Riku Ito is promoted to First Soloist.
- Sofia Linares, Enrique Vidal, and Reina Fuchigami are promoted to Soloist.
- Eilis Small is promoted to First Artist.
BRB2 dancers Maïlène Katoch, Jack Easton, Frieda Kaden, Oscar Kempsey-Fagg, and Mason King have completed the two-year program and will join the main company as Artists. Yvette Knight is moving from First Soloist to Principal Character Artist.
After the summer break, the new BRB2 cohort will include Charlotte Cohen, Andrea Riolo, Noah Cosgriff, Ellyne Knol, and Ixan Llorca Ferrer. Sophie Walters, who completed her apprenticeship, will also join BRB2.
Marlo Kempsey-Fagg joins the company as an Apprentice Dancer from Elmhurst Ballet School. Marlo started dancing at the age of 6 when his talent was identified in a local Birmingham Primary School and he joined BRB’s Dance Track program.
Kit Holder, after a 24-year career as a dancer with BRB, joins the ballet staff as Artistic Coordinator. Yvette Regueiro joins BRB as Répétiteur. Regueiro, a graduate of the National Ballet School in Havana, has an impressive background, having joined the Cuban National Ballet Company in 1987 and later teaching dance at Dance Area in Switzerland.
BRB2 dancer Alfie Shacklock will leave the company at the end of the season to join Queensland Ballet as an Artist. The Royal Ballet Sinfonia sees new additions and departures: Claire Dersley becomes Head of Orchestra Operations, Joana Valentinaviciute joins as First Violin Co-leader, and Anna Wolstenholme will be Principal Flute in the Spring. Naori Takahachi, Principal Second Violin, and Alan Taylor, Bass, left the Royal Ballet Sinfonia earlier this year.
Based at Birmingham Hippodrome, the Birmingham Royal Ballet is the UK’s leading touring ballet company, performing traditional, classical, and heritage ballets as well as new works. Carlos Acosta, an internationally renowned dancer, has been the company’s Director since January 2020.
BRB performs at Birmingham Hippodrome for approximately ten weeks each year and tours nationally and internationally, averaging 100 shows annually. The Royal Ballet Sinfonia, BRB’s permanent orchestra, also plays for The Royal Ballet and other leading ballet companies worldwide.
