English National Ballet announces winners of Emerging Dancer 2026

Following Emerging Dancer 2026, which took place 28 May at the company’s East London home, the Mulryan Centre for Dance, English National Ballet is delighted to announce the winners of this year’s awards, celebrating talent across the company.

Returning in an updated format championing artistic development and excellence, the evening saw four Emerging Dancer awards presented, recognising artistic distinction, technical excellence, versatility, and Audience Choice which was voted for on the night. This year’s Corps de Ballet Award was also announced.

The Emerging Dancer 2026 award winners are Jakob Wheway Hughes, who received both the Artistic Distinction Award and the Audience Choice Award; Zai Calliste, who took home the Technical Excellence Award; Yihan Qin, who won the Versatility Award; and Anna Ciriano, who was presented with this year’s Corps de Ballet Award.

A full recording of the event will be available to watch for free on English National Ballet’s YouTube channel from Thursday 4 June at 6pm, extending this celebration of talent and creativity to audiences around the world.

Aaron S. Watkin, Artistic Director of English National Ballet, said: “A huge congratulations to all of this year’s participants. Emerging Dancer is about giving artists the opportunity to challenge themselves, gain confidence and share their individuality on stage. It was especially exciting to see not only the exceptional talent on display this year, but also the spirit of collaboration and support across the whole company.”

This year’s event was hosted by company dancers Taela Graff and Rhys Antoni. The esteemed judging panel included former La Scala Theatre Ballet Artistic Director Manuel Legris; choreographer and former Strictly Come Dancing judge Dame Arlene Phillips; celebrated dancer and advocate Cira Robinson; Aaron S. Watkin; and English National Ballet’s Artistic team. English National Ballet Philharmonic performed live throughout the evening, led by conductor Kingsley Lin.

The Emerging Dancer 2026 participants were Zai Calliste, Thalina Chapin, Yihan Qin, Anri Sugiura, Sacha Venkatasawmy and Jakob Wheway Hughes. Artists performed classical pas de deux alongside contemporary solos which were choreographed by company dancers. The evening’s programme also included performances of three new works, developed by company dancers Alice Bellini, Rentaro Nakaaki and Eric Snyder through Studio Sessions, English National Ballet’s platform dedicated to developing choreographic talent within the company.

For more information, visit ballet.org.uk

Jakob Wheway Hughes performing a contemporary solo by Ashley Coupal at Emerging Dancer 2026. Image by Isabella Turolla