Yuhui Choe to leave The Royal Ballet after 24 years
The Japanese-born dancer will give her final performance as the Sugar Plum Fairy on 30 December, before starting The Royal Ballet School’s teaching diploma in January.
The Royal Ballet has announced that First Soloist Yuhui Choe is to leave the Company after 24 years. She is stepping down to undertake The Royal Ballet School‘s Diploma of Classical Ballet Teaching and to pursue external artistic opportunities.
Choe is currently appearing as Lescaut’s Mistress in Kenneth MacMillan‘s Manon, with her next performance on Friday 13 November at 7.30pm. In December she dances the Sugar Plum Fairy in Peter Wright‘s production of The Nutcracker, alongside Ryoichi Hirano as her Prince. Her last performance will be on Wednesday 30 December at 7.30pm.
‘A true Company member’
Kevin O’Hare, Director of The Royal Ballet, paid tribute to her long service:
Yuhui has been a true Company member and has made a fantastic contribution to our stage during her long career. For me personally, it has been a great pleasure to work with her over these many years and to see her take on such an impressive range of repertory. She has excelled with her ease of technique and musicality plus the special ability she possesses to connect with audiences. Her charm and personality have shone memorably in roles like Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty and the Young Girl in Ashton’s The Two Pigeons. It is wonderful that Yuhui’s deep knowledge of the art form will now be used to draw out the potential of future dancers. We wish her every success for this next phase of her career.
From Fukuoka to The Royal Ballet
Choe was born in Fukuoka, Japan, and began dancing aged five. At 14 she moved to Paris to train with Daini Kudo and, after winning silver in the 2000 Paris International Dance Competition, began training with Dominique Khalfouni. In 2002 she won first prize and the contemporary dance prize at the Prix de Lausanne, and went on to join The Royal Ballet as an apprentice.
She became an Artist with the Company in 2003, was promoted to First Artist in 2006 and to First Soloist in 2008.
A wide repertory
Her roles have taken in the full breadth of the Company’s repertory, from the grand Imperial classics to works by its associated choreographers of the past two centuries: Frederick Ashton, Kenneth MacMillan, Wayne McGregor, Christopher Wheeldon and Liam Scarlett.
Among them are Princess Aurora (The Sleeping Beauty), Nikiya and Gamzatti (La Bayadère), the Sugar Plum Fairy (The Nutcracker), Siegfried’s sister (Swan Lake), Swanilda (Coppélia), Mercedes (Don Quixote), Cinderella, Fairy Summer and Fairy Autumn (Cinderella), Lise (La Fille mal gardée), the Young Girl (The Two Pigeons), Lescaut’s Mistress (Manon), Princess Stephanie (Mayerling), Olga (Onegin), the Pupil (The Lesson), Polyhymnia (Apollo), Little Dot (Sweet Violets) and Alice (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland). She has also danced in Scènes de ballet, Symphonic Variations, Rhapsody, Concerto, Requiem, Song of the Earth, Jewels, Symphony in C, Chroma, Carbon Life, Woolf Works, Within the Golden Hour and Viscera.
Choe has also created roles, for Jonathan Watkins in As One and in ‘Diana and Actaeon’ (Metamorphosis: Titian 2012, a collaboration with Will Tuckett and Liam Scarlett). She created roles in Wayne McGregor’s Infra and Limen, in Christopher Wheeldon’s ‘Fire’ (Homage to The Queen) and DGV: Danse à grande Vitesse, and in Mayuri Boonham’s The Human Edge.
Her awards include Best Female Artist (Classical) at the 2008 Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards, and in 2016 she was nominated for the Asian Women of Achievement Awards (Arts and Culture).
‘The time has come’
Choe reflected on her decision:
“After 24 extraordinary years with The Royal Ballet, I have decided that the time has come to close this chapter of my performing career. It feels so special to be ending with The Royal Ballet as the Sugar Plum Fairy, a role I have had the joy of performing for 18 years. I am incredibly grateful for all the experiences, opportunities and memories throughout these years. It has been a privilege to be part of such a wonderful company.”
Looking ahead, she said:
I look forward to focusing more on family life, pursuing new projects and beginning the Diploma of Classical Ballet Teaching at The Royal Ballet School from January. It’s my turn to contribute my experience and knowledge to the next generation of dancers. While this marks the end of my career as a dancer with The Royal Ballet, I hope to embrace new opportunities to dance in the future. With a heart full of gratitude, I want to thank everyone who has been part of this journey.
