As ever, the opening of a new season this autumn is a moment to look forward to performances from many young talents across the world of dance and ballet – I find myself overwhelmed with choice! But there are a handful of artists who more than merit a mention.
Jakob Wheway Hughes, artist, English National Ballet
Jakob Wheway Hughes joined English National Ballet for the 2025–26 season having completed his training at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts under the direction of Antony Dowson. He has already made a deep impression. Having been nominated to participate in ENB’s Emerging Dancer 2026, he went on to win the Artistic Distinction Award and the Audience Choice Award. He has danced solo roles in The Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker and appeared as a Demi Soloist in Theme and Variations.
Next season he will add the Rat King in Nutcracker and Paris in Nureyev’s Romeo and Juliet to his growing list of debuts and featured roles. Why does he stand out? It’s the quality of his movement. His technique can be explosive but he always looks silky smooth and elegant. Combine this with a powerful stage presence and warmth, an upward trajectory is looking likely.
Roxie Syron, Bangarra Dance Company
Roxie Syron began dancing at five and trained full-time in classical and contemporary dance at Tanya Pearson Academy, as well as in commercial styles at Brent Street. She later completed Sydney Dance Company’s pre-professional year before joining Bangarra Dance Theatre in 2025 as a Russell Page Graduate.
Our Sydney based reviewer Katie Lawrence says, “Syron is a punchy, fearless performer whose classical precision is matched by athleticism, versatility and an appetite for risk. Particularly compelling in partnering and counterbalance, she can switch in an instant from fierce attack to extraordinary fluidity.”
Kloe Walker, corps de ballet, New York City Ballet
New York based Rebecca Ehrhardt says, “After a surprise debut as the dewdrop fairy in The Nutcracker, corps de ballet member Kloe Walker’s many talents were on display during a string of debuts in principal and soloist roles in New York City Ballet’s 2026 winter and spring seasons. She finished the spring season with a principal role in Tiler Peck’s latest ballet, Symphonie Espagnole – a role Walker shared with generational star Mira Nadon.
“Walker already has many tools in her arsenal, including obvious technical facility (her arabesque is impressively high without sacrificing hip alignment), sharp musicality and strong stage presence.” We are expecting her to receive more featured roles during the coming year.
Emile Gooding, artist, The Royal Ballet
Emile Gooding was already making waves when he was still a student at the Royal Ballet School. Born in Reading, he spent some time at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts and had a stint as Billy in Billy Elliot the Musical before joining the RBS in Year 9. He was an Aud Jebsen Young Dancer with The Royal Ballet for the 2024–25 season and promoted to artist in 2025.
Gooding instantly draws the eye because he not only possesses a near perfect technique, but his innate musicality means that his phrasing allows him to use that technique to exceptionally high standards. With a charming stage presence, he has yet to dance any significant solo roles with the company to date but watch this space. Gooding has the potential to reach the very top.
Anna-Maria de Freitas, New Adventures
Anna-Maria de Freitas began her dance journey at the Caribbean School of Dancing in Trinidad before continuing her training at Rambert School in London. Along with other professional work, she joined Sir Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures in 2023. She has danced featured roles in each of Bourne’s productions over the last three years including The Girlfriend in Swan Lake for the 30th anniversary tour.
Most recently she has been cast as Rita in the current run of The Car Man and it was seeing her in this that inspired me to choose her as one to watch. She has an ability to make you believe in every emotion she’s experiencing, in real time. Technically excellent, it is her acting and sincerity that stays with you after the show has finished. Let’s hope we see her in more challenging roles next season.
Payton Primer, Paul Taylor Dance Company
The petite dynamo Payton Primer only joined the Paul Taylor Dance Company last winter yet she’s tackled some high-profile assignments with striking audacity. These include the blistering solo Takademe by Robert Battle and some memorable turns in Taylor's own ensemble pieces like Company B, Piazzolla Caldera and Speaking in Tongues. New York based Carla Escoda alluded to her impactful performance in a recent review of PTDC at Jacob’s Pillow.
Edward Cooley, Dutch National Ballet Junior Company
Born in the UK, Cooley grew up in Brisbane, Australia where he trained at the Queensland College of Dance. His strong showing at Prix de Lausanne in 2024 earned him a spot at the Dutch National Ballet Academy and subsequently the Dutch National Ballet Junior Company. Our Amsterdam based writer Mark Vicente says, “His clean technique, lyrical qualities and confident partnering skills were all on display in the Junior Company's performance of Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante last season and makes Cooley one to watch in the coming years.”
Aleisha Walker, corps de ballet, American Ballet Theatre
Dancer-choreographer Aleisha Walker came up through American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company and entered the corps de ballet in 2023; these days she’s dancing with great spirit and authority. While still an apprentice, she won a Young Creation Award at the Prix de Lausanne and in 2025 earned a spot in the ABT in-house choreography lab, Incubator. She has made work for the Joyce Theater’s Ballet Festival in 2024 and 2026, most recently a polished, exhilarating piece for five women from ABT and Dance Theatre of Harlem.
César Sautès-Vescovali, Nederlands Dans Theater 2
Hailing from Les Lilas, France, Sautès-Vescovali trained in both ballet and contemporary dance at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Danse de Paris. A dynamic performer with both athletic agility and creative expression, he has the ability to draw the attention of the audience and pull them into his orbit. It will be exciting to see how he further develops as a dance artist under the guidance of NDT.
In a recent interview Sautès-Vescovali said, “I hope to make audiences feel an overwhelming amount of sensations, enough for them to feel alive and connected to themselves and others in a new way. Because that is what dance makes me feel and I wish to be able to share that.”
