Marcelino Sambé

Marcelino Sambé is a Portuguese ballet dancer. He is a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet in London, and the second black male dancer to reach that rank, after Carlos Acosta.

Marcelino Sambé
Born1994/1995 (age 25–26)[1]
Lisbon, Portugal
EducationThe Royal Ballet School
Occupationballet dancer
Current groupThe Royal Ballet

Early life

Sambé was born in an African immigrant community at the outskirt of Lisbon. His father, who came from Guinea, worked in constructions. Sambé attended African dance classes at a local community centre despite being the only boy in the troupe. When he was 8, the community centre's psychologist encouraged Sambé to audition for National Conservatory of Lisbon to train ballet, even though he did not know what ballet is. He ended up improvising an African dance routine for the panel, and was accepted to the Conservatory. Soon, he started training in the Vaganova method. Sambé's father died shortly afterwards, as Sambé's mother could not take care of both Sambé and his sister, so he was fostered by a family whose daughter was also training at the Conservatory, and later became a dancer at the National Ballet of Portugal. After winning a scholarship at the Prix de Lausanne, he moved The Royal Ballet School in London at age 16.[1][2][3][4][5]

Career

Sambé joined The Royal Ballet in 2012, a year ahead of his scheduled graduation. He was made First Artist in 2014, Soloist in 2015 and First Soloist in 2017.[5][6]

In 2019, he was promoted to Principal Dancer, making him the second black male dancer, after Carlos Acosta, to reach this rank in the company. His promotion came after his debuts as Basilio in Don Quixote, for which he was coached by Acosta, and Romeo in Romeo and Juliet.[2][7] Sambé's had also originated roles, in works by choreographers such as Crystal Pite, Hofesh Shechter and Cathy Marston.[3][8] His frequent partners on stage include Francesca Hayward, Yasmine Naghdi and Anna Rose O'Sullivan.[1][4] As a choreographer himself, Sambé had choreographed for The Royal Ballet School's annual matinee and The Royal Ballet’s Draft Works.[6]

In 2020, he was featured in the BBC documentary, Men at the Barre. That year, his debut as Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Selected repertoire

Sambé's repertoire with The Royal Ballet includes:[6]

Created roles

Awards

Awards:[6]

  • 2008: Moscow International Ballet Competition - silver prize
  • 2009: Youth America Grand Prix - first prize
  • 2010: USA International Ballet Competition - gold medal and special award
  • 2011: Ursula Morton Choreographic Awards - second prize
  • 2012: Youth Dance England - UK’s emerging choreographers
  • 2017: Critics' Circle National Dance Awards - Outstanding Male Classical Performance
  • 2019: Outstanding Male Classical Performance - Best Male Dancer

Personal life

Sambé is openly gay. He and his partner live in North London.[2]

Sambé took up photography when he was recovering from an injury, and has an Instagram account dedicated to his photographs of other Royal Ballet dancers.[1]

gollark: I eat lots of Marmite (basically Vegemite). It is said that you either love it or hate it, though I don't think that's accurate.
gollark: Please stop spamming.
gollark: What?
gollark: There are probably lots.
gollark: Please note that "reality" does not offer saved game support or sandbox mode.

References
  1. "Marcelino Sambé: The Royal Ballet's Princely Powerhouse". Pointe Magazine. 28 March 2019.
  2. "Marcelino Sambé: 'Ballet should not be just for elite kids'". The Guardian. 5 September 2019.
  3. "Marcelino Sambé interview: the Royal Ballet star on training in lockdown, overcoming hardship and helping kids to dance". The Times. 26 April 2020.
  4. "Marcelino Sambé interview: 'I've got a life outside ballet — you can't be a fully rounded artist if you are halfway living'". Evening Standard. 11 September 2019.
  5. "In Conversation: Royal Ballet first soloist Marcelino Sambé chats with Gerard Davis". Dance International. 16 February 2018.
  6. "Marcelino Sambé". Royal Opera House. Archived from the original on 20 February 2020.
  7. "The Royal Ballet's Marcelino Sambé promoted to Principal dancer". Royal Opera House. 7 June 2019. Archived from the original on 10 October 2019.
  8. "The week in dance: The Cellist/Dances at a Gathering; Message in a Bottle – review". The Guardian. 23 February 2020.
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