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At Pennsylvania Ballet, 13 dancers get promotions

One ballerina goes from soloist to principal dancer, another from corps to soloist, and six dancers from apprentice to corps. Five dancers from the Pennsylvania Ballet II get their call-up to the show.

At the Pennsylvania Ballet, which has weathered a succession of firings and defections, 13 dancers are now the recipients of good news. The company announced promotions Tuesday morning for eight current dancers and five members of Pennsylvania Ballet II.

For the 2017-18 season, which begins in September, soloist Dayesi Torriente has been promoted to principal dancer. She was a principal dancer at the Cuban National Ballet and started with the Pennsylvania Ballet as a soloist for the 2016-17 season that ended Sunday.

Current corps de ballet member Alexandra Hughes moves up to soloist for next season. She joined the Pennsylvania Ballet as an apprentice for the 2011-12 season, was promoted to the corps de ballet the next season, and has performed featured roles in The Nutcracker, George Balanchine's Square Dance,  and Angel Corella's Don Quixote and Le Corsaire, among others.

Six apprentices move up to the corps de ballet: Jacqueline Callahan, Emily Davis,  Therese Davis (no relation), Alexandra Heier, Siobhan Howley, and Jack Sprance.

From Pennsylvania Ballet II, Ashton Roxander joins the company as a member of the corps de ballet, skipping over the customary entry-level apprentice position. He joined the second company last season and has participated in the main company's productions of Cinderella, The Nutcracker, and Le Corsaire.

Four dancers from Pennsylvania Ballet II join the main company as apprentices: Cato Berry, Sydney Dolan, Austin Eyler, and Julia-Rose Sherrill.

"The ability to promote dancers from within reflects the artistic team's dedication to the dancers and the dancers' dedication to their craft," artistic director Angel Corella said in a statement.

This story has been updated to include additional promotions announced by the Pennsylvania Ballet.