Marcelino Sambé (born 29 April 1994) is a Portuguese

ballet dancer A ballet dancer is a person who practices the Art (skill), art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. B ...

. He is a

principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be either gender. The position is similar to that of ''Soloist (ballet), solois ...

with

The Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

in London.

Early life

Sambé was born on

International Dance Day International Dance Day is a global celebration of dances promoted by the International Dance Council (CID) and the International Theatre Institute. The event takes place every year on 29 April, which is the anniversary of the birth of Jean- ...

1994 to a Guinean father and Portuguese mother in an immigrant community on the outskirts of

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

. His father worked in construction. 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 was. 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. 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 The Prix de Lausanne () is an international dance competition held annually in Lausanne, Switzerland. The competition is for young dancers seeking to pursue a professional career in classical ballet, and many former prize winners of the competition ...

, he moved to The Royal Ballet School in London at age 16.

Career

Sambé joined

in 2012, a year ahead of his scheduled graduation. He was made First Artist in 2014, Soloist in 2015 and First Soloist in 2017. 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 , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

'', for which he was coached by Acosta, and Romeo in ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

''. Sambé' has also originated roles in works by choreographers such as

Crystal Pite Crystal Pite (born December 15, 1970) is a Canadian Choreography (dance), choreographer and dancer. She began her professional dance career in 1988 at Ballet British Columbia, Ballet BC, and in 1996 she joined Ballett Frankfurt under the tutelag ...

, Hofesh Shechter and

Cathy Marston Cathy Marston (born 1975) is a British choreographer and artistic director. She was the director of Bern Ballett from 2007–2013. After her tenure, she has choreographed for companies worldwide, including The Royal Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, ...

. His frequent partners on stage include Francesca Hayward, Yasmine Naghdi and Anna Rose O'Sullivan. As a choreographer himself, Sambé has choreographed for The Royal Ballet School's annual matinee and The Royal Ballet’s Draft Works. In 2020, he was featured in the BBC documentary, ''Men at the Barre''. That year, his debut as Prince Siegfried in ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoje ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, links=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failu ...

'' was delayed due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In 2022 he created the lead role of Pedro in Christopher Wheeldon's full-length ballet '' Like Water for Chocolate''. A video is available at Royal Ballet and Opera Stream. Sambé performed at the Coronation Concert in 2023, to mark the

coronation of Charles III and Camilla The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Charles III and his wife, Queen Camilla, Camilla, as Monarchy of the United Kingdom, king and List of British royal consorts, queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth re ...

Selected repertoire

Sambé's repertoire with The Royal Ballet includes:

Awards

Awards: *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 *2023: Outstanding Male Classical Performance

Personal life

Sambé is openly gay. He and his partner live in

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

. 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.

References

External links

Royal Ballet biographySambé in ''Flight Pattern''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sambé, Marcelino 1994 births Portuguese male ballet dancers People educated at the Royal Ballet School Living people People from Lisbon Principal dancers of The Royal Ballet Portuguese people of Guinean descent Portuguese expatriates in England 21st-century ballet dancers Gay dancers Portuguese gay men Portuguese LGBTQ entertainers LGBTQ people of African descent