Gareth Haw in Conversation

Gareth Haw ‘In Conversation’ with Deborah Weiss

November 3rd, 2025

Susan Dalgetty-Ezra, chair of the London Ballet Circle, welcomed Gareth Haw to the evening’s conversation. Raised in Chepstow, on the Welsh border, Gareth trained at The Royal Ballet School and joined Semperoper Ballett in 2015 where he quickly rose through the ranks. In 2023 he returned to this country, to English National Ballet where he was promoted to Principal in 2024 and Lead Principal this year. Susan also welcomed well-known dance writer Deborah Weiss who would lead the evening’s conversation.

Deborah commenced by asking Gareth about his early life and how he had started to dance. He responded that he had been born in Cardiff and grew up in Chepstow, on the border of England and Wales. Growing up he took part in as many activities as he could, for instance swimming and golf. His older sister was already taking ballet class and he recalls many occasions having to accompany his mother to pick her up from classes – his father working away from home at the time – so he decided to join in. Thus he blames his sister for his introduction to dance…. It started as a single lesson every week and included a bit of jazz and tap and just became part of his weekly routine.

At some point his latent talent was recognised and his teacher suggested he audition for The Royal Ballet School Junior Associates programme, having experienced it herself when younger. He passed the audition and travelled once a month to Bath, in due course progressing, at age 10, to full time attendance at White Lodge. In fact, both he and his sister went off to boarding school at the same time, as she then joined Elmhurst Ballet School.

‘Suddenly you're a boarder at White Lodge! What was it like?’ asked Deborah. ‘Fantastic’ responded Gareth. He had been a little anxious and apprehensive about leaving home but joined a group of boys with possibly too much energy but a great deal of fun, and wasn’t homesick. Prior to White Lodge he had never thought that dancing was the only thing he wanted to do, but the school provided a safe yet challenging environment in which they could all focus and thrive. It was difficult; there were annual assessments which had to be passed. Discovering, year on year, that his assessments were considerably better than the average he slowly came to the realisation that maybe he could make a career in ballet. And so at around 13 or 14 he decided that this was the future which he wanted for himself.

After White Lodge came the Upper School. A very different experience, said Gareth. In the centre of London; you have to find somewhere to live; you’re an adult and must look after yourself. And alongside those of your former peers who’ve made the transition there’s an influx of international students. The training programme, however, was intense and unbelievable, and the teachers incredible. Students worked so hard; everyone was taking ballet extremely seriously.

His graduation performances at the school included the classical Raymonda and Rush, a more contemporary jazz-infused piece by Christopher Wheeldon. Deborah asked whether Gareth had had plans for life after school. Did he hope he would be offered a contract by the Royal Ballet itself? He replied that he had already compiled a list, not very long, of the companies for whom he would like to work. He hadn’t necessarily wanted to move abroad but was conscious that if he didn’t do it straightaway, it probably would never happen.

He auditioned for the Royal Danish and Stuttgart Ballets and was offered a contract with both. He had his eyes set on the latter, as being one of the top companies for men, and was considering accepting the offer. He also talked with Kevin O’Hare, Artistic Director of the Royal Ballet, who told him that a new apprentice programme was to be instituted in a few months’ time. Gareth didn’t think that all the apprentices would eventually receive contracts with the company, which usually took just one or two dancers each year, and he wanted to be sure of securing a full contract.

He was about to sign with Stuttgart when he took class and was observed by Aaron Watkin, then Artistic Director of Semperoper Ballett in Dresden, who asked to speak to him. Gareth knew nothing of the Dresden company and had to rapidly Google their repertoire and other information! Aaron was very open and honest about Gareth’s opportunities for progress if he joined Semperoper and thus he decided to take the risk and sign with the Dresden company. The right decision, said Deborah, because Aaron is such a great nurturer of new talent. He will push you, but only when you need it.

Gareth referred to the fact that he had a reasonably strong build and was also tall; at that time Semperoper had a number of rather tall ballerinas so it was obvious that his partnering skills would be called into use pretty quickly. The repertoire was diverse – much more so than he would have expected in London – and in his first season they did 12 programmes with phenomenal inspiration coming from the different choreographers and coaches. It was exciting!

‘Were you ever in a piece called Cow?’ enquired Deborah. Gareth replied that he had danced it, in his first year in the company. Choreographed by Alexander Ekman, it was so entertaining, but completely ‘off the wall’. A massive production in a huge theatre, involving all manner of dance movements – and it appealed greatly to its German audience. Could it be mounted today in London, they mused, concluding that its quirky humour might well appeal to a modern audience.

They then went on to talk about the choreographer David Dawson. Gareth has worked with him for around ten years and considers he has been pivotal in his career. Most important perhaps, it was David who first partnered him with ‘Sang’ (Sangeun Lee) in The Four Seasons, choreographed to Max Richter’s interpretation of Vivaldi’s score. David took a risk – Gareth was still young and new to the company, never having performed any of Dawson’s works; Sangeun already an established Principal. The risk paid off; the show was a success.

Gareth went on to speak about the very deep and possibly almost unique relationship with Sang, his ‘business wife’, which has developed and matured since that first occasion. After some ten years each is so well attuned to the other that they know instinctively what their partner requires. They’ve travelled the world together and danced on so many different stages. They’ve been through many challenges and probably know each other just as well, or maybe better, than they know themselves.

Gareth counts himself extremely lucky to have had Sangeun, someone a bit older and much more experienced to guide and test him from his time in the corps de ballet, so that now he feels that he can in turn actually offer support to her. For instance, he is delighted that at last she is to debut as Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, and realises that she is a little anxious about the role. He intends to sit in the wings during the first act (in which he has no part) for support. He recalled that when dancing the premiere of La Bayadère the first act exhausted him, but that coming off stage and seeing Sang waiting in the wings completely refreshed him. It’s a truly magical partnership!

David is best known for his abstract works, said Gareth, but even if they are labelled ‘non-narrative’ they always convey a message of some form. Working with him is strenuous because the continuous movement may be somewhat unrelenting, and partnering can involve many unusual holds and lifts. However, said Gareth, never tell David that such and such a position is impossible because he will immediately demonstrate it to you himself….

And so let’s talk about working with William Forsythe, suggested Deborah. He’s another choreographer to whose work you are incredibly suited. Gareth recollected that his first encounter with Forsythe had been a bit ‘heavy’. It was his second year in Dresden, he was just 19, and the company was to appear in Paris at the Palais Garnier. Gareth had been asked to perform In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, an iconic work originally created for the Paris Opera Ballet and that theatre, with Sylvie Guillem dancing the leading role.

Up to then Forsythe had just been a rather significant name, someone who could break down the classical shapes and invert them or turn them backwards – a choreographic genius. Gareth was quite taken aback to discover that he was just a normal human being; an old one at that, and one who may call himself ‘grandad’ in the studio.

There is, said Gareth, an enormous range to Forsythe’s work, from classical to very modern dance forms and Deborah was interested to learn how he copes with such a wide range of repertoire. Some is incredibly contemporary while other works demand classical, rather upright, ballet. It’s all dance, replied Gareth, and these days you’ll see many companies across the world trying to break through these boundaries and open up different boxes. What you learn, however, in whatever style of dance, is the prime importance of connectivity, fluidity and musicality.

It’s true that some classical training tends to be very positional based, but if you look at any extremely talented dancer (for which he cited William Bracewell as a great example) the way they move from position A to position B is seamless – that’s what makes them so interesting to watch. In contemporary dance, and even to an extent in the more classical style, every dancer must find their own way of executing a step. Which you’ve obviously done superbly well in your own career, commented Deborah, because when you’re doing classical ballet you look very classical – yet when you dance more modern works you appear to be a completely contemporary dancer.

So let’s move on to English National Ballet (ENB), your current company ,said Deborah. I’m assuming that related to Aaron Watkin’s appointment as Artistic Director? And coming back to England must have been rather nice? Gareth admitted that the move had come as something of a surprise. Although in truth he had been unsure how much longer he should remain with the company, he had certainly not been planning to leave Dresden. The company learned that Aaron had been appointed to the directorship of ENB, and on the very next Sunday Aaron had invited both he and Sang into his office, saying that he wanted them to go to London with him!

They both made a very quick decision to accept the invitation, although Gareth wasn’t sure he had a clear idea what he was getting into. He was, however, pleased with the prospect of returning to the UK and was excited about joining another company. He looked forward to the opportunity of a new environment, of learning and being inspired by a new group of colleagues.

He felt he was definitely ready for new challenges but was surprised by the very different programme at ENB. In Dresden the ballet staged its shows at Semperoper Dresden, a theatre space shared with the opera company which limited the number of performances which could be given. A dancer might take part in a show, then go for several days in rehearsal before appearing on stage again. In contrast, ENB, as a touring company, might present eight shows in a week. Rehearsal weeks would be blocked out, and then the company would go into performance mode. Gareth had known the companies would be different but probably had not been fully aware just how many shows such a programme involved. For instance, ENB might mount 40 Nutcracker performances during the course of a season. Currently he is dancing the Prince in The Sleeping Beauty in which he doesn’t appear until the second act. A beautiful production – but a relatively unusual situation in that he does not have to be at the theatre a couple of hours before curtain up….

The very full performance programme may confer advantages, suggested Deborah. Instead of, say, a single performance of Sleeping Beauty you may get three or four ‘goes’ at a role in quick succession. And probably because of the number of performances there will be more chance of injuries and the consequent need to step in to a different role at short notice. In a later question he was asked how he tried to avoid injury with such an intense schedule. Being careful, looking after yourself, always warming up properly, Gareth responded.

ENB is not a huge company (65 to 70 dancers), and the schedule is tight. Consequently an artist has to be ready at any time to pick up extra shows or undertake a role which they were not expecting to do. It all adds to the excitement of the job! It was also great for the younger artists, who can acquire a lot of stage experience in a relatively short time.

Gareth noted another advantage was that you get to feel unbelievably comfortable being on stage. With so many performances back-to-back you step out on to the stage as if it’s nothing…. He believes an artist will only be able to deliver their full potential when they feel comfortable on stage.

David Dawson recently created Four Last Songs for ENB. Although a relatively new and different experience for the company, Gareth, creating the first Principal role, had been very used to David’s work so there was little that took him by surprise. He had also taken part in other new works, such as Johan Inger’s Carmen. All challenging, but Gareth expressed supreme confidence in Aaron Watkins’ direction, with which he had lived for nearly a decade. And, he added, there is a huge reservoir of talent within ENB.

Gareth is keen to encourage and support new, young dancers. He believes individuals leaving the schools now are in a much more ‘finished’ state than he was when he left the Upper School. These are challenging times for the artform. The heritage of ballet must be cherished and respected, nevertheless companies are broadening their range of works, trying to attract new audiences on whose ticket money they must rely for their support. Dancers must therefore be prepared to do more than just classical roles.

Deborah then asked whether there were occasions in Gareth’s career which he regarded as turning points. The Four Seasons, he replied immediately. A major role, and the first time he had been partnered with Sangeun Lee. That was undoubtedly life changing. And probably his first Swan Lake, with ENB, in the Royal Albert Hall. That show was filmed for cinema release, what was that like? asked Deborah. Gareth responded that he tried to ignore the cameras, not to face them directly, but it had certainly been a new experience.

He was also asked about guesting, replying at once that ENB would always be his primary focus. Nevertheless, there were inevitably gaps in schedules and it was good to keep working. It could also be exciting and stimulating to work with other artists, and to visit new venues.

Finally he was asked whether he had ever been on stage with his sister, saying that on one occasion in Manon he had suddenly discovered that one of the beggars looking up at him on stage was indeed his sister. And last year he had been to Germany to do Sleeping Beauty and she had been his Carabosse…

In concluding the evening, Susan, chair of the London Ballet Circle, responded enthusiastically that it had been another fascinating discussion. It had been wonderful to learn more about Gareth and to enjoy at close quarters his lovely smile. We will all appreciate his artistry even more from now on! She thanked both Gareth and Deborah most sincerely for a terrific evening’s conversation.

Trevor Rothwell. 05-11-25