Marcelino Sambé

Marcelino Sambé (born 29 April 1994) is a Portuguese ballet dancer. He is a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet in London.

Early life Sambé was born on International Dance Day 1994 to a Guinean father and Portuguese mother in an immigrant community on the outskirts of Lisbon.

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.

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. Sambé' has also originated roles in works by choreographers such as Crystal Pite, Hofesh Shechter and Cathy Marston. His frequent partners on stage include Francesca Hayward, Yasmine Naghdi and Anna Rose O'Sullivan. 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.

Selected repertoire Sambé's repertoire with The Royal Ballet includes: The Instrument in The Cellist

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.

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.