Evan McKie

Evan McKie
Born	April 7, 1983 Toronto, Canada
Occupation	Ballet Dancer, Writer, Photographer, Artist

Evan McKie (born April 7, 1983) is a Canadian ballet dancer, writer, and artist. He is a Principal Dancer with the National Ballet of Canada and a guest dancer with companies including the Paris Opera Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, Mariinsky Ballet and Tokyo Ballet. In a statement to the The Toronto Star Newspaper, The National Ballet of Canada's Artistic Director, Karen Kain, noted that McKie is "one of the finest dancers of this generation." London-based ballet magazine Dance Europe stated that McKie's performances are "within the realm of best in the World." McKie continues to have very close ties with the prestigious Stuttgart Ballet, where he trained and rose through the company's ranks. He is also a contributor and Advisory Board member for American Dance Magazine and has been a freelance contributor for Canada's National newspaper, The Globe and Mail.

McKie studied at Canada's National Ballet School, The Kirov Academy of Ballet and Germany's John Cranko School, where he was given his first professional job as a dancer by the Stuttgart Ballet's Artistic Director, Reid Anderson. Just before becoming professional however, McKie suffered a severe knee-ligament injury and was told by doctors that he may never be able to be a ballet dancer. Though the ligament was irreparable, McKie attempted to dance without it and began training with the late ballet legend Pyotr Pestov. McKie started performing and eventually took a place at the Stuttgart Ballet. At the time doctors called it a "miraculous recovery." Promotions to Soloist and highest rank of Principal Dancer followed and in 2011, McKie was invited to be a guest dancer at the Paris Opera Ballet. The Financial Times called the performance (of John Cranko's Onegin) “the sensation of the season”. McKie received further critical acclaim when he was invited to be a guest at the Bolshoi Ballet in 2013 which led to further guest-engagements at the Paris Opera Ballet in both January and July 2014. In Stuttgart, under the direction and mentorship of fellow Canadian Reid Anderson, McKie danced the major roles in Classical Ballet as well as being a part of over 30 contemporary collaborations. He has been nominated as dancer of the year by dance magazines in Tokyo, London, Paris, Berlin and New York for dance works ranging from "classical" to "dramatic narrative" to "contemporary". Danse Magazine Paris wrote, "Evan McKie's limitless spirit and unusual storytelling abilities make him one of the brightest of all of today's most famous dance stars."

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Wikipedia