Evan McKie

Evan McKie (born April 7, 1983) is a Canadian ballet dancer, writer, and artist. London's "Dance Europe" Magazine recently stated that McKie's performances are "within the realm of best in the World." He is a Principal Dancer with the National Ballet of Canada and has the rare opportunity to perform as 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 "McKie is one of the finest dancers of his generation." McKie continues to have very close ties with the 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, often writing preview pieces for upcoming productions.

Contents

• Male Ballet Dance Evan McKie
• Mask duet choreography douglas lee dancers svetlana lunkina evan mckie rehearsal
• Awards
• Performance Repertoire
• References

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 at the time, 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 stated that his performance (of John Cranko's Onegin)was “the sensation of the entire 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 different roles. 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 and was also given opportunities to develop himself as a creative director during the world-famous Noverre Society workshops. Over the last decade, he has been nominated as International 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."

McKie has choreographed two dance works for Stuttgart's Noverre Society and a work for Olga Smirnova of the Bolshoi Ballet in cooperation with the Youth American Grand Prix at Lincoln Centre in New York. He is a visual artist specializing in backstage portraits of artists and dancers and recently held an exhibition in Germany entitled SCHICHTEN.

McKie is also very active in researching the use of Dance as part of rehabilitation from depression and drug addiction. He is a part-time volunteer contributor to the recreational-therapy program at Canada's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and is also involved in independent research focussing on neuro-plasticity training.

McKie holds a certificate in Interpersonal Relations and Leadership from L'école des Hautes Etudes Commerciales de Paris and has recently shadowed Mikko Nissinen, the Artistic Director of the Boston Ballet in order to enhance his own practical experience initiative in the field of creative leadership.

McKie is currently a benefactor for "DanceCollectionDanse" Canadian Dance History Archive, The National Ballet of Canada and CanadianStage.