Evan McKie | BALLET

3:03 -INSISTING on EXISTING

Evan McKie , raised in both Canada & Germany, was born on April 7, 1983 in Toronto, Canada. He is a ballet dancer in classical and contemporary ballet and an actor-dancer known for interpreting roles from literature. He is a Dance instructor, coach, multidisciplinary artist, research fellow at the Institute for Neuroplastic Training (Farias Technique), a dance-archive advisor at dance collection dance, part-time writer & advisory board member for American Dance Magazine, a guest writer at Japanese dance magazine (shinshokan) and a contributor of educational preview pieces for National Ballet of Canada productions by Rudolph Nureyev and Sir Wayne McGregor for the Globe and Mail, Canada's National Newspaper. He was featured as himself in Japan's legendary shōjo manga "SWAN" about a young ballerina visiting the world's notable ballet theatres & sometimes coming across artists she admires after seeing them dance. the "SWAN" was developed & created by celebrated manga artist Kyoko Ariyoshi. at the time of publication the manga announced that it had over 20 million copies in circulation.

McKie also showed early interest in what would ultimately grow into Event Management, successfully creating, hosting, DJ-ing and recruiting staff & security for over 12 events at restaurants & clubs in both Germany & Toronto. These were meant to encourage peers from the Opera, Theatre Staff & Dance companies to get to know each other better & also provided safe spaces to encourage active work-life balance scenarios. In Toronto & also New York McKie held after-show cast-parties at unique venues in order to thank everyone contributing to productions he was involved in & also threw congratulatory parties for companies like Netherlands Dance Theatre to welcome them to Toronto. McKie also threw an exhibition of some of his Art inspired by colleagues including printing 50 portraits, framing, install, staff recruitment, a catering & Champagne sponsor & all promotion. At the National Ballet of Canada he also threw large Masterclasses with Guests allowed to purchase spectator tickets. He taught Advanced Professional classes & asked the InStudio Drop-in class coordinator if he could throw a massive class catered, not to beginners, but to what he called at the time "absolute beginners". She was reluctant, expressing that it wouldn't be interesting for McKie but eventually went along with the idea & helped it come to life. Evan was thrilled to work together with the Director of the program on realizing his initiative. he knew, from being involved in various other Artistic communities that there would be reluctance but did not want anyone, anywhere to have to miss out on how beautiful participating in a ballet class can be; he therefor did his own promotion for the event including reaching out to many members of different communities & doing an interview in Elle Magazine. With Evan's organization, planning, promotion & teaching methodology (which includes references to ballet history & answers "why" certain movements are done & where they got their names from), as well as great synergy with the open-minded program director, the event became the National Ballet of Canada's most popular, most visited & most lucrative drop-in class in company history. McKie only became interested in these type of event management projects because he recognized a need by listening to various communities or even simply noticing how many opportunities there are to share dance with outside networks &/or to share elements of those networks with his peers who often are so busy they do not have time to do anything but work & rest. The goals were very simple & based around offering people joy & chances to socialize in ways they normally would not. That has driven McKie to develop this particular hobby & embed it into his career. At the National ballet of Canada, McKie also worked with the Head of development bringing certain Donors back to the Ballet as well as bringing new Donors of all different tiers including his own sponsor whom he had met while performing with the Paris Opera Ballet, before joining the Ballet company in Toronto. The Head of Development encouraged McKie to explore this important area of any Arts Institution further noting that she had noticed a natural instinct in him. From there Mckie went on to study business, strategic development & interpersonal relations within an organization, while building momentum onstage & within the organization thanks to the broad range in repertoire & specifically due to choreographers like John Neumeier, Wayne McGregor & Crystal Pite who cast Evan in their ballets, often in multiple leading roles on different nights. Mckie was advised at the very start of his dance career to begin teaching as soon as possible in order to learn & gain as much teaching experience as possible in a process of learning that ran parallel to & also contributed to his approach as dancer.

Mckie spent 13 years dancing in each rank of the Stuttgart Ballet and until recently was a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada. He has performed as a guest dancer with international companies, including the Paris Opera Ballet (2011, 2012, 2014), Bolshoi Ballet (2013), Mariinsky Ballet (2016) Tokyo Ballet (2013) , Ballet de Santiago de Chile Marcia Haydeé (2014) and Orsolina28 in 2019/20. McKie graduated after being classically trained by Pyotr Pestov, one of the most respected ballet teachers in the World whose students include Vladimir Malakhov, Alexander Vetrov, Nickolai Tsiskaridze & Alexei Ratmansky among others, all of whom went on to successful careers in Dance, Leadership, Choreography & Dance Pedagogy. McKie holds Canadian records as a performer and instructor & was invited to be a part of UNESCO’s International Dance Council in 2022.

McKie received Italy’s ApuliArte prize for achievement in dance for his work in Rudolf Nureyev’s The Sleeping Beauty, John Cranko’s Onegin and for three roles created on him in Wayne McGregor’s Eden | Eden, Yantra and Nautilus. McKie says he owes much of this success to the to fellow Canadian, Reid Anderson who facilitated initial contact in Paris, Moscow & Tokyo & who invited Wayne McGregor to create his first MainStage work at an opera house (Stuttgart). In a statement to The Toronto Star, the National Ballet of Canada's Artistic Director Emerita, Karen Kain, noted that "McKie is a very intelligent dancer and has the spirit of a true artist", "He loves the contemporary and the process of creation but also absolutely embodies the classical danseur noble." Of Kain, McKie stated: "Karen has made so many of my dreams come true. She invited me to be a guest artist in roles like Rudolf Nureyev’s “The Sleeping Beauty” and then allowed me to join full-time when I asked to come and learn from her. Karen engaged outstanding choreographers like Wayne McGregor, John Neumeier, Alexei Ratmansky, Christopher Wheeldon and Crystal Pite and allowed them to cast me in their ballets. I am so grateful for this. Not every director would allow this.” He continues. "When I asked her for guidance as I was trying to learn new ways to study for creative leadership roles, she pleasantly surprised me by allowing for me to participate in a future-directors retreat in the UK and allowed me to take a short period of time off to shadow Mikko Nissinen at the Boston Ballet. Karen also took my passion for commissioning new short works seriously and even permitted us to bring in choreographers like Juliano Nunes to our annual fundraiser Gala, making the National Ballet of Canada one of the first Ballet Companies to present the Choreographer's work on their main stage."

The National Ballet of Canada’s current Artistic Director Hope Muir spoke candidly about McKie’s career: "Evan has become one of Canada's most celebrated dancers with an international career as both a Principal Dancer and Guest Artist. He is renowned for his range, strength in fluidity and a rare athletic articulation in both classical and contemporary roles. Often bringing intriguing characters from literature to life, Evan entranced National Ballet audiences. His most notable roles include both Lensky and Onegin in Onegin, the title role in Apollo, Phlegmatic from the Four Temperaments, Leontes in The Winter's Tale, Diaghilev and Petruschka in Nijinsky, Prince Florimund in The Sleeping Beauty, Karenin in Anna Karenina and lead roles in Wayne McGregor's Chroma and Genus." Kain offered: "It was a great pleasure during my tenure as Artistic Director to be able to invite Evan to return home and share his unique artistry with Canadian audiences. He gave many outstanding performances in a wide variety of important roles with the company. I send him gratitude."

McKie was chosen as one of LaNotte Magazine’s Top 5 Dancers in the World 2021. The magazine’s editor in chief Julia Suzmina based her decisions on strict criteria including: a "constantly-developed body of outstanding work over the last decade; Authenticity, generosity and hard-earned respect within the industry; "If there was an Oscar for ballet dancers, he’d surely be nominated for roles in "Onegin", "The Winter’s Tale”, "Hamlet", "Nijinsky" , "Apollo" , "The Sleeping Beauty" and more." Suzmina explains the top honor which McKie shares with Misty Copeland, Matthieu Ganio, Marianela Nunez and Victoria Tereshkina was awarded because "Currently, as an experienced dancer of highest class, Evan seems open and ready for new challenges. He appears to be an optimal candidate for the role of an Artistic Director for the future." .... Youth America Grand Prix founder & artistic director, Larissa Savaliev stated in 2023:

"Evan McKie is truly one of the finest dancers of this generation, one who embodies unusual versatility, creativity and relentless work ethic. We have watched McKie synthesize global stardom with becoming a major contributor to his homeland of Canada through an outstanding series of highly-acclaimed performances. He joins the ranks of those who have forged the most unique and successful theatre careers in the history of his country and is so grateful to those who play a part in his successes each year. I have no doubt Mr. McKie will continue to evolve while surprising us with his exceptional artistry in each new role - and we look forward to seeing him make exciting and impactful leadership decisions in the dance world of tomorrow..."

McKie was presented with the inaugural Kirov Academy Achievement Award in 2016 for his humanitarian work, his outstanding dance career onstage & for his generosity & skill as a teacher. At the ceremony, in Washington D.C., filled with two-hundred students, McKie stated: "This award is for you: anybody who is being bullied because you don’t fit-in due to your orientations, expressions and what methods you seek to inspire you to keep growing...But please be true to yourself, be smart and enjoy being generous. Never leave anybody behind, not even those who’ve laughed at you, hurt you or tried to hold you back in any way...this award is for them too, for they kept me pushing harder to be taken seriously as an Artist, Dancer & whatever comes next."

McKie is a member of the advisory council for Dance Magazine and for Dance Collection Danse. He has been awarded academic certificates through Oxford University Saïd Business School (Executive Management), École des Hautes études commerciales de Paris (Leadership and Interpersonal Relations) , Columbia Business School (Digital development & brand Strategy) .

Mckie has partnered Diana Vishneva, Aurelie Dupont, Olga Smirnova, Isabelle Ciaravola, Svetlana Lunkina, Alicia Amatriain, Nadia Saidakova, Bridget Breiner, Elisa Carillo Cabrera, Sue Jin Kang, Mika Yoshioka, Sonia Rodriguez, Maria Eichwald, XiaoNanYu, Myriam Simon, Myriam Ould-Braham, Jurgita Dronina , Ekaterina Osmolkina, Hyo-Jung Kang, Heather Ogden, Alys Shea, Alessandra Tognoloni, Katya Wuensche, Rachele Buriassi, Sarah Grether, Elizabeth Mason, Laura O'Malley, Anna Osadcenko, Ozkan Ayik, Guillaume Cote, Jason Reilly, Marijn Rademaker, Friedman Vogel, Matthias Heymann, Josua Hoffalt, Shale Wagman, Daniel Camargo, Constantin Allen, Francesco Frola, & Mezzo-soprano Midori Marsh among other prominent Artists.

Evan McKie started his dance training with Deborah DelVechio, Leanne Caputto & Margo Smith in Ontario, Canada. He continued at Canada's National Ballet School from the age of 8 until 14. At 15, McKie suffered a severe ligament injury and was told by doctors that he may not be able to continue pursuing ballet. McKie managed to recover without surgery & continued to train with The Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington D.C. At 16, Mckie was invited to join Germany's John Cranko Schule by Pyotr Pestov. It was at the Stuttgart Ballet that McKie was given his first professional job as a dancer by Artistic Director Reid Anderson in 2001.

Notable Coaches & Teachers: Glenn Gilmour, Pyotr Pestov, Vladimir Djoulokhadze, Oleg Vinogradov & Yelena Vinogradova, Mavis Staines, Laurel Toto, Gilbert Meyer, Leonide Jdanov, All Sizova, Laurent Hilaire, Clotilde Vayer, Andrey Klemm, Yannick Boquin, Tatiana Terekhova, Sergei Vikharev, Yuri Fadeev, Nadia V. Tencer, Reid Anderson, Tadeusz Matacz, Valentina Savina, Ludmila Snejina (character dance), Tamas Detrich, Gil isoart, Sir Anthony Dowell, Dominique Dumais (improvisation), Karin von Aroldingen, Nanette Glushak, Joysanne Sidimus, Roslyn Anderson, Mea Venema, Agneta & Victor Valcu, Jane Bourne, Rex Harrington, Magdalena Popa, Francesca Zumbo, Coleen Neary, Arlette van Boven, Nora Kimball, Nancy Euverink, Antoine Vereecken, John Meehan, Francesca Carotti, Allison Brown, Rachele Beaujean, Bronwyn Curry, Eric Beauchesne, Kathryn Bennetts, Marina Leonova, Egon Madsen, Felipe Diaz, Lindsay Fischer, Jackie Barrett, Lucia Geppi, Margo Smith (jazz & tap), Deborah Delvechio, Filip Barankiewicz, Krzystof Novogrodsky, Evgeny Neff, Rolando d'Alesio, Andrea Hall, Snoopy (vogueing), Evelyn Hart, Karen Kain, Julia Moon, Vladimir Malakhov, Sarah Abendroth (contemporary dance) , Peggy Baker (mixed modern dance), Stephane Flèchet (Limon method), Olga Evreinov, Maina Gielgud, Wilhelm Burman, David Howard, Kevin haigen, Jean-yves Esquerre, Sylviane Bayard, Peter Ottman (dramaturgy), Aminurta Kang (Mongolian folk dance), Anatoly Kucheruk (pas de deux), Jose de Udaeta (flamenco), Joaquin Farias (Farias Technique applied neuroplastic training), Menaka thakkar (Indian historical dance), Estelle Nicole (Argentine tango), Oleg Kasynets (commercial jazz/funk), Mr. Reijiro Tsumura (noh)...)

After debuting at Stuttgart, McKie was eventually promoted to the ballet's principal dancer. In 2011, McKie was invited to be a guest dancer at the Paris Opera Ballet. The Financial Times stated that his performance of Onegin was "the sensation of the season" McKie was invited to be a guest at the Bolshoi Ballet in 2013 and followed with performances at the Paris Opera Ballet in both January and July 2014, as Onegin & as Eros in Alexei Ratmansky's "Psyche". In Stuttgart, under the direction and mentorship of fellow Canadian Reid Anderson, McKie danced the traditional classical ballet canon, major narrative works & over 30 contemporary collaborations!

In 2014, McKie returned to dance professionally in Canada. One of Karen Kain’s stated goals as Artistic Director was to "attract, nurture & retain the most talented artists...." "Top International dancers such as Svetlana Lunkina, Evan McKie and Jurgita Dronina were engaged...." (National Ballet of Canada Website). Kain’s plans fell into place starting a new era for the company & aligning closely with the National Ballet’s "Soaring Campaign ."

McKie states that he is not a Choreographer in the traditional sense. Nevertheless, he has created two dance works for Stuttgart's Noverre Society and a work for Olga Smirnova of the Bolshoi Ballet & Dutch National Ballet in cooperation with the Youth American Grand Prix at Lincoln Center in New York. McKie notes that as a dancer & also as a producer of new work he has worked extensively with genius dance-makers out there who start with steps & create their own distinguishable languages therein. Mckie approaches his own creations from a performance-Art point of view where he enjoys focussing on concept & cohesiveness in design. His work since 2009 is characterized by fusing two or more dancers together & seeing the language that can come of that. "I wanted to play with necessary creative maneuvers that often emerge from particularly repressive or restrictive systems… Especially the ones we often CHOOSE to adopt; like long-term monogamy & if there are rewards to putting significant work-in to support such union." This thought formed a triptych of duets. In "Vapour Planes" ( 2009) , one of the dancers does not touch the floor. She hovers & comes to life glued to her partner as if harvesting his energy in order to emerge. This can be viewed as two people or one converged entity. "Hope Mountain" is about two people dedicated to simplicity in equality, going into the process of the piece only to realize this goal often means people inhabiting different roles, not the same ones, in order to achieve actual equality of outcome. The third piece "Lullaby" refers to a mother & child & how support requirements slowly switch the more trips around the sun they take. In 2022, wanting to learn how to choreograph & movement direct for Opera, McKie created a duet with up & coming Mezzo Soprano, Midori Marsh who danced while singing Osvaldo Golijov’s Lua Descolorida. As a student he became the youngest pupil in National Ballet School of Canada's history to choreograph for their annual Stephen Godfrey Choreographic Workshop . He was 12 years of age creating the fist piece & 13 years old creating his second work entitled "converser". McKie's work was dense with difficult & precise use of pointework & had large casts. He was offered tremendous encouragement by the School's then Artistic Director Mavis Staines & also by one of the School's most Senior students, Eric Gauthier, who is now the founder & Artistic Director of his own Dance company in Stuttgart entitled Gauthier Dance. McKie remembers how important the timing of that encouragement was in his development.

McKie also researches the use of dance as part of rehabilitation from depression & as tool to create new neural-pathways for communities dealing with the repetitive cycle of drug addiction as it becomes a bigger Global issue.

Performance repertoire:

**= New Creation

-JOHN CRANKO:

Onegin and Lenski in "ONEGIN"

Romeo and Paris in "ROMEO and

JULIET"

"AUS HOLBERG'S ZEIT" Pas de Deux

Prince Siegfried in "SWAN LAKE"

Lucentio, Hortensio, Priest/Waiter and Pas de Six in "THE TAMING OF THE SHREW"

Lead Man. Third and Second Movements in "INITIALS RBME"

Captain Belaye in "PINEAPPLE POLL"

Lover (3) in "POEME DE L'EXTASE"

Second Deal, second variation in "JEUX DE CARTES"

Prince and Moondog in "LADY AND THE

FOOL"

-SIR KENNETH MACMILLAN:

Lead Man in Offortorium in "REQUIEM"

Des Grieux in “MANON"

Der Ewige/Messenger of Death in "THE SONG OF THE EARTH”

-MAURICE BEJART:

Ludwig Il of Bavaria, friend and Grand Pas de Deux in "GAITE PARISIENNE"

"Songs of a Wayfarer”

-JOHN NEUMEIER:

Diaghilev & Petruschka in "NIJINSKY"

Iago in "OTHELLO"

Des Grieux in "THE LADY OF THE CAMELLIAS”

Karenin in “ANNA KARENINA”

Mitch in "A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE"

"FRATRES"

-GLEN TETLEY:

Pas de Trois in "VOLUNTARIES"

"THE RITE OF SPRING”

-RUDOLPH NUREYEV:

Prince Florimund in "THE SLEEPING BEAUTY"

-DAVID DAWSON:

"WHITE SWAN PAS DE DEUX”

-SIR PETER WRIGHT:

Albrecht in "GISELLE"

-OLEG VINOGRADOV:

Siegfried in "SWAN LAKE"

-SIR WAYNE MCGREGOR:

"NAUTILUS"**

"EDEN I EDEN"**

YANTRA**

"CHROMA"

"GENUS"

-KEVIN O'DAY:

Hamlet and Laertes in "HAMLET" **

"DREAMDEEPDOWN"

"IGOR POEMS"

-WILL TUCKETT

The Ringmaster in “PINOCCHIO"

-MARCIA HAYDEE:

Prince Desire, Blue Bird and Prince of the North in "THE SLEEPING BEAUTY"

-WILLIAM FORSYTHE:

"THE VERTIGINEOUS THRILL OF EXACTITUDE"

"LOVE SONGS”

"workwithinwork"

-GEORGE BALANCHINE:

Lead Man in "THEME AND VARIATIONS"

Phlegmetic, Sanguinic, First and Third Themes in "THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS"

"SYMPHONY IN C"

"VIOLIN CONCERTO”

-HANS VAN MANEN:

"FRANK BRIDGE VARIATIONS"

"CORPS"

"KLEINES REQUIEM”

-JIRI KYLIAN:

White in "FORGOTTEN LAND"

"RETURN TO A STRANGE LAND" Pas de Trois.

-CHRISTIAN SPUCK:

Der Vater in "DER SANDMANN" **

Alwa in "LULU"

“DAS SIEBTE BLAU"

“LA PEAU BLANCHE” **

“NOCTURNE”**

-MARCO GOECKE

"BLUSHING" **

"SWEETSWEETSWEET" **

Solo from "OnVelvet" for Youth American Grand Prix.

-DOUGLAS LEE:

"NIGHLIGHT"**

"LACHRYMAL" **

"FANFARE LX" **

"MINIATURES"**

"CAPRICCIO"**

"MASK DUET"**

-MAURO BIGONZETTI:

Vincenzo in "i FRATELLI”

-DAVID BINTLEY:

Baron in "EDWARD II”

-MARC SPRADLING:

"MELODIOUS GIMMICK." **

"THE SHAKING TENT"

-REID ANDERSON / VALENTINA

SAVINA after MARIUS PETIPA:

Albrecht in "GISELLE"

-SABRINA MATTHEWS:

"SOLES" Pas de Deux **

-ROBERT NORTH

Lead Man “LIGHT FANDANGO"

-JORMA ELO:

RED in 3

"SLICE TO SHARP"

-BRIDGET BREINER:

"SIRS" **

-JEROME ROBBINS:

"THE CONCERT"

"DANCES AT A GATHERING”

-NICOLO FONTE:

”GAMBLINGx5"**

-PETER QUANZ:

"PAS D'ACTION" **

-EDWARD CLUG:

"POCKET CONCERTO" **

"NO MAN'S LAND”

-ITZIK GALILI:

"HIKARIZATTO" **

-UWE SCHOLZ:

"SIEBTE SYMPHONIE”

-DEMIS VOLPI:

Tonda in "KRABAT"

FINGERSPITZENGEFÜHL **

-LOUIS STIENS:

"CHRISTOPH"**
"STURM"**

"RAUSCH"**

-JAMES KUDELKA:

Peter/Nutcracker in "THE

NUTCRACKER"

Prince Siegfried in "SWAN LAKE"

-CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON:

Jack/The Knave in "ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND"

King Leontes in "THE WINTER'S TALE"

-ALEXEI RATMANSKY:

Romeo and Tybalt in "ROMEO AND

JULIET”

Eros in “PSYCHE”

-CRYSTAL PITE

Man1 “EMERGENCE”

-ANDONIS FONIADAKIS

“Art Teacher”**

-ALLA SIZOVA after ROSTISLAV ZAKHAROV

Pas de Deux “FOUNTAINS of BAKHCHISARAI”

-JULIANO NUNES

“SOSPIRI”** with Svetlana Lunkina.
“IN TIME WE TRUST”**

“PROKOVIEV DUET”**with Shale Wagman.

-MARIUS PETIPA

Solor “LA BAYADERE” Shades Act.

Wedding Pas de Deux “RAYMONDA”

Prince Siegfried “SWAN LAKE”

Prince “THE SLEEPING BEAUTY”

Lead Man “PAQUITA”

Blue Bird “THE SLEEPING BEAUTY”

Albrecht “GISELLE”

-MIKHAIL FOKINE

Poet “CHOPINIANA”

-JULES PERROT

“ESMERELDA” Pas de Deux

-EVAN McKIE

"LA JEUNE ITALIE"

"LULLABY" WITH OLGA SMIRNOVA.

Awards & Recognition:

Top 5 International Ballet Dancers of the Year - 2020, La Notte Ballet
2019/20 Performance of the Year Top Ten List by Gary Smith for his debut as George Balanchine’s “Apollo”.
The 2016 Kirov Academy Award for outstanding achievement in dance and contribution as a humanitarian.
Apuli Arte Merit Prize, Italy. Outstanding Performance in International Dance - 2012
Best Newcomer Dance Performance of the Year (nominated) - 2001, Dance Europe Magazine
Best International Dance Performance of the Year (nominated) - 2012, Dance Magazine Japan
Best International Dance Performance of the Year (nominated) - 2012, Danse Magazine
Best International Dance Performance of the Year (nominated) - 2013 & 2014, Tanz Magazine Yearbook (Germany)
Best International Dance Performance of the Year (nominated) - 2012 & 2014, Dance Europe Magazine
Best Performer, Dance Magazine (alongside Olga Smirnova) - 2014 & 2015

Please note that as of 2024, Evan McKie's Wikipedia Page is edited by editors unknown to McKie or the fact-checkers of this official site. The Wikipedia Page contains significant errors that started to appear in 2021 by editors who have locked the page & refused to work with fact-checkers on maintaining the integrity & truth of that particular entry and site. If you work with Wikipedia & would like to help restore accuracy on that platform, please do so. You may reach out here: www.instagram.com/evanmckie . Thank You!