Julian MacKay (born 28 October 1997) is an American ballet dancer. He is the first American to have completed both the lower and upper schools at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. In 2016, he joined the Mikhailovsky Ballet as a second soloist, where he later reached the rank of first soloist. Between 2020 and 2022, he was a principal dancer at the

San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...

. In 2022, he joined the

Bavarian State Ballet The Bavarian State Ballet () is a professional ballet company in Munich, Germany. It was founded in 1988 by Konstanze Vernon as an independent company. The ballet had previously been part of the ''Bayerische Staatsoper''. In a broader sense, Bav ...

Early life and training

Mackay was born in

Livingston, Montana Livingston is a city and the county seat of Park County, Montana, United States. It is in southwestern Montana, on the Yellowstone River, north of Yellowstone National Park. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,040. Hist ...

, and raised in

Bozeman, Montana Bozeman ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. The 2020 United States census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it Montana's fourth-largest city. It is the principal city of the Bozeman, Montan ...

. Both of his elder sisters Maria Sascha Khan and Nadia Khan danced professionally, and his younger brother Nicholas MacKay would also attend ballet schools in Russia. MacKay started ballet at age four. He initially trained in his home state, and attended summer programs elsewhere, including at the

Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especially ...

and

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant. Through 2019, it had an annual eight-week season at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) in the spr ...

. In 2009, after winning a bronze medal at the

Youth America Grand Prix Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) is a non-profit international youth ballet and contemporary dance competition and scholarship program established in 1999. Overview Each year, over 10,000 dancers participate in the competitions and auditions YAGP ...

, he attended a summer program Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. Then, the 11-year-old MacKay was invited to attend the academy full time, with his mother also moving to Moscow. MacKay became fluent in Russian within a year. Between 2014 and 2015, MacKay won several awards at international competition, including the 2015

Prix de Lausanne The Prix de Lausanne () is an international dance competition held annually in Lausanne, Switzerland. The competition is for young dancers seeking to pursue a professional career in classical ballet, and many former prize winners of the competition ...

. MacKay graduated in 2015. He is the first American to have completed both the lower and upper schools, for which he received the full Russian diploma. MacKay attended a Russian Institute of Theater Arts four-year program to be qualified as a

ballet master A ballet master (also balletmaster, ballet mistress, ''premier maître de ballet'' or ''premier maître de ballet en chef'') is an employee of a ballet company who is responsible for the level of competence of the dancers in their company. In mo ...

, choreographer and company director.

Career

Whilst a student, MacKay made his professional debut with the Russian State Ballet, dancing as Siegfried in ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoje ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, links=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failu ...

'' during the company's tour in Germany and Switzerland. After his win at the Prix de Lausanne in 2015, MacKay was awarded an apprenticeship scholarship to a partner company of his choosing. He completed the yearlong apprenticeship at

the Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

. In 2016, MacKay joined the St. Petersburg-based Mikhailovsky Ballet as a second soloist. The opportunity came when he met company ballet master in chief Mikhail Messerer while auditioning for another company. At 18, he is the youngest person to hold a soloist position at the company. Months after joining the company, he was given his first full-length lead role, James in ''

La Sylphide ''La Sylphide'' (; ) is a romantic ballet in two acts. There were two versions of the ballet; the original choreographed by Filippo Taglioni in 1832, and a second version choreographed by August Bournonville in 1836. Bournonville's is the only ve ...

''. He was promoted to first soloist after dancing a lead role in ''

Flames of Paris ''Flames of Paris'' or ''The Flames of Paris'' () is a full-length ballet in four acts, choreographed by Vasily Vainonen with the stage director Sergei Radlov to music by Boris Asafyev based on songs of the French Revolution. The libretto by N ...

''. MacKay also danced principal and solo roles in ''

Giselle ''Giselle'' ( , ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (; ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet () in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, it was first perfor ...

'', ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'', '' The Sleeping Beauty'', ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' (, ), Opus number, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a '; ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. Th ...

'', ''

Le Corsaire ''Le Corsaire'' is a ballet typically presented in three acts, with a libretto originally created by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges loosely based on the poem '' The Corsair'' by Lord Byron. Originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier to ...

'', ''

La Bayadère ''La Bayadère'' ("the temple dancer") ( ru. «Баядерка», ''Bayaderka'') is an 1877 ballet, originally staged in four acts and seven tableaux by the French choreographer Marius Petipa to music by Ludwig Minkus and libretto by . The ba ...

'' and ''

Laurencia ''Laurencia'' is a genus of red algae that grow in temperate and tropical shore areas, in Littoral zone, littoral to Littoral zone#Sublittoral zone, sublittoral habitats, at depths up to . Description ''Laurencia'' species have a thallus that ...

'', among others. He made his choreographic debut with ''The Little Humpbacked Horse'', which starred all three of his siblings. In 2020, MacKay returned to the United States and joined the

as a principal dancer. He made his company debut at the virtual gala in January 2021, held due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In April 2022, MacKay's term in San Francisco ended, and he stated his contract was not renewed by incoming artistic director

Tamara Rojo Tamara Rojo Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 17 May 1974) is a Spanish ballet dancer. She was the English National Ballet's artistic director and a lead principal dancer with the company between 2012 and 2022. She was previously a principa ...

. In July 2022, MacKay joined the

as a principal dancer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacKay, Julian Living people People from Livingston, Montana People from Bozeman, Montana American male ballet dancers San Francisco Ballet principal dancers Moscow State Academy of Choreography alumni Prix de Lausanne winners American expatriates in Russia American expatriates in England 21st-century American ballet dancers Dancers from Montana 1997 births