Steven McRae (born 19 December 1985) is an Australian ballet dancer and tap dancer. He is a

principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be male or female. The position is similar to that of '' soloist''; however, ...

with 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 ...

, London.Steven McRae
website of the Royal Opera House.

Early life

Steven McRae was raised in the Sydney suburb of Plumpton the son of a drag racer.Steven McRae: Dancing at full throttle
by Mark Monahan, 26 April 2011, The Telegraph. He started dancing at age seven, after watching his older sister in her dance classes. He studied tap as well as ballet. He was soon being entered for the performing-arts competitions in Australia known as eisteddfods, often gracing 25 sections at a time. By his teens, already an extremely capable tapper, Steven McRae knew that his future lay in dance, and trained throughout high school. In 2002, at age 16, he won the gold medal at the 2002 Genée held in Sydney that year. In 2003, at age 17, he won the

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 a ...

in Switzerland, earning a scholarship, and entered 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, especial ...

in London.

Career

He graduated into The Royal Ballet in 2004 and was promoted to first artist in 2005, soloist in 2006, first soloist in 2008 and principal in 2009. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' has called McRae "a modern-day Fred Astaire". In 2014, he was named "Young Australian Achiever of the Year in the UK" for his work with the Royal Ballet.

First principal role

In 2005, in his first season with the Royal Ballet, McRae jumped on the occasion to dance Symphonic Variations by

Frederick Ashton Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton (17 September 190418 August 1988) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. He also worked as a director and choreographer in opera, film and revue. Determined to be a dancer despite the opposit ...

, which is an iconic piece of the Royal Ballet. Symphonic Variations was Ashton's first work after World War II, and one of the Company's first to be performed on the huge main stage of the Royal Opera House.

On stage

In 2011, McRae originated the role of the Mad Hatter in

Christopher Wheeldon Christopher Peter Wheeldon OBE (born 22 March 1973) is an English international choreographer of contemporary ballet. Life and career Born in Yeovil, Somerset, to an engineer and a physical therapist, Wheeldon began training to be a ballet dan ...

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal ...

. In 2014, he originated the role of Prince Florizel in Christopher Wheeldon's new full-length ballet

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some cri ...

. In 2016, McRae originated the role of "The Creature" in

Liam Scarlett Liam Scarlett (8 April 198616 April 2021) was a British choreographer who was an artist in residence with The Royal Ballet and artistic associate with Queensland Ballet. He also choreographed new works for Ballet Black, Miami City Ballet, N ...

's full-length ballet of

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an early example of science fiction. She also ...

's ''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific exp ...

''. "There is a moment before Steven McRae steps on stage that you easily can mistake for nerves and he has learnt over the years that it's not nerves, it's adrenaline and a slight sense of anxiety. It's almost impossible to dance as a soloist without this performance element."Steven McRae Q&A
interview by Bloch from 2014 (9 min 31 s). He is frequently used in works from Royal Ballet choreographer

Wayne McGregor Wayne McGregor, CBE (born 12 March 1970) is a multi award-winning British choreographer and director. He is the Artistic Director of Studio Wayne McGregor and Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet. McGregor was appointed Commander of ...

such as Chroma, Multiverse, and Limen as he is very quick in picking up on McGregor's modern style as well as the way he can manipulate his body.

Injuries

In January 2008, at 22, McRae partially tore his Achilles tendon and was told that not only would he never dance again but he would have an enduring limp. He found "a most incredible" Swedish surgeon and it took a year, until December 2008, to recover. He started rehabilitation classes with his coach,

Lesley Collier Lesley Faye Collier (born 13 March 1947) is an English ballerina and teacher of dance. In 1972 she became a principal dancer of the Royal Ballet. In 1995 she left the company and began to teach at the Royal Ballet School. She is a rèpetiteur ...

, and psychological rehabilitation, and studied for a BA Hons in business management and leadership.Steven McRae: ‘Sometimes I feel 100 years old’ – the pain and the ecstasy driving star of Swan Lake
22 March 2015, ''The Guardian''. McRae completed his university degree whilst working full time. He works still with Lesley Collier, a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet from 1972 to 1995 and répétiteur since 2000, as his coach at the Royal Ballet. During a live performance in October 2019, McRae again tore his Achiles tendon; he returned to performing in October 2021.

Film work

McRae plays

Skimbleshanks Skimbleshanks is a character in T. S. Eliot's 1939 book of poetry ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' and in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical ''Cats'', which is based on Eliot's book. The character is portrayed as a bright and energetic ora ...

the railway cat in ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

''. He is featured in the BBC show ''Men at the Barre''.

Style

McRae's most marked characteristics are his speed and his red hair.Steven McRae answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition
with biography, 4 April 2014, Gramilano.

Personal life

McRae is married to Elizabeth Harrod, soloist with the Royal Ballet, and they have one daughter, Audrey Bluebell, born in December 2014, and two sons, Frederick Charles, born in November 2016 and Rupert George, born in August 2019.

Repertory

* Alice's Adventures in Wonderland : Magician/Mad Hatter * Sweet Violets : Jack * Hansel and Gretel : Sandman * Frankenstein : Creature *

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

: SiegfriedSteven McRae
website of the ABT. * Giselle : Albrecht * Romeo and Juliet : Romeo * Manon : Des Grieux * The Sleeping Beauty : Prince Florimund * Mayerling : Crown Prince Rudolf * The Nutcracker : Sugar Plum Fairy's Cavalier

Awards

* 2002 :

Genée International Ballet Competition The Genée International Ballet Competition is an annual international classical ballet competition organised by the Royal Academy of Dance "Health and happiness" , predecessor = , successor = , formation = 1920 , extinction = , type = ...

, Gold Medal * 2003 : Prix de Lausanne * 2007 : Emerging Male Artist (Classical) * 2012 : Best Male Dancer Awards at the Critics’ Circle Dance Awards * 2014 : Young Australian Achiever in the UK by the Australia Day Foundation

References

External links

*
Steven McRae
website of The Royal Opera House
Steven McRae performs Czárdás during World Ballet Day 2015
website of The Royal Ballet
Interview: Steven McRae
by Lyndsey Winship, Time Out, 25 February 2011

by Lindsey Winship,

London Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

, 25 February 2016 {{DEFAULTSORT:McRae, Steven Principal dancers of The Royal Ballet Australian male ballet dancers Australian male dancers People educated at the Royal Ballet School People from Sydney Australian expatriates in England Living people 1985 births Tap dancers