Evan McKie


Evan McKie is a Canadian ballet dancer, writer, artist, creative movement director and supporter of various charitable initiaves. McKie's performances are "within the realm of best in the World" according to London's Dance Europe Magazine. He is currently a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada and performs as a guest dancer with many historically prominent ballet companies including the Paris Opera Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, Mariinsky Ballet and Tokyo Ballet. McKie is the first dancer from Canada to guest-star with the much celebrated trio of the Mariinsky Ballet, the Bolshoi Ballet and the Paris Opera Ballet and says he owes much of this success to fellow Canadian, Reid Anderson who often facilitated initial contact in Paris and Moscow. In a statement to The Toronto Star, the National Ballet of Canada's Artistic Director, 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." McKie continues to have very close ties with the Stuttgart Ballet, where he trained and rose through the company's ranks. He credits his time there as the rare chance to find harmony between a fascination for classical ballet technique and an innermost passion for Ausdruckstanz that would provide the impetus for what would become a global dance career. 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.

Career

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 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 to enhance his own practical experience initiative in the field of creative leadership. McKie graduated with honours from Oxford University's three-month Executive Leadership intensive-course and was also invited to participate in an "emerging leaders" retreat through Dance East, an organization in Ipswich, UK.
McKie is a benefactor, volunteer and advisory board member for DanceCollectionDanse Canadian Dance History Archive and a "friend" of CanadianStage, Animal Welfare Institute and anti-bullying organizations in Canada and the United States.

Awards