Calvin Royal III is no stranger to the ballet festival scene. For years now, the American Ballet Theatre principal has been a regular at summer staples like Vail Dance Festival (where he was an artist in residence in 2021), Spoleto Festival, and Kaatsbaan Cultural Park Summer Festival. Now he’s putting all that experience to good […]
In one sense, American Ballet Theatre soloist Calvin Royal III‘s company debut as the lead in George Balanchine’s Apollo in October felt momentous: a black dancer, in a historically lily-white company, portraying a god. In another, it felt inevitable: Royal is regal as soon as he stands onstage, to the manner born. As Apollo, authority […]
Imagine having your first show with Misty Copeland inches away from you onstage. Copeland and her prince, American Ballet Theatre corps member Calvin Royal III, swooped into Houston, Texas, in November to dance in Open World Dance Foundation’s new, full-length production of Cinderella. Choreographed by OWDF directors Ekaterina Shchelkanova and Anton Boytsov, the community project […]
Calvin Royal III is the sort of exuberant dancer who always draws the eye. You’ll never catch the 23-year-old corps member performing at less than full volume—every inch of his impossibly long body projects confidence. He’s a natural showman. A showman who got a very late start (in dance, at least). Royal, who studied piano […]
The Clive Barnes Awards—given by the Clive Barnes Foundation in honor of the late New York Times, New York Post and Dance Magazine critic—have a history of recognizing talented dancers on the cusp of a career milestone. In 2010, New York City Ballet’s Chase Finlay took home the prize; a year later, he was promoted […]
Aleisha Walker stands at the center of the dance studio in a gray leotard and shorts, her curly brown hair pulled back in a low bun. She listens deeply to the music—eyes closed, fingers tapping out the counts, nodding—before opening into an exquisite fan kick on relevé. After landing, she pauses again, switches the position […]
This month, American Ballet Theatre will make the North American premiere of Wayne McGregor’s Woolf Works. The critically acclaimed ballet, created for The Royal Ballet in 2015, is based on three works by 20th-century modernist author Virginia Woolf: Mrs. Dalloway, Orlando, and The Waves. The triptych’s three acts are titled “I now, I then,” “Becomings,” […]
You might remember Anthony Madu from a video that went viral in June 2020. Shared to millions on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) by celebrities like Viola Davis and Cynthia Erivo, the video captured an 11-year-old Madu dancing barefoot and in the rain on a backstreet of Nigeria—and even then, the elements couldn’t dampen his […]