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Evan McKie leaves Stuttgart for his hometown and joins The National Ballet of Canada

ByGramilano 26 April 20147 July 2024 Reading Time: 1 minute

Canadian Evan McKie returns to his roots after thirteen years with the Stuttgart Ballet and joins The National Ballet of Canada as Principal Dancer. McKie trained at Canada’s National Ballet School, then the Kirov Academy of Ballet and finally the John Cranko School. He joined the Stuttgart Ballet in 2001 and he has been a Principal Dancer there for the past five years.

McKie has been Principal Guest Artist with The National Ballet for the past two seasons.

Karen Kain, Canadian Ballet’s Artistic Director, said,

One of the finest dancers of his generation, Evan McKie is acclaimed internationally for his artistry and dramatic sensibility. His recent guest appearances have thrilled Toronto audiences and I am so pleased to welcome him to the company as a Principal Dancer.

Evan is a perfect fit with our dancers and repertoire and it is wonderful that a Canadian artist celebrated around the world is coming home.

Gramilano

Graham Spicer, aka 'Gramilano', is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Italian ballerina Carla Fracci.

Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.

He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.