Julian MacKay explained

Birth Date:28 October 1997
Birth Place:Livingston, Montana, U.S.
Occupation:ballet dancer
Years Active:2015–present
Current Group:Bavarian State Ballet

Julian MacKay (born 28 October 1997)[1] [2] 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. In 2022, he joined the Bavarian State Ballet.

Early life and training

Mackay was born in Livingston, Montana,[3] and raised in Bozeman, Montana.[4] 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.[5] MacKay started ballet at age four.[6] He initially trained in his home state, and attended summer programs elsewhere, including at the Royal Ballet School and American Ballet Theatre.[7]

In 2009, after winning a bronze medal at the Youth America Grand Prix, 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.[5] [6] [7] MacKay became fluent in Russian within a year.[8] Between 2014 and 2015, MacKay won several awards at international competition, including the 2015 Prix de Lausanne.[4] 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, choreographer and company director.[6]

Career

Whilst a student, MacKay made his professional debut with the Russian State Ballet, dancing as Siegfried in Swan Lake during the company's tour in Germany and Switzerland.[9] After his win at the Prix de Lausanne in 2015, MacKay was awarded an apprenticeship scholarship to a partner company of his choosing.[9] He completed the yearlong apprenticeship at the Royal Ballet.[8]

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.[4] 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.[10] He was promoted to first soloist after dancing a lead role in Flames of Paris.[4] MacKay also danced principal and solo roles in Giselle, Cinderella, The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Le Corsaire, La Bayadère and Laurencia, among others.[10] [11] He made his choreographic debut with The Little Humpbacked Horse, which starred all three of his siblings.[12] [10]

In 2020, MacKay returned to the United States and joined the San Francisco Ballet as a principal dancer.[11] [13] He made his company debut at the virtual gala in January 2021, held due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[14] In April 2022, MacKay's term in San Francisco ended, and he stated his contract was not renewed by incoming artistic director Tamara Rojo.[15]

In July 2022, MacKay joined the Bavarian State Ballet as a principal dancer.[16]

Notes and References

  1. News: Julian Mackay: "That's just a part of me". The Talks. Robertson. Emma . August 10, 2023. August 13, 2023.
  2. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy8COkIoOuv/?hl=he&img_index=1 Instagram post
  3. Web site: MacKay Julian – Bayerische Staatoper. Bavarian State Opera. July 15, 2022. July 19, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220719192057/https://www.staatsoper.de/en/biographies/mackay-julian. live.
  4. News: Meet the US-Born Dancer Rising the Ranks in Russia. Dance Magazine. Cappelle. Laura. September 11, 2017. July 15, 2022. June 27, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220627224429/https://www.dancemagazine.com/julian-mackay-mikhailovsky-ballet/. live.
  5. News: Young Americans Embrace Rigors of the Bolshoi. New York Times. Levy. Clifford J.. June 1, 2010. July 15, 2022. July 15, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220715204406/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/01/arts/dance/01bolshoi.html. live.
  6. News: Ballet treasures from the Treasure State. Washington Post. Groer. Annie. August 26, 2016 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160827054415/https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/ballet-treasures-from-the-treasure-state/2016/08/26/77920d62-693f-11e6-ba32-5a4bf5aad4fa_story.html . August 27, 2016.
  7. News: You are here: Home / *dance / You choose it out of Love! Dancing with the Khan-MacKay family You choose it out of Love! Dancing with the Khan-MacKay family. Gramilano. December 31, 2013. July 15, 2022. March 31, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220331221106/https://www.gramilano.com/2013/12/you-choose-it-out-of-love-dancing-with-the-khan-mackay-family/. live.
  8. News: This Teen Is The First American Dancer to Graduate from Russia's Bolshoi Ballet Academy. Teen Vogue. Brara. Noor. May 31, 2016. July 15, 2022. July 15, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220715204408/https://www.teenvogue.com/story/bolshoi-ballet-academy-graduate-julian-mackay. live.
  9. News: Julian Mackay on entering and winning the Prix de Lausanne 2015. Gramilano. February 17, 2015. July 15, 2022. July 15, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220715205912/https://www.gramilano.com/2015/02/julian-mackay-on-entering-and-winning-the-prix-de-lausanne-2015/. live.
  10. News: Julian MacKay – the teenage American ballet dancer making waves in Russia. Gramilano. January 6, 2017. July 15, 2022. July 15, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220715204428/https://www.gramilano.com/2017/01/julian-mackay-the-teenage-american-ballet-dancer-making-waves-in-russia/. live.
  11. News: Julian MacKay to Join San Francisco Ballet as a Principal. Pointe. Laubacher. Kyra. June 23, 2020. July 15, 2022. July 25, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210725101508/https://pointemagazine.com/julian-mackay-san-francisco-ballet/. live.
  12. News: Julian MacKay: From Montana to the Mikhailovsky—and Beyond. Pointe. Bauer. Claudia. June 28, 2017. July 15, 2022. June 27, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220627224427/https://pointemagazine.com/julian-mackay-ballet/. live.
  13. Web site: Julian MacKay – San Francisco Ballet. San Francisco Ballet. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20220306075932/https://www.sfballet.org/artist/julian-mackay/. March 6, 2022.
  14. News: San Francisco Ballet Takes a Big Leap. San Francisco Classical Voice. Berman. Joanna. January 18, 2021. July 15, 2022. July 15, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220715204409/https://www.sfcv.org/articles/review/san-francisco-ballet-takes-big-leap. live.
  15. News: Roster Round-Up: Career Moves You May Have Missed in April. Pointe. Laubacher. Kyra. April 27, 2022. July 15, 2022. May 10, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220510161119/https://pointemagazine.com/april-dancer-promotions-and-retirements/. live.
  16. Web site: Press Release 14 July, 2022: Looking Back and Looking Ahead. Bavarian State Opera. July 14, 2022. July 15, 2022. July 15, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220715204408/https://www.staatsoper.de/en/press/press-release-summer-break-looking-back-and-looking-ahead. live.

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