Steven McRae

Principal of The Royal Ballet
Steven McRae as The Prince in The Nutcracker
Steven McRae as The Prince in The Nutcracker
Steven McRae as The Prince in The Nutcracker

Biography

Australian dancer Steven McRae is a Principal of The Royal Ballet. He joined The Royal Ballet School on a Prix de Lausanne scholarship in 2003. 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. 

McRae was born in Sydney and trained with Hilary Kaplan and at The Royal Ballet School. He won the 2002 Adeline Genée Gold Medal and the 2003 Prix de Lausanne. His roles with The Royal Ballet include all the classical repertory and leading roles in works by choreographers including Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, David Bintley, William Forsythe, Kenneth MacMillan, Alastair Marriott, Wayne McGregor, Liam Scarlett and Christopher Wheeldon. His role creations include Magician/Mad Hatter (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland), Jack (Sweet Violets), Sandman (Hansel and Gretel), Florizel (The Winter’s Tale), Emble (The Age of Anxiety), Creature (Frankenstein) and roles in Three Songs – Two Voices, Children of Adam, Chroma, Acis and Galatea (Royal Opera), 24 Preludes, The Human Seasons, Tetractys, Connectome, Woolf Works, Multiverse, The Illustrated Farewell, Yugen and concerto pour deux

McRae has performed as a guest artist with companies including American Ballet Theatre, National Ballet of Canada, Australian Ballet, Tokyo Ballet and at numerous international galas. His awards include the 2006 Emerging Male Artist (Classical) and the 2011 Best Male Dancer awards at the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards. In 2014 he was named Young Australian Achiever in the UK by the Australia Day Foundation. 

Find Out More

Watch Steven in performances on Royal Opera House Stream. You can also watch his exclusive interview as part of the Spotlight on... series.

  • Ballet and dance

Spotlight on... Steven McRae

20 minutes

Steven McRae discusses his career as a Principal dancer in this new series, exclusively on Royal Opera House Stream.

Steven McRae during an interview backstage in a dressing room.

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