“Trust in the value of time to both heal and reveal yourself”
Evan McKie is a wonderful dancer who became a Principal Guest Artist with The National Ballet of Canada in 2013. In 2014, he joined the company as a Principal Dancer. McKie grew up dancing at the Stuttgart Ballet, where he became Principal dancer after performing Kevin O’Day’s "Hamlet" which lead to him being cast as John Cranko’s legendary "Onegin". He is a notable guest artist with the Paris Opéra Ballet, The Bolshoi Ballet, Mariinsky Ballet, Universal Ballet, Ballet de Santiago and the Tokyo Ballet. McKie performs in ballet galas and festivals around the world. Numerous in-demand choreographers who have created roles on him include Wayne McGregor, Marco Goecke, Mauro Bigonzetti, Christian Spuck, Kevin O'Day, Demis Volpi, Louis Stiens, Bridget Breiner and Douglas Lee. Evan has also worked with legendary dance-makers John Neumeier, William Forsythe, Crystal Pite, Christopher Wheeldon, Hans Van Manen, Jiří Kylián, Alexei Ratmansky, David Dawson, James Kudelka, and the late Glen Tetley. He has commissioned works by Juliano Nunes, Douglas Lee, Andonis Foniadakis and more for performances at home in Canada and abroad.
-Your career is so interesting! You became a Principal Dancer of The National Ballet of Canada at 30, and were a star dancer at The Stuttgart Ballet before that! You’ve been a frequent guest artist with the Paris Opéra Ballet as well as guesting with The Bolshoi Ballet, Mariinsky Ballet, Tokyo Ballet and more. You have worked extensively with Wayne McGregor, Marco Goecke, John Neumeier and also worked with William Forsythe, Crystal Pite, Christopher Wheeldon, Christian Spuck, Alexei Ratmansky, Hans Van Manen, Jiří Kylián and Glen Tetley. How were you able to keep transforming yourself in order to achieve these milestones in your career?
“Thank you both! I’m first and foremost a dance FAN but honestly though?... I think the reason why my life as an actual dancer has been so crazy and a-typical in the dance-company-system is because I learned to experience and understand a lot of rejection early on in life and as a dancer! I have “completely classical” friends and “completely contemporary” friends and they are so great at what they do at each extreme! I looked at my dancing in the mirror and thought, “how am I going to marry those two extremes in order to fulfill my soul? How am I going to get good at it? The journey never ends! Out of necessity, I had to take paths that were not common or pre-scripted. On those paths I found one of life’s greatest treasures: some incredible people who encouraged me to just “self-actualize” and use all of the rejection from early in life and turn it into something positive. My name means "young warrior” so I just kind of go with that vibe and fight for what I believe in! I am always itching for what’s next and seeking new paths.”
-What fascinates you about the ballet world?
“I came to dance through watching theatre and favourite film actor/directors as a kid. I’ve approached my career with the idea that I’m a weird kind of actor who gets to use my whole body and frequencies to articulate and communicate. With practice, time and experience the body learns how to articulate new ideas and emotions each year and, together with the right creative teams, great depth can be both outwardly expressed and internally felt. I am truly humbled by the powers of Dance everyday.“
-How were you able to overcome difficult situations/emotions throughout your career?
“Surrounding myself with people and art and books and music and teachers that I admire and rely on. Standing up for myself and others if necessary and cutting out anyone who doesn’t have my back the way I have theirs. Maybe that sounds harsh but I think we as dancers all develop a personal understanding of what we need to keep growing and learning and time spent dancing becomes more valuable each year of our lives.“
-How can you handle the stress every time, performing in the most prestigious theatres?
“Unusual courage and annoying enthusiasm I guess. I like big challenges and again, I really rely on teamwork. I had to go through an icky divorce just to learn how to properly-listen to people. Since then it has amazed me when I think back on how bad my active-listening skills were before that breakthrough! I was just always in the zone…pushing, pushing, pushing to be better instead of allowing myself to receive sometimes.“
-Is there something you would like to challenge in the ballet world?
“It’s already changing because it has to in order to survive and establish meaningful connections with people alive NOW. I think people who want to dance ballet should look at the history of art and ballet so that they understand why things are the way they are. That way some things can be preserved and live on and some things can be actively-changed. I have always loved studying the business of dance in different countries and experiencing it first-hand so I can feel the differences personally. There are qualities I’d love to bring back from other generations and then there are things that I have actively changed in terms of who’s work I have commissioned, what causes I fight for and who I think is willing to take chances to do bold, unapologetic and collaborative work. I value seeing all kinds of diversity in a dance company. Not just one or two independent thinkers but a thriving variety of individuals who have chosen to work together. That means colour, background, age, body-type, philosophy, vulnerable spots, strong spots, identity, awareness, dreams, ideals, guilty-pleasures and experiences. I get tired of harmful gossip in our world…so the value of honestly getting to know someone for myself really suits my ethical ideals. I have had mentors who passed that clear way of working down to me and I strive to have the kind of centred confidence that they have shown which includes getting to know a person for myself.“
-What does art bring to society? Why do we need dance?
“We start dancing before we are even born. Dance connects us all and allows for an entirely different channel of communicating and thinking. I believe Dance is bigger than all societies combined but it is certainly poignant when societies actively use Dance and Art to their full potential benefit.“
-You are also involved in research initiatives in the field of neuroplasticity and gender studies. Can you talk a bit about your research?
“Gender identity is more of a personal thing that I study through the act of dancing because, as a kid, I needed to in order to understand myself, my needs and the behaviour of many others. I think we are all always emerging at different paces and that is a beautiful thing to pay attention to, respect and feel free to discuss. The Neuroplasticity research came out of trying to understand my own physicality in relation to art, music, athletic skill-development and injury-recovery. The choreographer Wayne McGregor was one of the first people to spark the interest in me when he was creating things with us in the studio and after that I started reading books about the subject and seeking out experts to learn from. I started to appreciate the art and science of choreography for more than just the initial appeal of dancing it or watching it….I started to consider the neuro-genesis of new brain pathways that can be connected by choreography-creation. On my free-time I volunteered with a centre for patients who were living with mental-health and addiction issues and created a recreational class for us all (including their caretakers) to choreograph our way out of certain brain-loops and patterns. It was cool to remind people of their power to create new patterns and pathways for themselves and I was fascinated by the many different kinds of movement each body expressed.“
-Which dancers did/do you idolize?
“I love to watch all of the cool tricks and I encourage them but I came to the world of dance by being excited by actors and dancers that shocked me with the uniqueness of their movement quality. That was what seduced me to want to work hard and take it seriously. I loved Aurelie Dupont and Manuel Legris, especially in their later years as ballet dancers when they seemed so developed as physical communicators. The same goes for Marcia Haydee and Natalia Makarova and Baryschnikov, Lynne Seymour, Evelyn Hart, Sylvie Guillem, Jacques D'Amboise and Pina Bausch. They seem to always be searching for more and that excites me. When I watch John Neumeier, Wayne McGregor, Alexei Ratmansky, William Forsythe, Crystal Pite move in the studio I am afraid to blink because I might miss something! They are so fascinating to me. And that is just the form of dance that I am in. I also have been enraptured by the performances and recordings of Dita Von Teese, Saburo Teshigawara or the unmistakeable sound of Billie Holiday, the clarity of Whitney Houston, the urgency of Lady Gaga! And there is a whole other list of dancers who I currently dance with or would like to who make my job so exciting as well.“
-Can you give some advice to young dancers?
“Identify your fears and then create a way to discard the ones that aren’t helping you. Trust in the value of time to both heal and reveal yourself; Everyone has their own pace. Consume but also create!”