Canadians in Europe

The list of international applicants was impressive and it is to Wayne Eagling’s credit that he has now secured this important post: becoming the new leader of English National Ballet, Britain’s largest touring company. His tenure at the Dutch National Ballet has given him the experience of running a major national company and may have proved the deciding factor in his appointment. His association with Britain is a long one, although he is Canadian by birth and spent his youth in California.

Michael Somes and Gerd Larsen discovered him when the Royal Ballet was touring the USA in 1965 and they invited him to complete his training at the RBS in London. Wayne Eagling joined the Royal Ballet in 1969 and worked with the great choreographers Frederick Ashton and Kenneth MacMillan who created roles for him. He attained Principal status in 1975 and danced all the major classical roles before his retirement from the stage in 1991, when he succeeded Rudi van Dantzig as Artistic Director of the Dutch National Ballet. His first major choreography, “Frankenstein,“ the Modern Prometheus, was made for the Royal Ballet in 1985 and subsequently mounted for Amsterdam and Milan. His most recent ...