Edward Watson (dancer)
Edward Watson MBE (born 21 May 1976) is a British ballet dancer. As of 2004 he is a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London.[1]
Early years
Edward Watson was born in Bromley, Kent and was brought up in Dartford with his twin sister, Liz.[2] He first attended dance classes at the age of 3, and was later accepted as a student at the Royal Ballet School,[3] eventually joining the full-time school at White Lodge, Richmond Park.[2] Whilst at the school, he trained with Anatoly Grigoriev, a former dancer of the Kirov Ballet[4] and was one of six male students who graduated into the Upper School at the age of 16.[4] At the Upper School his teachers included German Zammel and Julie Lincoln.[4] Whilst training at the Upper School, Watson danced a number of roles:
- Checkmate by Ninette de Valois, 1993 (Role: Black Castle)[4]
- Simple Symphony by Matthew Hart, 1993[4]
- Monotones No. 2 by Frederick Ashton, 1994[4]
- Napoli by August Bournonville, 2004 (Role: Pas de Six)[4]
Watson graduated into the Royal Ballet in 1994.[3][3] He became a principal dancer in 2005.[1]
Career
At the National Dance Awards in 2008, he won 'Best Male Dancer'.[5] He also won the Olivier Award in 2012 for Outstanding Achievement in Dance for his performance as Gregor Samsa in Arthur Pita's interpretation of Franz Kafka's Metamorphorsis at the Linbury Studio. In 2015 he won Prix Benois de la Danse for his performance as Leontes in Christopher Wheeldon The Winter's Tale at the Royal Ballet.
Honours
In 2015, he was awarded an MBE.[6]
References
- 1 2 "Edward Watson". Royal Opera House. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
- 1 2 https://web.archive.org/20100123052818/http://www.ballet.co.uk:80/magazines/yr_04/jan04/interview_watson.htm. Archived from the original on 23 January 2010. Retrieved 26 December 2010. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - 1 2 3 "Arts and entertainment". Entertainment.timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-12-26. (subscription required)
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 https://web.archive.org/20081202035057/http://www.ballet.co.uk/magazines/yr_07/jul07/interview_edward_watson.htm. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 26 December 2010. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ "Dancing Times Award for Best Male Dancer". National Dance Awards. Retrieved 2015-12-26.
- ↑ Butler, Lottie (2015-06-13). "Edward Watson awarded MBE for services to dance — News — Royal Opera House". Roh.org.uk. Retrieved 2015-12-26.
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