Artist-In-Residence:
CALVIN ROYAL III By Sarah Silverblatt-Buser
He is the first Black man to reach the highest rank of American Ballet Theatre in over two decades, and only the third Black principal in the company’s history.
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alvin Royal III “has an inner light,” remarked Kevin McKenzie, Artistic Director of American Ballet Theatre. Royal’s recent promotion to principal dancer at the world-renowned company is historic: He is the first Black man to reach the highest rank of the company in over two decades, and only the third Black principal in the company’s history. Royal’s promotion, however, comes as no surprise for Vail audiences, who have witnessed his artistic rise in the Rockies since 2015.
The Vail Dance Festival regular was slated to be last year’s Artist-In-Residence and will fulfill his duties of teaching, performing new roles, and taking part in the Empowering Boys in Dance initiative during this year’s in-person Festival. Each summer, Artistic Director Damian Woetzel highlights an artist who has garnered attention from spectators and peers alike to offer them added opportunities of enrichment. “Year after year, Calvin has become ever more himself onstage,”
Calvin Royal III’s Residency is underwritten by James & Shirley Cassing and LaDonna & Gary Wicklund.
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Calvin Royal III & Lauren Lovette in Jerome Robbins’ Afternoon of a Faun. Photo by Erin Baiano.
