Alexander Campbell (dancer)

Alexander Campbell
Born	1986 Sydney, Australia
Occupation	Ballet dancer
Dances	Royal Ballet

Alexander Campbell (born 1986) is a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden, London.^[1]

Early life

Alexander Campbell was born in Sydney, Australia in 1986. He was attracted to ballet at the age of five after seeing the work of his grandmother who was a ballet teacher at the time. (Both his maternal grandmother and grandfather had been professional dancers with Ballet Rambert in London.^[1][2]

Campbell, although training at the Academy Ballet, a small ballet school on the east side of Sydney, at first viewed ballet as a hobby alongside his participation in the sport of cricket. By the age of 14 both ballet and cricket were his passions. Realising that progress to a professional career in either discipline meant he had to concentrate on just one, he later said, ‘I struggled with the decision for a long time but my love for ballet and the opportunity to do something that seemed unusual for a kid from Sydney was enticing.’^[3]

As his training progressed, Campbell was influenced by the performance style of Mikhail Baryshnikov and described him as 'a massive inspiration.'^[4]

Awards

In 2002 Campbell won the McDonalds Ballet Scholarship in the Sydney Eisteddfod enabling him to approach the Royal Ballet Upper School in London.^[5] In 2003, he auditioned for the School and was offered a place. In that same year he was a finalist in the Prix de Lausanne and won the silver medal in the Genee International Ballet Competition.^[1]

Professional career

In 2005 at the age of 18 he started his professional career graduating into the Birmingham Royal Ballet and was promoted to the position of first artist followed by promotion to soloist (2007) and first soloist in 2009.^[1]

During his time with Birmingham Royal Ballet his repertory included both Romeo and Mercutio (Romeo and Juliet), Franz (Coppelia), Prince (The Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and The Nutcracker,) Sam and Will Moffit (Hobson’s Choice).Cyrano (Cyrano) and Petrushka.^[1] He created the roles of Young Man in Michael Corder's La Baiser de la fée and Celeritas² in David Bintley's E=mc².^[1] In 2009 Campbell danced Puck in The Dream.^[6]

He joined the Royal Ballet as a soloist at Covent Garden in 2011 and was promoted to first soloist in 2012 and principal in June 2016.

At The Royal Ballet he has performed many roles including principal ones. He danced Lescaut (Manon), Basilio (Don Quixote), Bratfisch (Mayerling),Lewis Carroll/White Rabbit and Magician/Mad Hatter (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland), Bluebird and Florestan (Sleeping Beauty), Bronze Idol (La Bayadère), Jack (Sweet Violets), Emble (The Age of Anxiety), Texan Kangeroo Rat (‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café), Principal (In the Night) and roles in ‘Emeralds’ (Jewels), Voices of Spring, Concerto, In the Night, Polyphonia, Birthday Offering, Requiem, Raven Girl, Connectome, Woolf Works, Swan Lake, Giselle, Viscera, Within the Golden Hour and Obsidian Tear.^[1] Over several years he has danced the roles of Hans-Peter and the Prince in The Nutcracker at the Royal Opera House.^[7] He has also frequently performed the role of Mercutio (Romeo and Juliet) at Covent Garden.^[8] Campbell danced with distinction in Song of the Earth in 2015.^[9] In the same year he performed his debut in the role of Colas (La fille mal gardee) with Yuhui Choe to critical acclaim.^[10] In the role of The Young Man in Ashton's The Two Pigeons in 2016 Campbell, again dancing with Choe, garnered universal acclaim in 14 independent reviews including The Times, The Financial Times, The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian.^{[11] [12] [13] [14]} Campbell's role creations at Covent Garden include Henry Clerval (Frankenstein).^[1]

In major roles, Campbell has toured with the Royal Ballet in Russia, Japan and The United States of America and has made guest appearances with Birmingham Royal Ballet and Australian Ballet.^[1][4]

In 2007 he appeared as Mercutio for Ballet Hoo! in a collaboration working with under-privileged children which was broadcast by Channel 4.^[1] In 2015 Campbell performed the role of The Devil in Will Tuckett’s A Soldiers Tale in Tokyo.

Personal life

Campbell was awarded British Citizenship in 2013.

He has always maintained his love and knowledge of cricket and was invited in 2010 to speak annually to the England and Wales Cricket Board as part of their Level Four Training for international cricket coaches.^[3] In 2015 he was invited to take part in the BBC programme Test Match Special with an interview entitled, View from the Boundary.^[3]

DVDs

Campbell can be seen dancing in the following Royal Ballet productions:

• Romeo and Juliet Opus Arte (2013)
• Ashton Celebration Opus Arte (2013)
• Swan Lake Opus Arte (2015)

References