Born in Australia, Steven McRae’s rise to stardom can only be described as meteoric.  After winning Genée held in Sydney that year aged 16, the next year he won the Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland, earning a scholarship, and entered the Royal Ballet School in London. These were extraordinary achievements and all the more so because he had in fact started his dancing life as a tap dancer, par excellence.  Upon graduation from the Royal Ballet School, he rose quickly to gain the coveted position of ‘principal’ with the Guardian describing him as the ‘modern-day Fred Astaire’.

 

He has danced every great role in the Royal Ballet’s repertoire but he has reached iconic status for the leading roles he originated in The Winter’s Tale by Christopher Wheeldon as ‘Prince Florizel’, in Mary Shelleys’ Frankenstein by Liam Scarlett as ‘The Creature' and the tap- dancing ‘Mad Hatter’ in Wheeldon’s highly acclaimed and truly original Alice in Wonderland. His versatility also makes him a favourite dancer for Wayne McGregor who has featured McRae in Chroma, Multiverse, and Limen. McRae is also hugely talented as a choreographer and at the inspired invitation of Pamela Tan Nicholson, he created a breath-taking acrobatic duel between the Toreador and the Bull in Triopera’s Carmen. In contrast, he also choreographed the most engaging light-hearted tap on clogs by the geishas in Triopera’s Madame Butterfly. His most popular party piece is a thrilling Czardas, danced alongside Vasko Vassilev on the violin. Together they are engaged in the development of an original 2-man show under the working title ‘String and Dance’