Eric Underwood | |
|---|---|
 Underwood with fellow dancer Melissa Hamilton in 2014 | |
| Born | 1983or1984(age 39–40) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Citizenship | American British |
| Education | School of American Ballet |
| Occupations |
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| Career | |
| Former groups | Dance Theater of Harlem American Ballet Theatre The Royal Ballet |
Eric Underwood is an American British ballet dancer, model and actor. He was a soloist with The Royal Ballet until he left the company in August 2017. He was one of the few black dancers in the company.
Underwood was born in Washington, D.C., and was raised at a poor suburb in Maryland. He has two paternal half siblings. There were gangs violence and gun crimes in the neighborhood, but Underwood stated "we were loved and appreciated at home." He also stated police officers would visit his school once a week to build "positive association" with police. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Underwood danced at home as a child, but did not start formal trainings until he turned 14. His mother wanted to send him to study acting at Suitland High School Center for Visual and Performing Arts, as it was "more promising" than mainstream schools, but Underwood got stage fright at his audition. As he was leaving, he saw a ballet class and asked the teacher to let him try. He ended up training at the school as a ballet student and was one of the few boys in the class. A year later, he received a scholarship to train at School of American Ballet in New York City, where he was the only African-American student in his class. He graduated in 2000. [2] [3] [4]
Underwood joined the Dance Theater of Harlem after he graduated, and became a soloist by the end of his first season. He joined the American Ballet Theatre in 2003, where he and Misty Copeland were the only black dancers.[ citation needed ] In 2006, he joined The Royal Ballet in London as a First Artist, having previously been spotted while he was on tour in London. During his first season, he originated roles in Wayne McGregor's Chroma and Christopher Wheeldon's DGV: Danse à grande vitesse. He was promoted to soloist in 2008, and continued to work with Wheeldon and McGregor, and created roles in productions such as Aeternum, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland , Infra and Woolf Works . [3] [4] He had also participated in the Royal Ballet's community outreach program. [5] Throughout his time in the Royal Ballet, he was one of the few black dancers in the company. [6] In 2017, Underwood left the company. [7]
In 2015, Underwood posted a video of him applying make up to ballet shoes, as there were only pink and beige options. He then worked with Bloch, a ballet shoes manufacturer to produce ballet shoes that match dancers of color's skin-tones. [8]
In 2019, Underwood played Admetus in Cats , the film adaptation of the musical of the same name. He appeared in many dance sequences but had no spoken lines. [9] He was set to play Albert/Kevin in the 2020 revival of the play Clybourne Park in Park Theatre, London, though its entire run was delayed due to the 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic. [10] [11] Underwood is also a model. [1]
Underwood's repertoire with American Ballet Theatre and The Royal Ballet includes: [4]
| Created roles
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Underwood is a naturalised British citizen. [3]
Joby Talbot is a British composer. He has written for a wide variety of purposes, with a broad range of styles, including instrumental and vocal concert music, film and television scores, pop arrangements and works for dance. He is known, to sometimes disparate audiences, for quite different works.
The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in 1931 by Dame Ninette de Valois. It became the resident ballet company of the Royal Opera House in 1946, and has purpose-built facilities within these premises. It was granted a royal charter in 1956, becoming recognised as Britain's flagship ballet company.
Christopher Peter Wheeldon is an English international choreographer of contemporary ballet.
Natasha Katz is an American lighting designer for the theatre, dance, and opera.
The Prix de Lausanne is an international dance competition held annually in Lausanne, Switzerland. The competition is for young dancers seeking to pursue a professional career in classical ballet, and many former prize winners of the competition are now leading stars with major ballet companies around the world. The competition is managed by a non-profit foundation organised by the Fondation en faveur de l'Art chorégraphique and is maintained by various sponsors, patrons and donors.
Wendy Whelan is an American ballet dancer. She was principal dancer with the New York City Ballet and performed with the company for 30 years, and toured in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Whelan has also been an influential guest artist with Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company. In 2019, Whelan was named Associate Artistic Director of New York City Ballet.
Robbie Fairchild is an American dancer and actor. He is best known for originating the role Jerry Mulligan in the musical An American in Paris, and as Munkustrap in the 2019 film Cats. He was a principal dancer at the New York City Ballet.
Edward Watson MBE is a British ballet dancer. He is a retired principal dancer and currently a coach with the Royal Ballet in London.
Beatriz Eugenia Stix-Brunell is an American ballet dancer. Her career started with Morphoses when she was 14. She joined the Royal Ballet in 2010, was promoted to first soloist in 2016, and retired in 2021.
Chroma is a one-act contemporary ballet created by Wayne McGregor for the Royal Ballet. The work received its premiere at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, on 17 November 2006. The ballet is performed to a combination of original music by Joby Talbot and arrangements of music by Jack White of the White Stripes, with orchestrations by Christopher Austin. The ballet was a great success, winning a number of awards, including the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production, and led to The Royal Ballet appointing McGregor as resident choreographer.
The National Dance Awards 2009, were organised by The Critics' Circle, and presented to recognise excellence in professional dance in the United Kingdom. The ceremony was held in the Paul Hamlyn Hall of the Royal Opera House, London, on 21 January 2010, with awards given for productions staged in the previous year. The awards were sponsored by Yvonne Sherrington in memory of her husband Richard Sherrington, the founder sponsor of the Awards; HIT Entertainment; The Dancing Times; Dance Europe; Dance UK; Artsworld Presentations; The Council for Dance Education and Training and the website ballet.co.uk
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a ballet in three acts by Christopher Wheeldon with a scenario by Nicholas Wright, based on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. It was commissioned by The Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, and the National Ballet of Canada, and had its world premiere on Monday, 28 February 2011. The music by Joby Talbot is the first full-length score for the Royal Ballet in 20 years. It is also the first full-length narrative ballet commissioned by The Royal Ballet since 1995.
Polyphonia is a one-act ballet choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon to music by György Ligeti, costumes designed by Holly Hynes, and was created for the New York City Ballet. It premiered on January 4, 2001 at the New York State Theater. It is regarded as Wheeldon's breakthrough, and won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production in 2003.
Steven McRae is an Australian ballet dancer and tap dancer. He is a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet, London.
Melissa Hamilton is a Northern Irish ballet dancer and a First Soloist with the Royal Ballet, London.
Itziar Mendizabal is a Spanish ballet dancer who has performed as a First Soloist with The Royal Ballet since 2010.
Matthew Ball is an English ballet dancer and is currently a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet.
Woolf Works is a full-length contemporary ballet choreographed by Wayne McGregor, composed by Max Richter, and inspired by Virginia Woolf's novels, letters, essays and diaries. The premiere took place on 11 May 2015 at the Royal Opera House. It was McGregor's first full-length ballet for The Royal Ballet, and won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production.
Reece Clarke is a Scottish ballet dancer. He joined the Royal Ballet in 2013, and was promoted to principal dancer in 2022.
William Bracewell is a Welsh ballet dancer. He joined the Birmingham Royal Ballet in 2010, and was named soloist in 2014. In 2017, he joined the Royal Ballet in London, and was promoted to principal dancer in 2022. He is the first Welsh person to hold the position.