Aaron S. Watkin (born ) is a Canadian ballet company director and former dancer. He became the artistic director of the

English National Ballet English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin as London Festival Ballet and based in London, England. Along with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish ...

in 2023. He began his dance career in 1988 at the

National Ballet of Canada The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto, Ontario, with Celia Franca as the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 ...

, and went on to perform at the

, the

Dutch National Ballet The Dutch National Ballet (Dutch: Het Nationale Ballet) is the official and largest ballet company in the Netherlands. History The Dutch National Ballet was formed in 1961 when the Amsterdam Ballet and the Nederlands Ballet merged. The company h ...

, the and the

Spanish National Dance Company The Spanish National Dance Company ( es, Compañía Nacional de Danza, CND) was founded in 1979 under the name ''Ballet Nacional de España Clásico''. Its first director was dancer Victor Ullate, followed by Maria de Avila, Ray Barra, Maya Plis ...

. Between 2006 and 2023, he served as the artistic director of

Dresden Semperoper Ballett The Semperoper () is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the ...

Early life and training

Watkin was born and raised in

Duncan, British Columbia Duncan (pop. 5,047 in 2021) is a city on southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It is the smallest city by area (2.07 square kilometres, 0.8 square miles) in Canada. It was incorporated in 1912. Location The city is about 45 kilo ...

. He began training at

Canada's National Ballet School Canada's National Ballet School, also commonly known as the National Ballet School of Canada, is a classical ballet school located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Along with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is Canada's ...

in 1983 and graduated in 1988. He received the first

Erik Bruhn Erik Belton Evers Bruhn (3 October 1928 – 1 April 1986) was a Danish danseur, choreographer, artistic director, actor, and author. Early life Erik Bruhn was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, the fourth child and first son of Ellen (née Evers), o ...

Memorial Award in 1988.

Career

Watkin began dancing with the

in 1988, after graduating. He left Canada for Europe at age 20, and danced at

, where he remained for two seasons,

, William Forsythe's and

Nacho Duato Juan Ignacio Duato Bárcia, also known as Nacho Duato (born 8 January 1957) is a Spanish modern ballet dancer and choreographer. Since 2014, Duato is artistic director of the Berlin State Ballet. Career Nacho Duato studied at the Rambert S ...

. In 2002, he became the associate artistic director at Victor Ullate Ballet. After he retired from performing, he worked as Forsythe's choreographic assistant and staged his works across the world, including at the

Kirov Ballet The Mariinsky Ballet (russian: Балет Мариинского театра) is the resident classical ballet company of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russ ...

and

Paris Opera Ballet The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded ...

. In 2006, Watkin became the artistic director of

, after staging a Forsythe program there the previous year. At the time, Watkin was relatively unknown, and was offered the position when then-Semperoper general director

Gerd Uecker Gerd Uecker (born 15 September 1946) is a German music education, music pedagogue, music and opera director. From 2003 to 2010 he was artistic director of the Semperoper in Dresden. Life Born in Munich, Uecker studied piano, music education an ...

asked Forsythe's advice on a candidate who could shift the ballet company's direction from a classical company to one with a more diverse repertoire, and Forsythe recommended Watkin. In order to pursue his vision, he let go of 25 dancers, half of the company, and recruited new ones across Europe. He also appointed David Dawson as resident choreographer and acquired works by contemporary ballet choreographers such as Forsythe,

Jiří Kylián Jiří Kylián (born 21 March 1947) is a Czech former dancer and contemporary dance choreographer. Life Jiří Kylián was born in 1947 in Prague, Czechoslovakia, to his father Václav who was a banker and to his mother Markéta, who was as a ...

Mats Ek Mats Ek (born 18 April 1945) is a Swedish dance and ballet choreographer, dancer and stage director. He was the manager of the Cullberg Ballet from 1985 to 1993. Life and career Ek was born in Malmö in 1945, the son of the Royal Dramatic Theatre ...

Alexander Ekman Karl Wilhelm Alexander Ekman (born 1984) is a Swedish ballet dancer and choreographer. His choreographies have been performed by Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, the Boston Ballet, the Semperoper Ballett, the Nederlands Dans Theater, the Norwegian ...

and

Stijn Celis Stijn Celis is a Belgian choreographer and set designer. He danced in companies such as the Royal Ballet of Flanders, the Zürich Ballet, Contemporary Dance Zurich, Le Ballet du Grand Théâtre in Geneva and the Cullberg Ballet. In a survey of ...

, as well as older works by

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...

Martha Graham Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Her style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over seventy years. She wa ...

Pina Bausch Philippine "Pina" Bausch (27 July 1940 – 30 June 2009) was a German dancer and choreographer who was a significant contributor to a neo-expressionist dance tradition now known as . Bausch's approach was noted for a stylized blend of dance mov ...

and

John Neumeier John Neumeier (born February 24, 1939) is an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and director. He has been the director and chief choreographer of Hamburg Ballet since 1973. Five years later he founded the Hamburg Ballet School, which also inc ...

. Watkin also staged his own productions of

classical ballet Classical ballet is any of the traditional, formal styles of ballet that exclusively employ classical ballet technique. It is known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique (such as pointe work, turnout of the legs, and high extensions), its ...

s for the company, including ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

'', '' The Sleeping Beauty'', ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...

'' and ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...

''. In August 2022, Watkin was announced as the incoming artistic director of the

the following year, three decades after he first danced there, succeeding

Tamara Rojo Tamara Rojo CBE (born 17 May 1974) is a Spanish ballet dancer. She is the English National Ballet's artistic director (2012–2022) and a lead principal dancer with the company. She was previously a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet. She ...

. In March 2023, whilst still artistic director designate, he announced the programming his first season at the company. He officially took role in August 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watkin, Aaron S. Living people People from Duncan, British Columbia Canadian male ballet dancers Canadian artistic directors National Ballet of Canada dancers Dutch National Ballet dancers English National Ballet dancers 20th-century ballet dancers 20th-century Canadian dancers Canadian expatriates in England Canadian expatriates in Germany Canadian expatriates in the Netherlands Canadian expatriates in Spain Year of birth missing (living people)