Chalnessa Eames (born 1978) is a ballet dancer who performed with the

Royal Winnipeg Ballet The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is Canada's oldest ballet company and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America. History It was founded in 1939 as the "Winnipeg Ballet Club" by Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally (who also fou ...

and the

Pacific Northwest Ballet Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) is a ballet company based in Seattle, Washington, in the United States. It is said to have the highest per capita attendance in the United States, with 11,000 subscribers in 2004. The company consists of 49 dan ...

Early life and education

Eames was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. She is one of five children born to Rebecca (Becky) and David Eames. From the age of three, she grew up in

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the most populous city in, and county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies south of the U.S.–Canada border in between two major cities of the Pacific Northwest: Vancouver, British Columbia (locat ...

, where she studied ballet at the Nancy Whyte School of Ballet and the Morca Academy of Performing Arts. She then moved to Eugene (Oregon) to work with Kathleen Smith Epstein, who taught using the Vaganova syllabus. She worked with her for two years, from ages 12–14, when she started high school. She auditioned for Harid Conservatory and received a two-year scholarship. She attended summer programs at the

School and the School of

, and completed her final year of training at Winnipeg.

Career

In 1996, at the age of 18, she joined

, as an apprentice and was promoted to the ''

corps de ballet In ballet, the ''corps de ballet'' (; French for "body of the ballet") is the group of dancers who are not principal dancers or soloists. They are a permanent part of the ballet company and often work as a backdrop for the principal dancers. ...

'' the following year. She joined the

as a member of the ''corps de ballet'' in 2001, where she was promoted to soloist in 2007. Eames left the Pacific Northwest Ballet in June 2011. She currently performs with Olivier Wevers' Whim W'Him dance company.

Leading roles

Eames has danced leading roles which include: *

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 ...

's ''Agon'', ''Coppélia'', ''Emeralds'', ''The Four Temperaments'', ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (Butterfly), ''Rubies'', ''Serenade'', and ''Symphony in C'' *

Todd Bolender Todd Bolender (February 27, 1914 – October 12, 2006) was a renowned ballet dancer, teacher, choreographer, and director. He was an instrumental figure in the creation and dissemination of classical dance and ballet as an American art form. A ...

's ''Souvenirs'' *

Ulysses Dove Ulysses Dove (January 17, 1947 in Columbia, South Carolina – June 11, 1996 in Manhattan) was a choreographer. Dove began his dance training at Boggs Academy in Georgia. Dove gave up his premedical studies at Howard University to transfer to ...

's ''Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven'', ''Serious Pleasures'', and ''Vespers'' *

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 ...

's ''Jardí Tancat'' and ''Rassemblement'' * William Forsythe's ''Artifact II'' and ''One Flat Thing, reproduced'' *

Ronald Hynd Ronald Hynd (born 22 April 1931) is an English choreographer, and in his youth was a ballet dancer. In the Royal Ballet in the late 1940s he began to dance with Annette Page, whom he later married. Page died on 4 December 2017. They have a daughte ...

's ''The Sleeping Beauty'' (Bluebird pas de deux, Gold and Silver pas de trois) *

Jiri Kylian Jiri ( ne, जिरी) is a municipality in Dolakha District in the Bagmati Province of central Nepal. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census it had a population of 13,638 people.. Jiri, which lies about 190 kilometers from Kathmandu, is the m ...

's '' Petite Mort'' *

José Limón José Arcadio Limón (January 12, 1908 – December 2, 1972) was a dancer and choreographer from Mexico and who developed what is now known as 'Limón technique'. In the 1940s, he founded the José Limón Dance Company (now the Limón Dan ...

's ''The Moor's Pavane'' *

Jean-Christophe Maillot Jean-Christophe Maillot (born 1960) is a French dancer and choreographer born in Tours. Early life and education He studied at the dance conservatory in Tours before enrolling at the École supérieure de danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower, ...

's ''Roméo et Juliette'' (Nurse) *

Jerome Robbins Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television. Among his nu ...

' ''Dances at a Gathering'' and ''Fancy Free'' *

Kent Stowell Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) is a ballet company based in Seattle, Washington, in the United States. It is said to have the highest per capita attendance in the United States, with 11,000 subscribers in 2004. The company consists of 49 dan ...

's ''Cinderella'' (Stepsister), ''Delicate Balance'', ''Nutcracker'' (Clara, Flora), ''Quaternary'', and ''Silver Lining'' *

Twyla Tharp Twyla Tharp (; born July 1, 1941) is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1966 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance. Her work often uses classical music, jazz, and contemporary pop music. Fr ...

's ''Afternoon Ball'', ''In the Upper Room'', and ''

Nine Sinatra Songs ''Nine Sinatra Songs'' is a ballet choreographed by Twyla Tharp to songs sung by Frank Sinatra. The ballet is danced by seven couples, portraying different stages of romantic relationships, with ballroom dancing incorporated into the choreography. ...

'' *

Christopher Wheeldon Christopher Peter Wheeldon OBE (born 22 March 1973) is an English international choreographer of contemporary ballet. Life and career Born in Yeovil, Somerset, to an engineer and a physical therapist, Wheeldon began training to be a ballet dan ...

's ''Variations Sérieuses'' She also originated the leading roles in: *

Benjamin Millepied Benjamin Millepied (; born 10 June 1977) is a French dancer and choreographer, who has lived and worked in the United States since joining the New York City Ballet in 1995, where he became a soloist in 1998 and a principal in 2002. He has also ...

's ''3 Movements'' * Susan Stroman's ''TAKE FIVE ... More or Less'' *

's ''Opus 111'' *

Olivier Wevers Whim W'Him, Seattle Contemporary Dance is a Seattle-based contemporary dance company founded by Olivier Wevers in January 2009. Programs Whim W'Him offers 3 productions each season. The company has performed original works by Danielle Agami, Ju ...

' ''Shindig''

Other work

Eames danced in

Guy Maddin Guy Maddin (born February 28, 1956) is a Canadian screenwriter, director, author, cinematographer, and film editor of both features and short films, as well as an installation artist, from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Since completing his first film in ...

's 2002 film Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary.

Personal life

Eames is married to Ash Modha, the CEO and co-founder of the

Mondetta Clothing Company Mondetta Clothing Inc. is a Canadian leisure and sportswear design and manufacturing company, best known for its world flag-themed apparel. Based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Mondetta has four main divisions: Mondetta, Mondetta Originals, MPG, and Moder ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eames, Chalnessa 1978 births Living people American ballerinas Royal Winnipeg Ballet dancers Pacific Northwest Ballet soloists