Chase Finlay (born 1990) is an American

ballet dancer A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on yea ...

and a former

principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be male or female. The position is similar to that of '' soloist''; however, p ...

with the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...

who has also danced as a with the

Mariinsky Theatre The Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, Мариинский театр, Mariinskiy teatr, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music th ...

in Russia.

Early life

Born in

Fairfield, Connecticut Fairfield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport and towns of Trumbull, Easton, Weston, and Westport along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. Located within the New York metropolitan area ...

, Finlay began his dance training at the age of 8, at Ballet Academy East in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. During the summer of 2007, he began studying at the

School of American Ballet The School of American Ballet (SAB) is the most renowned ballet school in the United States. School of American Ballet is the associate school of the New York City Ballet, a ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New ...

, the official school of

(NYCB). He subsequently enrolled there as a full-time student.

Career

Finlay became an

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

with NYCB in September 2008. He became a member of 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. ...

in September 2009. While still a member of the corps de ballet, he danced the

title role The title character in a Narrative, narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The ...

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 ''

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

''. He was promoted to soloist in July 2011, and to principal in February 2013.

Alexandra Waterbury lawsuit

Chase Finlay and Alexandra Waterbury, leaping

In September 2018, Finlay was sued by his 20-year-old ex-girlfriend,

Alexandra Waterbury Alexandra Waterbury is an American ballet dancer and fashion model. In September 2018 she began a lawsuit against her former boyfriend and his employer—principal dancer Chase Finlay and New York City Ballet—and several other parties, alleging ...

, for allegedly sharing nude photos of her and other female dancers with male company members without their consent. Finlay resigned from the

in August 2018 during the company's investigation.

Roles

Featured roles since joining the New York City Ballet: ;

* Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet (First Movement) * Divertimento No. 15 *

Duo Concertant Duo Concertant is a 1932 composition for violin and piano by Igor Stravinsky. The impetus for this piece came from neo-classical literature and this is reflected in the names of the movements: Stravinsky dedicated Duo Concertant to Samuel Dush ...

* Liebeslieder Walzer *

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

(Divertissement, Lysander) * Mozartiana * George Balanchine's The Nutcracker™ (Cavalier, Hot Chocolate) * Robert Schumann's "Davidsbündlertänze" * Stars and Stripes * Symphony in C (First Movement) *

Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux ''Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux'' is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to a composition by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky originally intended for act 3 of ''Swan Lake'' (Op. 20, 1875–76). With costumes by Barbara Karinska and lighting by Jack Owe ...

;

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 ...

* Red Angels ;

Sean Lavery Sean Lavery (1931–1999) was a Roman Catholic priest for the Missionary Society of St. Columban ("''The Columbans''") and a church music director. Lavery was born in Lurgan, County Armagh. Shortly after his ordination in 1954, Father Lavery mo ...

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

;

Peter Martins Peter Martins (born 27 October 1946) is a Danish ballet dancer and choreographer. Martins was a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet and with the New York City Ballet, where he joined George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and John Taras as ...

* Fearful Symmetries * Morgen * River of Light * The Sleeping Beauty (Gold) * Swan Lake (Pas de Quatre) * Todo Buenos Aires ;

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 ...

* 2 & 3 Part Inventions *

Glass Pieces ''Glass Pieces'' is a ballet choreographed by Jerome Robbins to music by Philip Glass, costumes designed by Ben Benson, lighting designed by Ronald Bates and production designed by Robbins and Bates. The ballet was premiered on May 12, 1983, at ...

* Interplay * N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz *

West Side Story Suite ''West Side Story Suite'' is a ballet suite choreographed by Jerome Robbins. Robbins conceived, directed and choreographed the 1957 musical ''West Side Story'', then co-directed its 1961 film adaptation, before including parts of the choreogra ...

;

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 ...

Polyphonia ''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. I ...

* Soirée Musicale ;Originated featured roles in: *

: Bal de Couture, Mirage *

Angelin Preljocaj Angelin Preljocaj (; born 19 January 1957) is a French dancer and choreographer of contemporary dance. Early life Angelin Preljocaj was born in 1957 in Sucy-en-Brie, France. He is of Albanian descent. Career His choreographic work is steeped ...

: Spectral Evidence ;Originated corps roles in: * Alexey Miroshnichenko: The Lady with The Little Dog *

Alexei Ratmansky Alexei Osipovich Ratmansky (russian: Алексей Осипович Ратманский, born August 27, 1968) is a Russian-American choreographer and former ballet dancer. From 2004 to 2008 he was the director of the Bolshoi Ballet. He left R ...

Namouna, A Grand Divertissement Alexei Osipovich Ratmansky (russian: Алексей Осипович Ратманский, born August 27, 1968) is a Russian-American choreographer and former ballet dancer. From 2004 to 2008 he was the director of the Bolshoi Ballet. He left Rus ...

Lynne Taylor-Corbett Lynne Taylor-Corbett is a choreographer, director, lyricist, and composer. She was born in Denver, Colorado. Life Lynne Taylor-Corbett grew up in the Denver, Colorado area, gaining her first exposure to dance through her mother, a pianist for ball ...

The Seven Deadly Sins The seven deadly sins is a classification of vices used in Christian teachings. Seven deadly sins may also refer to: Art * ''The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things'', a 1485 painting by Hieronymus Bosch * ''The Seven Deadly Sins of Modern ...

: Estancia

Honors

In 2010, Finlay became the first recipient of the

Clive Barnes Award Clive Alexander Barnes (13 May 1927 – 19 November 2008) was an English writer and critic. From 1965 to 1977, he was the dance and theater critic for ''The New York Times'', and, from 1978 until his death, ''The New York Post.'' Barnes had sign ...

About The Clive Barnes Award
The Clive Barnes Foundation. 2011–2014. December 25, 2014. for

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finlay, Chase Living people 1990 births American male ballet dancers New York City Ballet principal dancers School of American Ballet alumni People from Fairfield, Connecticut