Rachael McLaren is a Canadian dancer who performed with the

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is a modern dance company based in New York City. It was founded in 1958 by choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey. It is made up of 32 dancers, led by artistic director Robert Battle and associate ...

Early life

McLaren was raised in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

, and was the youngest of four children. She started ballet at age five, at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School's recreational program, where she was one of the only black students, and was rejected by the professional program, as she was "not a fit".

Career

At age 17, she was cast as an ensemble member and an understudy of Ali in the Toronto production of '' Mamma Mia!'', despite having little vocal training. Two years later, in 2006, she joined Ailey II in New York City, and entered the main company, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, in 2008. She dances both contemporary ballet and modern dance in the company. In 2016, on the occasion of '' Chromas 10th anniversary, she and four of her colleagues performed the piece with dancers from

The Royal Ballet 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 ...

at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

, London. As of June 2019, she is no longer on the Ailey company's roster.

Personal life

In November 2020, McLaren did a video interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. She discussed moving back to Winnipeg to marry her high-school sweetheart, with whom she had been in a long-distance relationship. As of the time of that interview, McLaren and her husband had one daughter and were expecting another child. As of December 2022, McLaren has two young daughters, and works as a Guest Choreographer with Shelley Shearer School of Dance in Winnipeg. McLaren also teaches dance, fitness, mindfulness meditation, and does acting and stunt performing in television and film productions.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McLaren, Rachael Canadian ballerinas Living people 1980s births Black Canadian women Canadian expatriates in the United States People from Winnipeg 21st-century Canadian dancers 21st-century ballet dancers Canadian female dancers Modern dancers Black Canadian dancers