Edward Watson MBE (born 21 May 1976) is a British

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 ye ...

. He is a principal dancer and coach with 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 ...

in London.

Early years

Edward Watson was born in

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, c ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and was brought up in

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

with his twin sister, Liz. He first attended dance classes at the age of 3, and was later accepted as a student at the Royal Ballet School, eventually joining the full-time school at

White Lodge, Richmond Park White Lodge is a Grade I listed Georgian house situated in Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Formerly a royal residence, it now houses the Royal Ballet Lower School, instructing students aged 11–16. Early histor ...

. Whilst at the school, he trained with Anatoly Grigoriev, a former dancer of the Kirov Ballet and was one of six male students who graduated into the Upper School at the age of 16. At the Upper School his teachers included German Zammel and Julie Lincoln. Whilst training at the Upper School, Watson danced a number of roles: *''Checkmate'' by

Ninette de Valois Dame Ninette de Valois (born Edris Stannus; 6 June 1898 – 8 March 2001) was an Irish-born British dancer, teacher, choreographer, and director of classical ballet. Most notably, she danced professionally with Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Ru ...

, 1993 (Role: Black Castle) *''Simple Symphony'' by Matthew Hart, 1993 *''Monotones No. 2'' by

Frederick Ashton Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton (17 September 190418 August 1988) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. He also worked as a director and choreographer in opera, film and revue. Determined to be a dancer despite the opposit ...

, 1994 *''Napoli'' by

August Bournonville August Bournonville (21 August 1805 – 30 November 1879) was a Danish ballet master and choreographer. He was the son of Antoine Bournonville, a dancer and choreographer trained under the French choreographer, Jean Georges Noverre, and the nep ...

, 2004 (Role: Pas de Six)

Career

Watson graduated into The Royal Ballet in 1994 and was promoted to Principal in 2005. His repertory with the Company includes major roles in works by

and

Kenneth MacMillan Sir Kenneth MacMillan (11 December 192929 October 1992) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer who was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977, and its principal choreographer from 1977 until his death. E ...

. His many role creations for

Wayne McGregor Wayne McGregor, CBE (born 12 March 1970) is a multi award-winning British choreographer and director. He is the Artistic Director of Studio Wayne McGregor and Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet. McGregor was appointed Commander of t ...

include in ''Symbiont(s)'', ''Qualia'', '' Chroma'', ''Infra'', ''Limen'', ''Carbon Life'', ''Raven Girl'', ''Tetractys'', ''

Woolf Works ''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. ...

'', ''Obsidian Tear'' and ''Multiverse'', and for

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 da ...

Lewis Carroll/The White Rabbit in '' Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland)'', Leontes in ''

The Winter’s Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some cr ...

'' and John Singer Sargent in ''Strapless''. Watson has worked with numerous other choreographers, including Siobhan Davies, David Dawson,

Javier de Frutos Javier De Frutos is a Spanish director, choreographer and designer (born in Caracas, Venezuela in 1963) was named by the Evening Standard as one of 2016 most influential people in London. He is one of only three artists in the history of the Olivi ...

Alastair Marriott Alistair Marriott is an English ballet choreographer and principal character artist of The Royal Ballet. Biography Marriott was born in St Margaret's at Cliffe, Kent, England. He began studying dance at the Deal Dance Centre, before entering prof ...

Cathy Marston Cathy Marston (born 1975) is a British choreographer and artistic director. She was the director of Bern Ballett from 2007–2013. After her tenure, she has choreographed for companies worldwide, including The Royal Ballet, San Francisco Ballet ...

, Ashley Page and Arthur Pita. In August 2020, it was announced that Watson will retire following a performance of McGregor's ''The Dante Project''. He will remain with the company as a coach. His official title is répétiteur to the principal dancers.

Awards

At the

National Dance Awards The National Dance Awards are presented annually in the United Kingdom by The Critics' Circle, and are awarded to recognise excellence in professional dance. They are widely regarded as the most prestigious award presented for dance in the UK, ...

in 2008, Watson won 'Best Male Dancer'. He also won the

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

in 2012 for Outstanding Achievement in Dance for his performance as Gregor Samsa in Arthur Pita's interpretation of

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typ ...

's ''Metamorphorsis'' at the Linbury Studio. In 2015 he won

Prix Benois de la Danse The Benois de la Danse is a ballet competition held annually in Moscow. Founded by the International Dance Association in 1991, it takes place each year on or around April 29 and it's judged by a jury. The members of this jury change every year and ...

for his performance as Leontes in

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some cri ...

'' at the Royal Ballet.

Honours

In the

2015 Birthday Honours The 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as ...

, Watson was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) for services to dance.United Kingdom:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Edward 1976 births British male ballet dancers People educated at the Royal Ballet School Morphoses dancers National Dance Award winners Laurence Olivier Award winners Living people People from Bromley Principal dancers of The Royal Ballet Members of the Order of the British Empire Prix Benois de la Danse winners People from Dartford