Julian MacKay

Born in Livingston, Montana (USA), he began attending the Bolshoi Ballet Academy (Russia) at the age of eleven and became the first American to graduate with a full Russian diploma. During his studies, he medaled in five consecutive international competitions (Prix de Lausanne, Istanbul International Ballet Competition, Youth America Grand Prix, Young Ballet of the World Competition, Beijing International Ballet Competition). At seventeen, he made his debut as Siegfried (Swan Lake) with the Russian State Ballet in Berlin and later joined the Royal Ballet in London. Following an invitation from Mikhail Messerer, he joined the Mikhailovsky Theatre, St Petersburg, as a Second Soloist and was soon promoted to Soloist after his performance in The Flames of Paris. Since then he has danced numerous principal roles worldwide. In 2020–2022, he was a Principal with the San Francisco Ballet. He holds a degree as a ballet master and choreographer from the Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (Moscow). Since the 2022/23 season he has been a Principal Dancer at the Bavarian State Ballet.