Gary Avis

Gary Avis MBE is an English ballet dancer who is currently a Principal Character Artist and Senior Ballet Master with The Royal Ballet, London.[1]

Gary Avis

MBE
(Left to right) Carlos Acosta, Darcey Bussell and Gary Avis at the curtain call of Bussell's farewell performance
Born1969 or 1970 (age 53–54)
Ipswich, England
EducationBird College
The Royal Ballet School
Occupationballet dancer
PartnerTim Holder
Career
Current groupThe Royal Ballet
Former groupsK-ballet
English National Ballet

Early life

Avis was born in Ipswich.[2] He was first trained in musical theatre, and had performed in the Royal Variety Performance.[3] He did not start ballet until he was 12. He then studied musical theatre at Bird College in Kent. Avis later started training at The Royal Ballet School in London after a teacher from Bird College filled in the application form for him.[4]

Career

Avis joined The Royal Ballet in 1989, and became a soloist in 1995. In 1999, he co-founded K-ballet in Japan.[5] In 2002, he joined the English National Ballet as a First Soloist before returning to the Royal Ballet in 2004. He was made Principal Character Artist the following year.[6] In 2007, he was appointed Assistant Ballet Master, and was named Ballet Master in the 2009/10 season.[2] In 2019, Avis was made Senior Ballet Master.[7] He had portrayed character roles such as Drosselmeyer in The Nutcracker, Von Rothbart in Swan Lake and Prince Gremin in Onegin. His role creations include Woolf Works, for which he danced with Alessandra Ferri.[8]

Avis is a frequent partner of Darcey Bussell. In her final performance, which was broadcast live, Avis danced with Bussell and Carlos Acosta in Song of the Earth.[6] Avis later danced in Bussell and Katherine Jenkins's tour, Viva la Diva[9] and on Strictly Come Dancing, where Bussell was a judge.[4] In 2012, Avis performed at the London Olympics closing ceremony,[10] in a sequence titled 'Spirit of the Flame', choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon and composed by David Arnold. Bussell flew to the stage on a flaming phoenix and when landing was met by Avis, Jonathan Cope, Edward Watson, Nehemiah Kish and over 200 ballet dancers, after which the Olympic Flame was extinguished.[11]

Avis won the National Dance Awards for Outstanding Male Performance (Classical) in 2011 and 2019.[12][13] He was made an MBE in 2018.[1] He also has an honorary doctorate from the University of Suffolk, and had worked with the Art and Culture Fund at Suffolk Community Foundation.[14][15]

Personal life

Avis is in a civil partnership with Tim Holder.[4] They live in rural Suffolk.[8]

References
  1. "Gary Avis — People — Royal Opera House". www.roh.org.uk. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  2. "Gary Avis". Royal Opera House. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020.
  3. "GARY AVIS MBE "In Conversation"". The London Ballet Circle. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  4. Lambert, Victoria (30 August 2019). "I know how hard being a boy who loves ballet can be". The Telegraph. London.
  5. "Gary Avis 2007". The Ballet Association. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  6. "Suffolk dancer stars in Darcey farewell". East Anglian Daily Times. 7 June 2007.
  7. Black, Becky (12 July 2019). "The Royal Ballet announces promotions, leavers and joiners for the 2019/20 season". Royal Opera House.
  8. Webber, Christine (11 May 2015). "Gary Avis: 'No one's ever lonely in a dance class'". The Telegraph. London.
  9. "Glamour gig for Gary". East Anglian Daily Times. 29 April 2008.
  10. "Gary Avis Official Website - Spirit of the Flame - Olympic Closing Ceremony 2012". www.garyavis.com. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  11. "Spirit of the flame". London 2012.
  12. "2011 UK National Dance Awards – Winners Announced". Dance Tabs. 23 January 2012.
  13. "The National Dance Awards 2019/20". Dancing Times. 20 February 2020.
  14. Gibbon, Amy (12 October 2018). "Suffolk ballet star Gary Avis receives MBE at Buckingham Palace". East Anglian Daily Times.
  15. Mortimer, Lynne (4 April 2019). "Ballet Star Gary Avis in conversation with Christine Webber". Ipswich Star. Archived from the original on 28 June 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
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