Wayne Eagling (1950- ). Canadian dancer, choreographer and director

Wayne Eagling was born in Montreal in 1950 but lived much of his early life in California. In 1965 he came to The Royal Ballet School and joined The Royal Ballet in 1969. He became a principal in 1975. Eagling was admired as a dancer in the main classic roles, and also in modern works. He was particularly associated with the work of Kenneth MacMillan, for whom he created many roles, including Elite Syncopations (1974), Gloria (1980) and as Woyzeck in Different Drummer (1984). He was also a notable Apollo in George Balanchine’s Apollo.

In 1984, Eagling created his first work, Frankenstein, the Modern Prometheus, for The Royal Ballet. This was the first of many he later went on to choreograph. On retiring from dancing in 1991, Eagling became artistic director of the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam, a position he held until 2003. Among his many works for the company was a popular version of The Nutcracker in 1996. From 2005 to 2012, Eagling was director of English National Ballet, where his choreographic achievements included Men Y Men in 2009 and another Nutcracker in 2010. He also commissioned Michael Corder to create the full-length The Snow Queen. Since leaving English National Ballet Wayne Eagling has worked around the world as choreographer, teacher and producer.