Calvin Royal III

{{Infobox dancer

| name = Calvin Royal III

| image = Calvin Royal III.jpg

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| birth_date = {{birth based on age as of date|35|2024|08|12}}{{cite web | last=Harss | first=Marina | title=Calvin Royal III Creates a Ballet Festival With Intention and Care | website=The New York Times | date=August 12, 2024 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/12/arts/dance/calvin-royal-unity-ballet-festival.html | access-date=September 18, 2024}}

| birth_place =

| nationality = American

| citizenship =

| education = Pinellas County Center for the Arts
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School

| occupation = ballet dancer

| years_active = 2007-present

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| spouse = Jacek Mysinski

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| website = {{URL|https://www.calvinroyaliii.com/}}

| current_group = American Ballet Theatre

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}}

Calvin Royal III (born {{birth based on age as of date|31|2020|09|10|noage=1}}) is an American ballet dancer. He is the third black dancer to be a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre.

Early life and training

Royal is from Tampa, Florida. He first studied in piano, and had appeared in a local dance show titled The Chocolate Nutcracker. At age 14, he was recommended to audition for Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School's dance program and was accepted despite his lack of dance training.{{cite web|url=https://www.dancemagazine.com/calvin-royal-iii-2646169880.html|title=The Singular Elegance of American Ballet Theatre's Calvin Royal III|work=Dance Magazine|last=Harss|first=Marina|date=June 11, 2020|accessdate=September 15, 2020}} When he was 17, he competed at the Youth America Grand Prix "just hoping to get feedback", and received a scholarship to the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School in New York City.{{cite news|url=https://www.pointemagazine.com/issuesaprilmay-2012jko-abt-calvin-royal-iii-2412811039.html|title=From JKO to ABT: Calvin Royal III|magazine=Pointe Magazine|last=Fuhrer|first=Margaret|date=March 15, 2012}}

Career

Royal joined ABT II, American Ballet Theatre's second company in 2007,{{cite web|url=https://www.abt.org/people/calvin-royal/|title=Calvin Royal III|website=American Ballet Theatre|accessdate=September 10, 2020}} became an apprentice with the main company in 2010, a corps de ballet member in 2011, and soloist in 2017.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/07/arts/dance/american-ballet-theater-promotes-4-dancers.html|title=American Ballet Theater Promotes 4 Dancers|newspaper=New York Times|last=Barone|first=Joshua|date=July 7, 2020}} In 2014, Royal received a $50,000 fellowship which he used to tour Europe and to train at the Royal Ballet in London and the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia.{{cite magazine| magazine=Mother Jones | last=Starr | first=Alexandra | issue=May–June 2022 | title="We Have to Break Ballet Out of the 18th Century" | url=https://www.motherjones.com/media/2022/05/calvin-royal-iii-american-ballet-theatre-classical-ballet-homoerotic-black-dancer-swan-lake-romeo-juliet/}}

In 2019, Royal and Misty Copeland became the first black duo in ABT to dance the lead roles in a ballet, by performing Ratmansky's restaging of Harlequinade. Later that year, on his debut as the title role in Balanchine's Apollo, the New York Times wrote that he "is suddenly the most elegant male dancer in the company".{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/24/arts/dance/ABT-apollo-james-whiteside-gemma-bond.html|title=At American Ballet Theater, New Romantics Can't Beat a Greek God|newspaper=New York Times|last=Kourlas|first=Gia|date=October 24, 2019}} In 2020, though his debuts as the lead roles in Giselle and MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet were delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic,{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/it-wasnt-the-met-but-for-these-two-dancers-finally-back-onstage-it-was-two-minutes-of-amazing/2020/08/11/d973060c-d764-11ea-930e-d88518c57dcc_story.html|title=It wasn't the Met, but for these two dancers finally back onstage, it was two minutes of amazing|newspaper=The Washington Post|last=Kaufman|first=Sarah L.|date=August 12, 2020}} he was promoted to principal dancer, making him the third black person to reach this rank, after Desmond Richardson and Copeland.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/10/arts/dance/american-ballet-theater-promotions-pandemic.html|title=American Ballet Theater Promotes Dancers Despite Pandemic Slump|newspaper=New York Times|last=Jacobs|first=Julia|date=September 10, 2020}}

In 2017, Royal performed a pas de deux Balanchine's Agon alongside New York City Ballet soloist Unity Phelan, with Arthur Mitchell, who originated Royal's role and the first African American dancer with NYCB, in the audience. Mitchell commented the ballet was "in good hands",{{cite news|url=https://www.pointemagazine.com/arthur-mitchell-agon-discrimination-ballet-2492509312.html|title=Arthur Mitchell on "Agon": "My Skin Color Against Hers, It Became Part of the Choreography"|magazine=Pointe Magazine|last=Brandt|first=Amy|date=October 5, 2017}} and later said "If they ever did a film of a young me, it would be Calvin."{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/05/arts/dance/arthur-mitchell-harlem-ballet-lenfest-center.html|title=Arthur Mitchell, Ballet's 'Grandfather of Diversity'|newspaper=New York Times|last=Kourlas|first=Gia|date=January 5, 2018}} The following year, after Mitchell's death, Royal and Phelan reprised the Agon pas de deux at his memorial.{{cite news|url=https://www.dancemagazine.com/arthur-mitchell-2622587525.html|title=Arthur Mitchell's Memorial Was Both A Homegoing & A Homecoming|magazine=Dance Magazine|last=Howard|first=Theresa Ruth|date=December 7, 2018}}

Royal had been a frequent performer at the Vail Dance Festival since 2015. He was named artist-in-residence of the festival in 2020.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/18/arts/dance/vail-dance-festival-season.html|title=At Vail Dance Festival, a Season of Premieres and Ballet Stars|newspaper=New York Times|last=Libbey|first=Peter|date=February 18, 2020}} Royal was also handpicked by Copeland to be her partner in performances outside of the company.{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-misty-copeland-calvin-royal-harlequinade-20190114-story.html|title=Misty Copeland, Calvin Royal III and the rarity of a black couple dancing lead roles|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|last=Bleiberg|first=Laura|date=January 19, 2019}}

Personal life

Royal is openly gay, and is married to Polish pianist Jacek Mysinski.{{r|starr}}

Royal studied at the Long Island University when he was in ABT II and an ABT apprentice, but withdrew when he joined the corps de ballet due to his schedule. He resumed his study through Saint Mary's College of California's LEAP program in 2018 after he became a soloist.{{cite news|url=https://www.pointemagazine.com/st-marys-leap-program-dancers-2640917456.html|title=Dancing While Earning a Degree: As LEAP Turns 20, 4 Pros Share How Its Unique Program Works|magazine=Pointe Magazine|last=Bauer|first=Claudia|date=October 10, 2019}}