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Cameron

McMillan

Cameron McMillan

Cameron McMillan’s Biography

Last Updated:
16/05/2019, 10:11 pm
Discipline:
Dancer and Choreographer
Awards:
New Generation 2010
Highlight:
Cameron McMillan is an Associate Artist with DanceEast and has enjoyed a highly successful performance and creative career spanning large-scale classical ballet, independent contemporary dance, film and fashion

Cameron was born in New Plymouth, New Zealand in 1977 where he began his early dance training from 8 years old and went on to train professionally at The Australian Ballet School in Melbourne, graduating in 1997. In 1998 he was awarded the Bronze Medal at the Royal Academy Of Dance's Adeline Genee Awards and at began his career with The Royal New Zealand Ballet. In the same year, representing the company, Cameron was awarded 1st Prize at the Asian Pacific International Ballet Competition in Tokyo, Japan. After a fast rise to leading dancer and experiencing a breadth of work he moved to London in 2001 as a soloist for English National Ballet, and in 2003, because of a thirst for new creation and contemporary work, joined the internationally renowned Rambert Dance Company. After 5 years with Rambert, he embarked on a freelance career, performing regularly in Rafael Bonachela's project company Bonachela Dance Company, and developing his voice as an emerging choreographer.

In a performance and creative career spanning large scale classical ballet to independent contemporary dance, film and fashion, he has created and performed the work of many acclaimed choreographers in a diverse range of leading roles including Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Prince's in Cinderella, The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, James in La Sylphide, Harker in Dracula, and the title role in Peter Pan. Work by choreographers include, George Balanchine, Mark Morris, Kenneth MacMillan, Frederick Ashton, Jiri Kylian, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Christopher Bruce, Michael Clark, Wayne McGregor, Javier de Frutos, Will Tuckett, Douglas Wright, Michael Parmenter, Kim Brandstrup, Mark Baldwin, Christopher Hampson, Karol Armitage, Garry Stewart, and Merce Cunningham. As a freelance performer he has danced for The Royal New Zealand Ballet as a Guest Principal Artist, Sydney Dance Company at the Venice Biennale, Australian Dance Theatre, the Pet Shop Boys/Javier de Frutos project for Sadler's Wells, and a featured performance in the upcoming feature film Anna Karenina, directed by Joe Wright. He has toured extensively throughout Europe, including the Theatre de la Ville in Paris, the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, the Venice Biennale, and to China, Japan, USA, Venezuela, Bermuda, and Australia.

A versatile dance maker with highly physical, musical and emotionally resonant creative style, he began creating his own work in the choreographic development programmes of the companies he danced with. His first work Unsuspecting View was toured nationally by The Royal New Zealand Ballet in 2001 and made four works while at Rambert, including his 2006 work Verge which was elevated into the main stage repertoire of Rambert's 80th Anniversary programme at Sadler's Wells. In 2007 he created Equilibrium for the Royal New Zealand Ballet and took part in the Dancelines Choreographic Programme at the Royal Opera House. In 2009 he created ESO for the Milwaukee Ballet and has subsequently made work for Intoto Dance, TrinityLaban's Transitions Dance Company, English National Ballet School and has shown his work on London's Southbank.

In 2010 he created his first full evening work In The Garden Of Good And Evil for the 50th Anniversary of Hungarian dance company Ballet Pécs as part of the European Capital of Culture - Pécs 2010 which received critical acclaim and an unprecedented audience reaction for dance at the National Theatre of Pécs. In 2011 he created the new work Satisfied With Great Success for the Royal New Zealand Ballet with designs by acclaimed NZ fashion designer Karen Walker, the new duet If Nobody Speaks... for ROH2 at Royal Opera House, and was invited to exhibit film of his work at the Lange Nacht Der Museen festival in Innsbruck, Austria.

In September 2012 he created a new work, commissioned by Brisbane Festival, on a combined cast of dancers from Queensland's three dance companies, Queensland Ballet, Dance North, and Expressions Dance Company, in a programme celebrating dance in Queensland.

Cameron was the recipient of an Arts Foundation New Generation Award in 2012. New Generation artists have assured potential. Their work is exciting. They are independent, individual and show outstanding promise. They also display a depth of thinking and consistency that gives their work strength.

Future work includes new creation for The Royal Ballet of Flanders, which will celebrate the centenary of British composer Benjamin Britten as part of the Aldeburgh Music Festival/Dance East Britten Dancing programme. He is currently a participant of Sadler's Wells Summer University, the ongoing choreographic development programme at Sadler's Wells Theatre and was recently invited to take part in the DanceEast International Rural Retreat for Future Artistic Leaders.