Fabrice Calmels
Born and raised in France, Fabrice Calmels began ballet training at three years old. At age eleven Mr. Calmels entered the prestigious, 300-year-old Paris Opera Ballet School, under the direction of Claude Bessy. During his training and schooling at there, Mr. Calmels worked with world-renowned dance masters such as Serge Golovine, Gilbert Mayer, Max Bozzoni, John Neumier, Jirí Kylián, Violette Verdy, and also performed at the beautiful Opera Palais Garnier theatre.
Following his graduation from the Paris Opera Ballet School, Mr. Calmels moved to the United States where he furthered his training by joining The Rock School, and danced with the Pennsylvania Ballet. Mr. Calmels grew to perfect and expand his technique in America. At Boston Ballet, under the direction of Anna-Marie Holmes, he learned the Russian technique with ballet masters Tatiana Terekhova and Sergei Berezhnoi, and also the Balanchine style at The School of American Ballet.
After September 11, 2001, unable to acquire his visa, Mr. Calmels returned home to France and joined Paris’ most famous cabaret, LIDO de Paris. There he was fortunate to hone his partnering skills by performing the show’s acrobatic pas de deux.
In 2002, Mr. Calmels established himself in Chicago with the Joffrey Ballet, under the direction of company co-founder Gerald Arpino, again being exposed to another style of dance. In 2004 and age 23, Mr. Calmels became a lead dancer at the Joffrey Ballet, notably through his Principal role as Apollo. He was also coached by the famous Sir Anthony Dowell for the title role of Oberon in Ashton’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” In the fall 2009, he performed the title role in the Joffrey Ballet’s premiere of Lar Lubovitch’s “Othello”, which he reprised in the spring of 2013.
Mr. Calmels has danced several times for television and was interviewed extensively for the documentary “Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance.” Notably, in 2014, Mr. Calmels was a guest judge on the hit Fox television show, So You Think You Can Dance. Mr. Calmels has received numerous awards and accolades during his career including establishing a Guinness World Record for Tallest Ballet Dancer in the World.
Currently, Mr. Calmels is still dancing with the Joffrey Ballet. He is also focusing his time on choreography, modeling, acting, and promoting dance and dance education through his membership on the Dizzy Feet Foundation board.