Chun Wai Chan talks about his journey from a small village in China to becoming the top male ballet dancer at one of the world’s most prestigious companies
For the first time in 74 years, New York City Ballet has promoted a soloist of Chinese descent as its principal dancer. Chun Wai Chan, 30, who was born in Guangdong and grew up between Hong Kong and Guangzhou, is the first Chinese and only fourth Asian dancer to sissone his way to the top spot.
A quick recap of his formidable career path vindicates why he’s worked for the honour: he was the principal dancer at Houston Ballet from 2017 and the guest principal with the Hong Kong Ballet in 2018 and 2019 before joining NYC Ballet in August 2021.
Six months into his promoted role, Tatler catches up with Chan ahead of NYC Ballet’s performance of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker in New York. He talks about the Christmas production, Asian representation in Western art, and going beyond gender stereotypes.
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How does it feel to be the principal dancer at NYC Ballet?
It’s surreal. NYC Ballet is one of the biggest ballet companies in the world, and a lot of people have told me it’s great to see an Asian face onstage dancing in a leading role. In that sense, I feel that whatever I achieve, it’s not just a personal milestone, but also carving a path for other [people of colour].
Is it rare to have Asians in lead positions in US ballet companies?
Most companies in the US, including Houston Ballet, have had Chinese or Asian people as principal dancers before. But this is the first time for NYC Ballet to have a principal dancer who’s Chinese. There aren’t many Asian dancers who want to come here—I think it’s just the style of the company or the vision of the previous director [that didn't particularly encourage them to join]. The new management of this company sees diversity as an important vision. Once I joined, and then when I became the principal dancer, it gave so many young dancers hope of becoming lead dancer here.
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