Kristen McNally
Kristen McNally
Kristen McNally

Kristen McNally

Dancer / Choreographer
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“To describe Don’t Hate the Player, Hate the Game in words is to insult its brilliance, because what McNally does in choreography is to say through music and movement what is unsayable in words.”

(Jonathan Still, 2010)

Principal character artist and Choreographer: Royal Ballet Company

English dancer and choreographer Kristen McNally is a Principal Character Artist of The Royal Ballet. She trained at The Royal Ballet Upper School and graduated into the Company in 2002, promoted to First Artist in 2007, Soloist in 2009 and Principal Character Artist in 2017. She regularly choreographs for Draft Works, with works such as Yes we did, Don’t Hate the Player, Hate the Game and Checkpoint 19. Further choreography at the Royal Opera House includes Chance to Dance, The Royal Ballet School and Metheus for BalletBoyz the TALENT in the Linbury Studio Theatre.

Duet

“Outstanding, too, is Kristen McNally’s Lonesome Gun, a raunchy, occasionally piercing cowboy/​girl ballet”

( Judith Mackrell, The Guardian, 2012)

“Mad Women, Kristin McNally’s new work is funny, surprising and sharp in almost every detail…it elicits alert, intelligent performances from its cast.”

(Judith Mackrell, The Guardian, 2014)

“Kristen McNally’s eight man Moonshine lightened the mood wonderfully”

(Louise Levene, The Financial Times, 2016)

“Duet is a short film exploring the female within the world of ballet. Yasmine Naghdi and Beatriz Stix-Brunell — two of the Royal Ballet’s brightest young stars — perform an all-female pas-de-deux, showcasing not just grace and beauty but strength, athleticism and power”

(BBC, 2018)

“Flight Pattern is a sombre and deeply affecting work, and it’s gratifying to see McNally given her due as the fine dance actor that she is”

(Luke Jennings, The Guardian, 2017)
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