Endowment
The Anita B. Stude Principal Dancer
Birthplace
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Dance Training
Kirov Academy of Ballet
Royal Ballet School
Year Joined
2022
Previous Companies
Paris Opera Ballet - 2011
Ballet West II - 2012
Ballet West - 2013-2022
Favorite Roles
Onegin
Romeo
Siegfried
Lead in Diamonds
Lead man in Overgrown Path
Favorite Ballets
I love story ballets where I can get lost in the role and not just have to focus on the steps like Swan Lake, Onegin and Giselle.
A Defining Moment
Getting the opportunity to perform The Sugarplum Cavalier at the Kennedy Center. It was the theater where I grew up watching different ballet companies when they toured to Washington D.C. So it was really special to perform on the same stage I saw so many ballet performances.
BIO
Chase O’Connell was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia and started taking dance classes at the age of 2. At age 13, he received a scholarship to train at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C. He studied under Vladimir Djoulouhadze and Anatoli Kucheruk from 2007 to 2009. In 2009 he received a scholarship to train at the Royal Ballet School in London, England. There, he studied under Meelis Pakri and David Peden. While at school he had the privilege to perform with English National Ballet in their 2010 Nutcracker.
After studying at the Royal Ballet School for 2 years, O’Connell joined the world-renowned Paris Opera Ballet to perform in their 2011 production of Rudolf Nureyev. In 2012 he began his contract with Ballet West II. He was promoted into the main company in 2013 then promoted to Principal in 2016. He joined Houston Ballet as Principal Dancer in August 2022.
While at Ballet West he has performed principal roles in ballets by John Cranko, Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, Jiří Kylián, Jerome Robbins, Nicolo Fonte, Stanton Welch AM and Adam Sklute. He also had contemporary principal roles created on him by Nicolo Fonte, Edwaard Liang, Africa Guzman and Val Caniparoli.
O’Connell has danced in galas internationally and his performance in Onegin was one of Pointe Magazine’s top performances in 2019.
“He is a dynamic dancer, the consummate prince, and a caring partner to his ballerinas,” said Ballet West Artistic Director Adam Sklute.
Beckanne Sisk
Harper Watters