Steven McRae

Australian dancer Steven McRae saw his star rise to become one of the premier male ballet dancers of his generation. Born in Sydney, he began dancing when he was seven. After competing in his native land through his early teens, he earned a scholarship to the Royal Ballet School in London. After joining The Royal Ballet, he rose quickly through the ranks. Despite missing a nearly a year due to a potentially career-ending torn Achilles tendon, he was named principal in 2009 at age 24. The red-head went on to star in Christopher Wheeldon's original ballet "The Winter's Tale," and in Liam Scarlett's ballet retelling on "Frankenstein." McRae moved beyond the stage, joining the cast of a live-action film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Broadway mega-hit "Cats" (2019). The dancer played the ginger cat Skimbleshanks, the focus of the show's song "Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat."