Biography
One of the most accomplished and acclaimed male dancers of
his era, Rex Harrington brought seemingly limitless panache, energy, style and
showmanship to the vast range of characterizations he created during his 20
years with The National Ballet of Canada. A much sought-after dancer
internationally, he performed with Teatro alla Scala, San Francisco Ballet and
Stuttgart Ballet. Renowned for his incomparable partnering skills, Mr.
Harrington danced with such legendary ballerinas as Ekaterina Maximova, Carla Fracci,
Evelyn Hart and Karen Kain. He created numerous roles during his career as a
dancer, including the central role in James Kudelka’s The Four Seasons, Peter in Mr. Kudelka’s The Nutcracker, Lewis Carroll in Glen Tetley’s Alice
and The Young Gentleman in Mr. Tetley’s La
Ronde, as well as lead roles in works by such choreographers as Jean-Pierre Perrault, Jiri Kylian and Matjash Mrozewski.
Mr. Harrington was born in Peterborough,
Ontario and graduated from Canada’s National Ballet
School in 1981, joining
The National Ballet of Canada in 1983. He became a Principal Dancer in 1988 and
remained in that position until his retirement in 2004. He was made an Officer
of the Order of Canada in
2000 and was given a star on Canada’s
Walk of Fame in 2005. In 2006, he received an Honorary Degree from York University
and was appointed Artist-in-Residence with the National Ballet.
Mr.Harrington
returns to the stage this fall starring in Theatre Calgary’s Tosca Cafe, a co-production with the Vancouver
Playhouse. He was a frequent judge on the popular television programme, So You Think You Can Dance Canada and he acted on the Showcase series King in 2012.