Calley Skalnik

First Soloist

Calley Skalnik is sponsored through Dancers First by an anonymous donor.

Quick Facts

Born: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Trained: Tulsa Ballet in Oklahoma and Canada’s National Ballet School
Joined: 2014
First Soloist Since: 2021

Calley Skalnik was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and trained at Tulsa Ballet in Oklahoma and Canada’s National Ballet School. Calley joined The National Ballet of Canada as an RBC Apprentice in 2014 and was promoted to First Soloist in 2021.

Calley has danced roles such as Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, The Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, the title role in Cinderella, Russian Dance in Swan Lake and Dolly in Anna Karenina. Her repertoire includes Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, Don Quixote, Onegin, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Winter’s Tale, Nijinsky, The Merry Widow, Pinocchio, A Streetcar Named Desire, Manon, La Sylphide, The Dream, Paquita, The Second Detail, The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, The Four Temperaments, Genus, MADDADDAM, Symphony #9, Diamonds, Rubies, Emergence, Angels’ Atlas, Anima Animus, The Four Seasons, Passion, Suite en Blanc, Rhapsody, Serenade, The Leaves are Fading, Symphony in C, Paz de la Jolla, After the Rain, Concerto, The Collective Agreement, Frame by Frame, Bolero, Le Petit Prince, Skyward, Self and Soul and King’s Fall.

In 2016, Calley represented the National Ballet in The International Competition for the Erik Bruhn Prize.
1. Anna Karenina
2. Anima Animus
3. Giselle
4. The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude
5. Wings of Wax (Jiří Kylián)

Calley Skalnik with Artists of the Ballet in The Sleeping Beauty. Photo by Aleksandar Antonijevic.
Calley Skalnik in Suite en Blanc. Photo by Karolina Kuras.
Calley Skalnik in Cinderella. Photo by Bruce Zinger.
Calley Skalnik in Anima Animus. Photo by Karolina Kuras.

Reviews

“Calley Skalnik melds an athletic spirit with gorgeous buoyancy and grace.”

The Globe and Mail

The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude
“Skalnik was radiant in the adagio section… she floated across the stage as if swimming in the air.”

Dance View Times

Anima Animus
“Calley Skalnik… is really starting to get noticed, and rightly so... with lovely classical technique and wonderful musicality.”

Ludwig van Toronto

After the Rain

Calley Skalnik. Photo by Karolina Kuras.