Christopher Stowell

Christopher Stowell (born 1966) is an American ballet dancer and choreographer. He is currently the artistic director of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. He was formerly the associate artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada for six years. He was previously the artistic director of the Oregon Ballet Theatre. Before that, he danced professionally with the San Francisco Ballet for sixteen years.

Early life and education Born in New York City, he is the son of Kent Stowell and Francia Russell, who were dancers with New York City Ballet. At the age of four he moved to Germany with his parents, who danced with the Bavarian State Ballet in Munich and then became the artistic directors of the Frankfurt Ballet. Christopher trained with the Pacific Northwest Ballet School in Seattle and the School of American Ballet in New York. He performed in ballets such as Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, and Othello. Stowell appeared in most of SFB's productions of George Balanchine's ballets and danced roles created for him by choreographers such as Mark Morris, William Forsythe, James Kudelka, and SFB's artistic director Helgi Tómasson. Other venues he performed at include Lincoln Center in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, and the Paris Opera.

He then worked as a teacher and coach in San Francisco, New York, Europe, and Japan. He choreographed new ballets for the San Francisco Ballet, the Pacific Northwest Ballet, the Pennsylvania Ballet, and the Diablo Ballet.