Julian MacKay

Julian MacKay (born 28 October 1997) is an American ballet dancer. He is the first American to have completed both the lower and upper schools at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. In 2016, he joined the Mikhailovsky Ballet as a second soloist, where he later reached the rank of first soloist. Between 2020 and 2022, he was a principal dancer at the San Francisco Ballet. From 2022 through 2026, he was a Principal Dancer with the Bavarian State Ballet.

Early life and training Mackay was born in Livingston, Montana, and raised in Bozeman, Montana. Both of his elder sisters Maria Sascha Khan and Nadia Khan danced professionally, and his younger brother Nicholas MacKay would also attend ballet schools in Russia. MacKay started ballet at age four. He initially trained in his home state, and attended summer programs elsewhere, including at the Royal Ballet School and American Ballet Theatre.

In 2009, after winning a bronze medal at the Youth America Grand Prix, he attended a summer program Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. Then, the 11-year-old MacKay was invited to attend the academy full time, with his mother also moving to Moscow. Between 2014 and 2015, MacKay won several awards at international competition, including the 2015 Prix de Lausanne. After his win at the Prix de Lausanne in 2015, MacKay was awarded an apprenticeship scholarship to a partner company of his choosing. He was promoted to first soloist after dancing a lead role in Flames of Paris. He made his choreographic debut with The Little Humpbacked Horse, which starred all three of his siblings. He made his company debut at the virtual gala in January 2021, held due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2022, MacKay's term in San Francisco ended, and he stated his contract was not renewed by incoming artistic director Tamara Rojo.

In July 2022, MacKay joined the Bavarian State Ballet as a principal dancer. . In July 2026, his employment was terminated with immediate effect.