Reid Anderson (dancer)

Reid Anderson was born at New Westminster, British Columbia on 1 April 1949.[1] He received his dance training at Dolores Kirkwood Academy and transferred to the Banff Centre.[1] He then went to London in 1967 to study at the Royal Ballet School.[2]

Anderson began his dance career at the Royal Opera Ballet but was unhappy as a performer. In 1969 Anderson joined the Stuttgart Ballet as they were preparing for a two-week performance schedule in New York. His first piece with the company was Onegin.[2] Shortly afterwards he became a principal dancer and was their ballet master from 1982 to 1986.[1]

In 1987 Anderson became co-artistic director of Ballet British Columbia, and later became the sole director. He was known for introducing a contemporary image to the company and increasing its reputation across Canada.[1]

Anderson staged a remount of Onegin with the National Ballet of Canada.[3] He became the director, and eventually artistic director, of the National Ballet of Canada in 1989. Anderson sustained the company during a tough economic recession[4] by choreographing traditional ballet pieces and bringing Canadian and international choreographers to create new contemporary pieces. He occasionally danced in various character roles during these productions.[1]

In 1994 he proposed that the board of directors promote Chan-hon Goh as the company's first Chinese Canadian principal dancer.[3] He left the National Ballet of Canada in 1995, citing continued funding cuts from the government.[4][2] Anderson had trained Eric Gauthier, who joined him as a member of his ensemble when he became Director of the Stuttgart Ballet.[5]

Anderson returned to Stuttgart Ballet in 1996 as artistic director. He organised the company's tour to New York in 1998.[1]