Leiland Charles

Alberta Ballet (2014-2017)
BalletMet (2017-present)

Leiland Charles was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He first stepped into a dance studio at the age of three with The Howard County Ballet in Ellicott City, Maryland, under the direction of Kathi Ferguson. Throughout his training, he attended summer dance programs at The Rock School for Dance Education and Springboard Danse Montréal.

Charles furthered his artistic training at The Juilliard School, where he received his BFA in Spring 2014. While at Juilliard, he performed works by Nacho Duato, William Forsythe, Twyla Tharp, Alexander Ekman and many others. He has gone on tour with Juilliard Dance to Edinburgh, Scotland to perform in the International Festival and was featured in the March 2013 issue of Dance Teacher Magazine with world-renowned anatomy professor, Irene Dowd.

Upon graduation, Mr. Charles joined Alberta Ballet in Calgary, Canada, dancing numerous soloist and principal roles, including the Cavalier in Edmund Stripe’s The Nutcracker and Benvolio in Jean Grand-Maître’s Romeo & Juliet. After three seasons with Alberta Ballet, Mr. Charles joined BalletMet in 2017.

Some of his favorite works with BalletMet include William Forsythe’s Slingerland Pas De Deux, George Balanchine’s Rubies, and the solo male part in Justin Peck’s In Creases.