Graceful, fluid, tall and . . . supple.
Even before he graduated from dance school, Evan Supple was being scouted by professional ballet companies. And for good reason: He is a stand-out in stature and artistry.
Always the tallest dancer on the stage — the Guelph native stands six foot, three inches — Supple moves like a wave, the inner joy of the dance radiating in his handsome face.
“I try to move as expansive and as large as possible,” he said in an interview. “When I dance there is always an element of myself that comes through, but I like to think that, with all of these different choreographers, I can tap into what they are looking for and something different in myself.”
Supple is home in Guelph for a four-week holiday after completing the first leg of an extensive tour with his new company, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, a 20-year old company that has attracted international praise for innovation and artistic achievement. It was the company Supple most wanted to be a part of as a student.
“This is the company I wanted to dance for pretty much since I was a freshman in college,” Supple said. He trained at Elite Danceworx and then earned a fine arts degree in dance at the Marymount Manhattan College this past spring.
He previously toured internationally with the Nikolais-Louis Dance Theatre, and had a stellar moment in the spotlight as a soloist during the 2015 Pan-Am Games closing ceremony. His mother ran a dance studio in nearby Elmira when he was growing up.
“To have landed a job even before I graduated university was unheard of,” said Supple, 22. “But to be with this company is amazing. It’s really my dream job, a dream come true.”
He now gets to dance with a group of the highest caliber dancers who excel at what they do, but who are also “incredible people,” he said.
“It’s a small group with very strong camaraderie,” he added. “It’s really nice to go to work every day and be with my second family.”
The ballet company originated about 20 years ago in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, while its Juan Siddi Flamenco Santa Fe sister company began in New Mexico in 2008. The two merged under one business structure about two years ago.
Supple joined the ballet in May, two days after his final performance in college. He missed his graduation ceremony.
“Immediately, I learned a new ballet by Alejandro Cerrudo,” he said. “Now I’ve had a chance to perform several times with the company. To be able to engage in work of that level of prestige, there is no way for it not to enhance your artistry.”
Being home in Guelph feels very good and is grounding, he said.
“Even though I don’t live here anymore, it is really nice to come back to such a humble city and be able to reground myself,” he said. “If you are constantly go, go, go, and getting caught up in these massive experiences, it is easy to get lost. Coming home to Guelph, seeing my family, seeing where I grew up, just reminds me of where I came from. And it keeps my work honest.”
