Anyone who has ever seen the Joffrey Ballet’s Fabrice Calmels on stage (or on the giant billboard that once ran alongside the Ohio ramp onto the Kennedy Expressway) knows that he is a towering figure. But now he has set an official record.
Calmels was entered into the “Guinness World Records” book as the world’s tallest ballet dancer, standing at 6 feet, 6.63 inches.
Born and raised in France, Calmels began ballet training at age 3, following in the footsteps of his younger sister. In 1991, he entered the Paris Opera School under the direction of Claude Bessy. Through his training he worked with world-renowned dance masters such as Serge Golovine, Gilbert Mayer, Max Bozzoni, John Neumier, Jirí Kylián, Violette Verdy, and also performed at the Opera Palais Garnier Theatre.
In 1998, Calmels was spotted by John Meehan, director of American Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company, and moved to New York. He furthered his training by joining The Rock School, and danced with the Pennsylvania Ballet. At Boston Ballet, under the direction of Anna-Marie Holmes, he learned the Russian technique with ballet masters Tatiana Terekhova and Sergei Berezhnoi, and also the Balanchine style at The School of American Ballet.
Calmels joined The Joffrey Ballet in 2002, and he credits the late Gerald Arpino, the company’s co-founder and artistic director, with accepting his unusual height and propelling it into a virtue.
Since joining the Joffrey, Calmels has performed in “Age of Innocence,” “Apollo,” “Carousel, a Dance,” “The Clowns,” “I/DNA,” “In the Middle … Somewhat Elevated,” “In the Night,” “Italian Suite,” “Light Rain,” “Les Noces, “The Nutcracker,” “N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz!,” “Le Sacre du Printemps,” “…smile with my heart,” “Suite Saint Saëns,” “Valentine,” “Midsummers Night Dream,” “Apollo,” “Othello,” “La Bayadere,” “RAkU,” ‘Swan Lake” and “After the Rain.”
Calmels has danced several times for television, and earlier this year served as a guest judge on “So You Think You Can Dance.”
He dances with ABT principal Veronica Part in guest performances. And he has expanded into acting, too — performing the role of Nijinsky in the theater piece “Misia,” written by Barry Singer and performed at Chicago’s Ravinia Festival.
