FOLLOW CALVIN

Born in Georgia, the son of a military family, Calvin spent his early years moving from one army base to the next.

When he was 6 years old, his parents separated. He, his mother and younger brother moved to Tampa Bay, Florida to live with his grandmother. A lover of cultural arts, she saw them as a gateway of opportunities that opened young minds to promise and possibilities. When Calvin showed an interest in playing piano, she bought him a Yamaha keyboard for Christmas. Self taught, he played by ear. When auditions for the local community project The Chocolate Nutcracker came to town his mother, a dancer in her youth, made sure he arrived to every practice and performance encouraged. It was his first exposure to the rhythms and movements of West Africa, jazz, and hip hop. Inspired by steps to music and a sense of roots, he committed to the hard work of dance.

He began ballet training at the Pinellas County Center for the Arts in St. Petersburg, Florida. He was 14 and a half, and already a freshman in high school, when he put two hands on the ballet barre for the very first time.

A “very late bloomer” he began the journey of overcoming the physical and psychological demands of classical ballet. Two years later, against all odds, he entered and was singled out as a finalist at the Youth America Grand Prix Ballet Competition — America’s premiere showcase to identify promising young dancers in New York City.

His performance in the competition led the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School of American Ballet Theatre (ABT) to offer him a full time scholarship. So, in his senior year, Calvin left high school for New York City and began his climb to the top of the most prestigious classical ballet company in America. —READ MORE