From a very young age, Ravi Cannonier-Watson was certain what he wanted to do as his profession.
“For as far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a footballer,” Cannonier-Watson tells The Bermudian. “Football has always been my central passion especially growing up in Bermuda. That’s what most of the boys grow up to want to be when they’re older.”
So it may come as a bit of shock to the reader that Cannonier-Watson has recently entered the professional world, not as a footballer, but in what some would consider the polar opposite of the athletic world. This September, Cannonier-Watson will make his stage debut as an Aud Jebsen Dancer with the Royal Ballet in London.
For Cannonier-Watson, the journey from footballer to ballet dancer was an organic one as he was exposed to the art form from a very early age (his mother, Sophia Cannonier, danced with the Dance Theatre of Harlem from 1987-1996). Going along with his mother one afternoon to pick up his sisters from ballet class at the Russian School of Ballet, the pair arrived before the class ended where then 10 year-old Ravi witnessed the last few minutes of ballet class.
“It looked so freeing,” recalls Cannonier-Watson. “Everyone looked like they were having a good time. No one was stressed and I really enjoyed that….It was a few days later that I asked my mom, ‘Can I try that?’ The elation that my mom put out…I think she was so happy that I asked her rather than her getting me to do it. From that day onwards, I started taking classes.”
When most 10 year olds take up an activity, it’s very rare that activity turns into their profession. Cannonier-Watson’s career path seemed almost preordained when, a mere year after starting classes, he auditioned for the Royal Ballet School in London being one of the 12 new students selected out of a field of 2,500 applicants.
“I think everything happened rather quickly,” says Cannonier-Watson. “I started properly dancing a year before and then, all of a sudden, I’m now dancing in one of the world’s best schools. I think it took me awhile to process it and when I finally did, the emotion hit me at once.”
His busy schedule (which in the first year included four hours of ballet training in the mornings and evenings with regular classes and lunch in between), along with no longer being the only boy in the class, allowed Cannonier-Watson to acclimate. As the years progressed, the training intensified but, along with his family, Ravi also had the support of the National Dance Foundation of Bermuda (NDFB), receiving scholarships from the organization since the first year of his acceptance.
“Just to get into the school is quite an achievement,” says Mary Faulkenberry, volunteer development coordinator of NDFB. “Then you’re assessed as you go through every couple of years to make sure that you’re staying track and they still want you. So there were hurdles all along that he had to jump over and he more than cleared.”
Progressing from White Lodge to Royal Ballet’s upper school, Cannonier-Watson was also the recipient of the Catherine Zeta-Jones scholarship (also through the NDFB) for the last four years of his schooling.
“Without that scholarship, I would not be in the position I would be today,” says Cannonier-Watson. “My parents would not have been able to cope with the demands that the school was asking for…Boarding school is not cheap.”
Having an Academy Award winner in your corner, especially one known for their singing and dancing prowess (Zeta-Jones won her Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Velma Kelly in 2002’s “Chicago”) certainly help and Zeta-Jones is thrilled for Cannonier-Watson’s success.
“Dance has been a fundamental part of my life, both professionally and personally,” Zeta-Jones tells The Bermudian in an email. “It gives me joy that the scholarship has opened a door for Ravi in to a world where he so rightly belongs. And he does belong!”
Being the first Bermudian to complete all eight years of study at the Royal Ballet School and then be asked to join professionally is not lost on Cannonier-Watson at all and he hopes his success inspires his fellow Bermudians to pursue their passions.
“I hope to start a movement that for me to show Bermudian dancers can dance and they can dance globally,” says Cannonier-Watson. “Yes, we come from a beautiful, beautiful country, but there’s a lot of beauty within it that we can export outwards….Take the gifts that we have here in Bermuda and take them globally. I think it’s so important because there’s a lot of talented people here. Not just dance. Not just sports. On all fronts – culinary, art, everything.”
When Cannonier-Watson makes his professional debut in “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” which begins its run at the Royal Opera House in London 28 September, it would be the final nail in the coffin to his childhood professional footballer dreams, but it would be the start of what looks to be a successful dance career. And he might have an Oscar winner in the audience rooting for him.
“I plan to see Ravi grace the stage in London,” says Zeta-Jones. “It will be a very proud moment for me. It will be a very proud moment for Bermuda and for Ravi.”
