A tough nut to crack

As Chan recalls, it was the first time that he got to put his own stamp onto the role.

"I was very excited then and couldn't wait to perform it," Chan says. "All the moments onstage still lingered in my head after I finished my performance."

In December 2017, Chan, then 25, was promoted to the position of principal dancer with Houston Ballet.

His repertoire also includes Mazurka boy in Etudes, the Bluebird in The Sleeping Beauty, Aminta in Sylvia and the Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake.

Chan moved to New York and joined New York City Ballet as a soloist in August 2021. He is the only Chinese dancer in the company.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chan has kept himself busy by sharing his daily training regime and giving workshops through social media.

In 2020, he appeared as a contestant on the Chinese television show Dance Smash on Hunan Satellite TV, which gained him a large following.

In 2021, he also performed with Tan Yuanyuan, a prima ballerina with San Francisco Ballet, in a theatrical production, Tan Yuanyuan and Her Friends－Magical Night at the Art Museum, in Beijing. With Tan as its artistic director and co-choreographer, the production was praised as an immersive experience that offered parallel ways to appreciate art: music, dance and paintings.

"I met lots of talented young Chinese dancers when I returned. I also felt excited that my family could watch me dancing on a TV show," Chan says.

Contact the writer at chennan@chinadaily.com.cn