Introducing Ballet West’s Rising Star Lexi McCloud
Lexi McCloud loves to take up space with lush, sweeping movements. Whether she’s dancing with the corps, in a principal role, or anything in between, the Ballet West newcomer naturally draws the audience’s eyes. During the 2024–25 season—her first in the main company—she had the opportunity to do it all, debuting a leading role in Christopher Wheeldon’s Within the Golden Hour, the title role in Sir Frederick Ashton’s Cinderella, and the Sugar Plum Fairy in Willam Christensen’s The Nutcracker. She topped it off with an end-of-season promotion to demi-soloist and has a list of roles she’s looking forward to tackling.
Company: Ballet West
Age: 21
Hometown: North Salt Lake, Utah
Training: MOGA Conservatory of Dance
Accolades: 2022 Youth America Grand Prix Finals, 3rd place, Senior division; 2022 Prix de Lausanne finalist
Balancing it all: Though McCloud rose to the occasion, she says that her packed first season made it essential for her to figure out how to balance her time and energy. “I learned how to take care of my body so I can perform the best for a show, including how much energy I should throw into one role versus another,” she says, adding that she’s brought these findings into her second season.
Becoming a chameleon: Currently, McCloud’s biggest focus in the studio is developing her versatility. As a
Vaganova-trained dancer, she’s found Ballet West’s varied repertoire, which included Balanchine’s Serenade last season, to be an adjustment. “A goal of mine is to be able to do any kind of movement,” she says.
Big dreams: McCloud hopes to cross all the classics off her bucket list, with an eye for “the heartbreak ones,” she says, as well as Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, “any William Forsythe ballet,” and the title role in Coppélia. “I grew up doing the Coppélia solo at YAGP, and I’d love to do the full ballet just to have that full-circle moment.”
What her director is saying: Ballet West artistic director Adam Sklute is consistently impressed by the thoughtfulness and maturity McCloud brings to her work. “She really understands her body and the art form of ballet,” he says. “She has a thoughtful approach to her technique, but she also understands how to marry the technique to the artistry.”
Dog mom: When she’s not in the studio, McCloud decompresses by spending time with friends and playing with her dog, Coco. “She’s a German shepherd, sheltie, and Scottish deerhound mix, so she kind of just looks like a black German shepherd,” McCloud says. “She’s so sweet.”
