Mads Eriksen grew up in Copenhagen, Denmark, where he attended The Royal Danish Ballet School, training under Niels Balle and Adam Lüders. After graduating in 2002, Mr. Eriksen joined The Royal Danish Ballet, where he performed numerous soloist roles, including the Pas de Six and Tarantella in August Bournonville’s Napoli, the Second Movement in George Balanchine’s Symphony in C, Officer in Alexei Ratmansky’s Anna Karenina, Metacomet in José Limón’s The Unsung, Brabantio in Louise Midjord’s Othello, Handwerker in John Neumeier’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Les Gentils Hommes by Peter Martins, Étudesby Harald Lander, Polacca by Anna Lærkesen, and Balanchine’s Second Piano Concerto. Mr. Eriksen also had the opportunity to originate roles in works by renowned choreographers including John Neumeier, Alexei Ratmansky, Yuan Yuan Wang, Jorma Uotinen, and Jo Strømgren.

 

From 2007 to 2009, Mr. Eriksen danced with Ballet San Jose, performing roles such as Baron von Rothbart in Dennis Nahat’s Swan Lake, as well as featured roles in Balanchine’s Theme and Variations, The Four Temperaments, and Serenade.

 

Mr. Eriksen was also a founding member of the touring ensemble Made in Denmark, a group of young dancers from The Royal Danish Ballet. Through this company, he performed at prestigious festivals including Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and the Nerja Dance Festival. His repertoire with Made in Denmark included Le Corsaire Pas de Trois by Marius Petipa, as well as Jockey Dance and Napoli by August Bournonville.

 

Mr. Eriksen began teaching at the Ballet San Jose School in 2008 and was promoted to Senior Faculty in 2012 and Principal Faculty in 2014. In 2016, he was named Principal of The New Ballet School in San Jose, where he taught and choreographed for students at all levels. In 2018, Mr. Eriksen and his wife founded Boise Ballet Academy, a pre-professional ballet academy in Boise, Idaho.

 

Mr. Eriksen is an ABT® Certified Teacher who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive from Pre-Primary through Level 7 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. Since 2015, he has served as a National Training Curriculum Fellow, successfully presenting students for examinations from Level 1 through Level 7. Mr. Eriksen is also certified in Progressing Ballet Technique.

 

A highly sought-after guest teacher, Mr. Eriksen has taught at institutions including American Ballet Theatre JKO School, ABT Studio Company, The Royal Danish Ballet School, The University of Utah, Brigham Young University, New York University, Regional Dance America’s National Festival, Ballet West Academy, and Long Beach Ballet.

 

Mr. Eriksen is proud to serve on the ABT® National Training Curriculum Board of Examiners and as an adjudicator for Regional Dance America.