[3] By his teens, already an extremely capable tapper, Steven McRae knew that his future lay in dance, and trained throughout high school.

In 2003, at age 17, he won the Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland, earning a scholarship, and entered the Royal Ballet School in London.

[6] Symphonic Variations was Ashton's first work after World War II, and one of the Company's first to be performed on the huge main stage of the Royal Opera House.

[7] In 2011, McRae originated the role of the Mad Hatter in Christopher Wheeldon's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland at the Royal Opera House.

[8] In 2016, McRae originated the role of "The Creature" in Liam Scarlett's full-length ballet of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

In January 2008, at 22, McRae partially tore his Achilles tendon and was told that not only would he never dance again but he would have an enduring limp.