Acacia Schachte

Acacia Schachte, born in the United States, started dancing ballet at an early age. She first started training at the Arts Umbrella academy in Vancouver, led by Artemis Gordon. Then, in 1999, she joined the Ballet British Columbia, where she stayed for seven years. During this time, she was a dancer in productions led by several renowned choreographers such as Jiří Kylián, William Forsythe, Twyla Tharp, John Alleyne and James Kudelka. In 2006, Acacia moved to New York and joined the Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, where the crossover between ballet and contemporary dance takes the spotlight. For eight seasons, she travelled the world with this company, and worked with a plethora of choreographers like Ohad Naharin, Crystal Pite, Hofesh Shechter en Jacopo Godani. In 2009, Acacia met Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, who at that time was creating Orbo Novo on invitation of the Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet. For the production of The Firebird, Cherkaoui took on Acacia and Jason Kittelberger, another dancer, as choreographic assistant. In 2010, she landed the role of stunt double for actress Emily Blunt in The Adjustment Bureau, where she performed the scenes of the ballet production. Acacia began her career with the Royal Ballet of Flanders in 2016 and dances as a half soloist with the company.