Chi Cao

Cao was born in Shanghai, the son of a dance teacher and a musician. When he was four years old, the family moved to Beijing.^[2] He received training in classical dance at the Beijing Dance Academy, where his father was director.

In 1993, he won a scholarship to train at the Royal Ballet School in London.^[2] Two years later, in 1995, he became a member of the Birmingham Royal Ballet. In 1998 he won the Gold Medal at the Varna International Ballet Competition. Together with his long-time dance partner Nao Sakuma [ja], he represented the company, among other things, at the NATO gala in 2000 in Birmingham and the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2002.^[3] In June 2018, he ended his long career with Birmingham Royal Ballet.^[4]