William Hanford
William Hanford grew up in Evanston, Illinois. He started dancing at the age of 6 at Dance Center Evanston, where he studied various styles of dance, including ballet, tap, and jazz.
At the age of 13, William received the Young Men’s Dance Initiative Scholarship to join the dance department at the Chicago Academy for the Arts, where he had the opportunity to perform many works by esteemed Chicago choreographer Randy Duncan and others.
Upon graduation, William completed two years as a trainee at the Joffrey Ballet, where he had the opportunity to perform roles from Christopher Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, as well as Wheeldon’s The Nutcracker. William also covered roles from Yuri Possokhov’s Eugene Onegin, Liam Scarlett’s Carmen, and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Broken Wings.
William is looking forward to being part of BalletMet 2 for the 2026/2027 season