Christopher Coomer was born in Birkenhead, England, and received his training at Wallasey School of Ballet and Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy. He joined Houston Ballet in 2004 as an apprentice and in 2005 became a member of the Corps de Ballet.  Mr. Coomer was promoted to Soloist in 2007 following his performance in Stanton Welch’s Clear. He became First Soloist in 2018.  In January 2023, Coomer retired from the stage after 18 seasons with Houston Ballet and transitioned to the role of Ballet Master with the Company artistic staff.  He joins the Houston Ballet Academy artistic staff as Principal Instructor as of July 2023.

Mr. Coomer’s classical and contemporary repertoire includes: Giselle, Onegin, The Nutcracker, Merry Widow; Christopher Bruce’s Rooster, Hush, Sergeant Early’s Dream, and Swan Song; Mark Morris’s Sandpaper and Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes; Jiří Kylián’s Petite Mort, Forgotten Land, and Svadebka; Jerome Robbins’ The Concert; George Balanchine’s Western Symphony, Serenade, and Theme and Variations; Ben Stevenson’s Coppélia; Stanton Welch’s Maninyas, Divergence, Indigo, Play, Velocity, Madame Butterfly, and Falling.

In addition, Mr. Coomer has performed featured roles in many works, including: George Balanchine’s Jewels; Stanton Welch’s Tu Tu, Red Earth, Marie, Cinderella, and La Bayadére. Rothbart in Stanton Welch’s Swan Lake; Edwaard Liang’s Murmuration, Gurn in August Bournonville’s La Sylphide; Sharpless in Stanton Welch’s Madame Butterfly. The role of Tybalt in Stanton Welch’s Romeo and Juliet was choreographed on Mr. Coomer.

Photo by Alana Campbell (2023), Courtesy of Houston Ballet.