Stephen Petronio
Choreographer“The most appealing thing about Stephen Petronio’s choreography has always been its raw New York energy. Almost more than any other US choreographer whose work we regularly see over here, Petronio taps into the mania of the downtown New York scene.”
The Times, London
Stephen Petronio (Artistic Director/Choreographer), was born in Newark, New Jersey, and received a B.A. from HampshireCollege in Amherst, Massachusetts, where he began dancing in 1974. Initially inspired by the dancing of Rudolf Nureyev and Steve Paxton, Petronio become the first male dancer of the Trisha Brown Company, (1979 to 1986). He founded Stephen Petronio Company in 1984 and has since received international acclaim for the development of his unique movement language and ground-breaking choreography.
Petronio has collaborated with visual artists Cindy Sherman, Anish Kapoor, Donald Baechler, Stephen Hannock, Justin Terzi, Charles Atlas, Tal Yarden and Trisha Fox; composers Rufus Wainwright, Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, Michael Nyman, James Lavelle, Wire, Diamanda Galás, Sheila Chandra, Lenny Pickett, Radiohead, and on numerous works with David Linton; fashion designers Rachel Roy, Tara Subkoff/Imitation of Christ, Leigh Bowery, Manolo, Paul Compitus and Tanya Sarne/Ghost; and long time collaborator and Resident Lighting Designer Ken Tabachnick.
Petronio has been awarded choreography fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts from 1985 to 1988, and company grants from the NEA and the New York State Council on the Arts since 1988. He is also the recipient of numerous awards including a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, awards from the Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts, a New York Foundation for the Arts award, the first American Choreographer Award in 1987, and a New York Dance and Performance Award (Bessie) in 1986. He has created over 30 works for his company as well as been commissioned by some of the worlds most prestigious ballet and modern companies including: William Forsythe’s Frankfurt Ballet (1987), Tulsa Opera (1990), Deutsche Oper Berlin (1992), Lyon Opera Ballet (1994), the Maggio Danza Florence (1996), Ricochet Dance Company of London (1998, 2001, 2005), Axis Dance Company (2002), CanDoCo in London (2003), Sydney Dance Company (2003, full evening), and Norrdans in Sweden (2005).
His Company works have been set on Scottish Ballet (2003), Charleroi Danses (1993), Norrdans (2004), London Contemporary Dance Company (2001), Chamber Dance Company (2001), X Factor Dance Company (2005), and Tasdance (1994, 1983) among others.
In 2006, Petronio major repertory works were set on Ballet National de Marseille, Ballet Lorraine and two works for London Contemporary Dance Company. Additionally, new works were created for Norrdans and Washington Ballet.
Petronio has worked with Scottish Ballet on the acclaimed Ride the Beast, set to the music of Radiohead. The production was premiered at the Edinburgh International Festival and exerpts are featuring in the Company's Autumn and Summer tours.
Krzysztof Pastor
Choreographer
Born in 1956,
Krzysztof Pastor began his ballet training with the
PolishNationalBalletSchool in his hometown of
Gdansk. After his training, he joined the Polish Dance Theatre in
Poznan where he worked with Conrad Drzewiecki and, four years later, he moved to the Grand Theatre of Lodz.
In 1983 Krzysztof became a soloist with Le Ballet de l’Opéra of Lyon in France, dancing ballets by Gray Veredon, Hans van Manen, Kurt Joss and others. From 1985 to 1995, he danced with the Dutch National Ballet, working with many well-known choreographers such as Carolyn Carlson, Nils Christie, Hans van Manen, Rudi van Dantzig, Maguy Marin, Toer van Schayk, Nacho Duato, Jan Linkens, Eduard Lock, Peter Wright and Nina Wiener. He danced major roles in both classical and neoclassical ballets, as well as modern dance works.
Pastor completed his first choreographic work in 1986 for an international gala performance in Lodz. After creating several ballets for the Dutch National Ballet’s workshop programmes, in 1992 he was asked to make a ballet for the company’s main programme: the successful ShostakovichChamber Symphony.
Pastor has since gained considerable recognition as an international choreographer, creating over forty ballets to date including the highly acclaimed Do notgo gentle … and In Light and Shadow, the large-scale, full-length production Kurt Wei , Tristan, The Dangerous Liaisons, Don Giovanni as well as Symphony Fantastic for the Australian Ballet. In 2001, Kurt Weill was nominated for the prestigious international Benois de la Danse prize in no less than three categories.
In 2003, Pastor was appointed resident choreographer of the Dutch National Ballet. In this capacity, he created Si después de morir, the festive Voice which premiered at the Holland Festival 2004, Don Giovanni as well as CrossingPaths, Suite for Two, and Visions at Dusk. Alongside his work for the Dutch National Ballet, Pastor has created ballets for many companies abroad such as the National Ballet of Lithuania, The Washington Ballet, West Australian Ballet, Royal New Zealand Ballet, The National Ballet of Latvia, the Polish National Ballet, Ballet Opera Dresden, The Israel Ballet, the Royal Flemish Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, Ankara State Ballet, The Scottish Ballet and the Australian Ballet. In 1995 Krzysztof’s ballet Detail IV won the Gold Choreography Prize of the Helsinki International Ballet Competition. In 2000 he was awarded the Medal of Merit by the Polish Ministry of Culture and the Dancers Fund ‘79 Choreography Prize.
In August 2006 Krzysztof’s In Light and Shadow, presented by The Scottish Ballet, and was acclaimed by both audiences and critics alike at the Edinburgh International Festival. Experpts from the production wil appear in the Company's Summer tour
In December 2007 Krzysztof was invited by the Bolshoi Ballet to work with the Bolshoi’s principal Svetlana Zakharova.
Pastor has recently worked with the Scottish Ballet on his own version of a full length Romeo and Juliet which opened in May 2008