Biography
Born in Anvers, Belgium, in 1976, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui is famous worldwide like few other current dance figures: a brilliant choreographer with a hundred or so works to his name that have toured worldwide; and formerly artistic director of the Opera Ballet Vlaanderen (2015-22). The Belgian-Moroccan’s choreographic oeuvre is packed with memorable productions; some originated in Geneva (Loin, 2005), others on leading stages and video studios around the world (Puz/zle at the Avignon Festival in 2012, to name but one). In what was Marina Abramović’s first-ever role as set designer, and with Damien Jalet as co-creator, Larbi Cherkaoui’s swirling, fretful and darkly mechanical version of Ravel’s Boléro for the Ballet de l’Opéra de Paris caused a sensation at the Palais Garnier in 2013 and remains one of his most iconic pieces. The trio reunited for Pelléas et Mélisande in 2018 at the Opéra Ballet Vlaanderen. Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Damien Jalet, dancer colleagues then creative partners, form a unique artistic bond. In 2022, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui became the director of the Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève; and Jalet has logically joined Larbi Cherkaoui there as associate artist, with several of his pieces featuring this season and next.