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SEGERSTROM HALLJune 10 – 12, 2016

Friday at 7:30 p.m.Saturday at 2 & 7:30 p.m.

Sunday at 1 p.m.

Preview talks one hour before performance

Speaker: Mikael Jonsson, Assistant Director, Royal Swedish Ballet

Moderator: Leslie Carothers

2015–16 DANCE SERIES

Out of courtesy to the artists and your fellow patrons, please take a moment to turn

off and refrain from using cellular phones, pagers, watch alarms and similar devices. The use of any audio or videorecording device or the taking of photographs (with or without

flash) is strictly prohibited. Thank you.

Media Partners:

The Center applauds:

Support for the Center’s International Dance Series provided by:

Audrey Steele Burnand Endowed Fund for International Dance

The Segerstrom Foundation Endowmentfor Great Performances

With special underwriting from:

Mary and Richard Cramer

A ballet by MATS EK

R O YA L S W E D I S H B A L L E T

JULIET & ROMEO

About the Program

Juliet & RomeoBallet in two acts by Mats Ek

Created for the Royal Swedish Ballet as part of its 240-year celebrationPremiered May 24, 2013

MUSIC: Tchaikovsky, selected by Mats Ek, adapted and arranged by Anders HögstedtCHOREOGRAPHY: Mats Ek

SCENOGRAPHY AND COSTUME: Magdalena ÅbergLIGHT DESIGN: Linus Fellbom

REHEARSAL DIRECTOR: Eva SäfströmREHEARSAL ASSISTANT: Rafael Sady

STAGE MANAGER: Eric Alm

EXCLUSIVE NORTH AMERICAN REPRESENTATION: Rena Shagan Associates Inc

U.S. TOUR MANAGEMENT: Anne McDougall

Artistic Statement Mats Ek, a master in reinterpretation of the great classics into contemporary dance says: “All great stories through time must be taken care of so they remain significant in our time.” A romantic story placed in a brutal environment where the conflict between the people and the

power as well as the conflict between generations are portrayed. Love, Hate and Jealousy…

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The Cast

Juliet & Romeo

June 10 at 7:30 p.m. June 11 at 2 p.m. June 11 at 7:30 p.m. June 12 at 1 p.m.

JULIET Mariko Kida Ema Yuasa

ROMEO Anthony Lomuljo Anton Valdbauer

FATHER Arsen Mehrabyan Andrey Leonovitch

MOTHER Nadja Sellrup Daria Ivanova

PRINCE Andrey Leonovitch Pascal Jansson

THE NURSE Ana Laguna* Marie Lindqvist

PARIS Oscar Salomonsson

TYBALT Dawid Kupinski

MERCUTIO Jérôme Marchand Clyde Emmanuel Archer

BENVOLIO Hokuto Kodama Jens Rosén

ROSALINE Daria Ivanova Jeannette Diaz-Barboza

PETER Jörgen Stövind Hampus Gauffin

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June 10 at 7:30 p.m. June 11 at 2 p.m. June 11 at 7:30 p.m. June 12 at 1 p.m.

WOMEN Mayumi Yamaguchi Danielle Rosengren Marissa Parzei Frida Hambraeus Michelle Murphy Elena Fokina Minji Nam Moe Nieda Emily Slawski Sarah Jane Brodbeck Jeannette Diaz-Barboza Jonna Savioja

MEN AdiLiJiang Abudureheman Preston McBain Nikolaus Fotiadis Hampus Gauffin Jörgen Stövind Calum Lowden Aleksander Nikolaev Daniel Norgren-Jensen Claes Lindbom Gil Shachar Joakim Stephenson Johnny McMillan

EXTRAS Mia Hjelte Gabriel Barrenengoa Bence Jancsula Ross Martinson

About the Program

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Mats Ekchoreographer Swedish choreographer Mats Ek has a long-standing relationship with the Royal Swedish Ballet and they are constantly bringing in pieces of him such as for example Light Beings, Grass, Appartement and Black Radish. In 2013 he created his own version of the Shakespeare drama Romeo & Juliet for the Royal Swedish Ballet, named Juliet & Romeo which opened in May 2013. Mats Ek is one of the masters in the devel-opment of contemporary dance. He earned world fame with his radical interpretations of the classics Giselle (1982), Swan Lake (1987) and Sleeping Beauty (1996), in which he com-pletely re-contextualized the characters. The Paris Opera Ballet has acquired some of his works and in 2000 he has created Appartement for the Paris Opera Ballet. He sees movement rather as a way of individual expression than being primarily of aesthetic value: “Dance is thinking with your body.” In addition to dance, Ek produces plays, operas (for instance Orphée for the Royal Op-era in Stockholm, 2007) and dance theatre in which he makes actors dance and dancers act, like he did in The Merchant of Venice (2004) A Dream Play (2007), The Cherry Orchard (2010), The Ghost Sonata (2012) and Utvan-drarna (2014) at The Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm. He received various awards for the ballets he made especially for television, like the Dance Screen Award, two Emmy® Awards, ‘Prix Italia’ and Golden Prague 2013 and for Juliet & Romeo in 2014. Ek is the youngest son of actor Anders Ek and dancer and choreographer Birgit Cullberg. At the age of 17 he gave dance a try at Donya Feuer in Stockholm, but gave up after only three months. However, he discovered his love for theatre after college and started his theatre training at the Marieborg College (Norrköping, Sweden) in 1965. From 1966 to 1973 he worked as assistant leader and producer at both the Marionettes Theatre and the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm. The shift to dance came in 1972. A year later, Ek joined the Cullberg Ballet and in 1975 he became a member of the corps de ballet of the Ballett der Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf. In 1980–81 he was a member of the Nederlands Dans Theater, and his affiliation

with the company has continued in works later created for them: Over There (1990), Journey (1991) and A Sort Of (1997). His debut as a choreographer took place in 1976, when he made The Officer’s Servant for the Cullberg Ballet. The company had, under his mother’s leadership, developed into a high-profile com-pany where new opportunities were created for contemporary ballet. From 1978 to 1980 he shared the artistic leadership of the Cullberg Ballet with his mother Birgit before taking over completely until 1993 when he left to focus solely on his own artistic creation. Mats Ek was born in Malmö, Sweden, in 1945.

Magdalena Åberg set and costume designer Magdalena Åberg was trained at the Dra-matic University College in Stockholm and at the Academy of Cutting and Tailoring in Gothenburg. She has since worked at numer-ous prestigious Swedish stages such as the Gothenburg City Theatre, the Royal Dramatic Theatre, the Stockholm City Theatre, the Drottningholm Court Theatre and the Opera Hedeland in Denmark. At the Royal Swed-ish Opera she has done Un ballo in maschera and Stiffelio with director Tobias Theorell. She has collaborated with award-winning director Suzanne Osten at experimental stage Unga Klara and she has done a number of dance productions with Örjan Andersson at the House of Danse in Stockholm and at the Com-pania Nacional de Danza in Madrid. In 2013 she did Sweeney Todd at the Stockholm City Theatre and in recent years she has done Mad-ama Butterfly, Idomeno and Emilia Galotti.

Linus Fellbomlight designer Linus Fellbom has done light design for over 200 productions on theatre and opera stages over the world. Amongst his latest productions count A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Staatsoper in Vienna, Don Giovanni at the Opera di Firenze, Macbeth at the Greek National Opera in Athens, Thaïs at the LA Opera, Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Rome Opera and the world tour of Swedish hardcore punk band Refused. In 2005 he made his debut as a director and has since directed Shakespeare’s Richard III and Strindberg’s Creditors for the Swedish National Theatre,

The Freeshooter for Folkoperan and Maria Callas – an Unanswered Life at the Stockholm City Theatre. As a set designer he has done Jorma Elos’ Red in 3 for the Stuttgart Ballet, La Bohème for Norrlandsoperan and L’Orfeo for the Wermland Opera. In 2014 he did direction, set design, light and translations of On – Religion by Mick Gordon and A.C Grayling for the Swedish National Theatre. He received the prestigious Swedish Medea Prize in 2014 for best light design.

About the Royal Swedish BalletHistory There are only three older ballet compa-nies in the world, those of Paris, Copenhagen and St. Petersburg. Sweden got its first pro-fessional ballet company when King Gustaf III founded a Swedish Opera in Stockholm in 1773. Theater was the king’s great pas-sion, and he loved acting and writing his own plays. In only a few months after the Opera’s opening the French ballet master Louis Gallodier had managed to summon an ensemble numbering 30 dancers. The dancers of the Opera not only prom-ised to become quite good but also became quite numerous. Already in 1786 the company numbered an impressive 71 dancers. The king paid enormous fees in order to tempt distinguished dancers to come to Stockholm. Noverre’s pupil Antoine Bournonville was one of the most famous. He came to Stockholm in 1782 and took the Swedish audiences by sur-prise with his technique, physical beauty and charisma. Foreign visitors of the time report of the splendid Gustavian theater life, and the ballet company in particular. The Royal Swedish Ballet was, already from the early stages of its existence, an ensemble with a rich dramatic capacity. That kind of dancers were also the ones whom Gustaf III attracted to his Opera, and dramatic ballet can to this day be said to be the strength of the company. During the reign of Gustaf III Stockholm became a European metropolis of ballet, the company attained international fame and the ballet company was so vital that it by no means perished with the king’s demise in 1792. During the first decades of the 19th century the Swedish ballet still stayed in frequent contact with France, and the Italian Filippo Taglioni was active as a dancer and choreogra-pher in a couple of turns. Taglioni’s daughter Marie—a future star of international ballet—was born in Stockholm in 1804. The romantic movement’s great interest in folklore was reflected in the repertoire, based on Swedish folk dance, which was created by the young and talented dancer and choreog-rapher Anders Selinder. The romantic strains of ballet also confronted the Stockholm public through ballets like La Sylphide and Giselle, the latter of which came to Stockholm a mere four years after the premiere in Paris. August Bournonville spent several periods

in Stockholm and between 1861 and 1864 he was employed at the Royal Opera as direc-tor and producer. When he left the theatre it experienced a downfall, just like the one at several other European companies at that time. The renaissance of European ballet was to come some years into the 20th century and the impulses then came from the free dance and from Diaghilev’s Russian Ballet in Paris. The American barefoot dancer Isadora Duncan was seen in Stockholm in 1906 and in 1908 a visit by a group of dancers from the imperial ballet of St. Petersburg with Anna Pavlova as its leading star was a great success. One year later they travelled to Paris under the directorship of Serge Diaghilev and cre-ated that revolution which ballet in the west badly needed. Four years later the leading choreographer of the Russian Ballet, Michel Fokine, arrived in Stockholm and created a similar revolution. There were even plans to establish a rival company to the Ballets Russe, with the Swedish dancers lead by Fokine. But the First World War came in between and only in 1920 the idea came to fruition, but then without Fokine. In his stead one of his Swedish pupils, Jean Börlin, became principal choreographer and the wealthy young art collector Rolf de Maré took on a role similar to Diaghilev’s for the company. The Swedish Ballet in Paris existed for five hectic and intensive years, 1920 – 1925, and got a central position in the new art of its time. In Sweden modern dance grew strong during the 1930s and ’40s. Among the many young talents to appear then can be men-tioned Birgit Åkesson, Birgit Cullberg and Ivo Cramér. These choreographers were also engaged by the Royal Swedish Opera to create a new national repertoire when the ballet was relighted in the 1950s. The reform work was begun at the end of the ’40s by Antony Tudor, and with Birgit Cullberg’s sensational ballet Miss Julie the art of ballet regained the atten-tion of the public. This heralded a renaissance for the ballet which begun in earnest when the English ballet master Mary Skeaping came to Stockholm in 1953 to stage Swan Lake and got the Swedish company to escalate to a new level of professionalism. Skeaping remained as ballet director for almost ten years, and built a repertoire of classics as well as contemporary ballets created for the company by Swedish

choreographers. At the Drottningholm Court Theatre Mary Skeaping also gave the Swedes a unique repertoire of ballets in historical styles. This work has later been carried on by Ivo Cramér and Regina Beck-Friis. In modern times the Swedish dancers’ particular talent for dramatic ballet has been exploited not only by national chorographers, but also by many internationally renowned artists, ranging from Antony Tudor to Jiri Kylian and John Neumeier. The full length narrative ballets by Kenneth MacMillan and John Cranko have also suited the company to perfection, as have the modern styles of movement by, for example, Glen Tetley or William Forsythe. The versatility in a national dance company of today is the profound vision the Artistic Director Johannes Öhman since 2011 and has somewhat become a signature for the Royal Swedish Ballet. To one evening master a 19th-century full length classics such as Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, Onegin, Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote and to the next evening to step into Mats Ek versions of Swan Lake and Juliet and Romeo, then forward into the world of Alexander Ekman, Johan Inger, Pontus Lidberg and further on to works by Sasha Waltz, Sharon Eyal, Emanuel Gatt and Roy Assaf. All in line with the intention of Gustaf III.“Honour our past while nourishing the future”

AwardsOlivier Award 2015 UK

Winner: Juliet & Romeo

Golden Prague Festival 2014 Tjeckia

Czech Crystal Award – Performing Arts

Winner: Juliet & Romeo

Leonide Massine Prize 2014 Italy

Winner: Mariko Kida

Taglioni – 1st European Ballet Award Germany

Nominee: Best Production

Prix Benois Award 2014 Russia

Winner: Mariko Kida

Best of Season 2013

Best Production: Juliet & Romeo

Dancer: Jerôme Marchand

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Royal Swedish Ballet in USA

1974Cities: Minneapolis, Champaign, Iowa City, Chicago, Ames, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Cupertino, Fresno, Los Angeles, Memphis, Birmingham, Columbia, Boston, Philadelphia, Hartford, New York and Vancouver.

Works: Swan Lake (Conus), Conservatoriet (Auguste Bournonville), Consort (Elliot Feld), Miss Julie (Birgit Cullberg), Gaite Parisienne, Pdd from Romeo and Juliet (McMillan), Embrace Tiger (GlennTetley), Sleeping Beauty Act II and III (Ulf Gadd)

1984Tour San Antonio, Texas:Othello (José Limon), War and Peace –  pas de deux from Act II (Valery Panov), Pas de Quatre (Anton Dolin), Three Sisters (Valerij Panov)

1996Guest appearance New York:Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven (Ulysses Dove)

1999Washington:Les Ballets Suédois (Within Quota; Millicent Hodson, Kenneth Archer, El Greco; Ivo Cramèr, Dervischer; Millicent Hodson, Kenneth Archer, Skating Rink; Millicent Hodson, Kenneth Archer)

Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler (Johan Neumeier)

Costa Mesa:Swan Lake (Natahlie Conus)Les Ballets Suédois (Within Quota; Millicent Hodson, Kenneth Archer, El Greco; Ivo Cramèr, Dervischer; Millicent Hodson, Kenneth Archer, Skating Rink; Millicent Hodson, Kenneth Archer)

Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler (Johan Neumeier)

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About the ArtistsMariko KidaEducation:Souda Ballet School (Japan), San Francisco Ballet School (United States 2000–2002). Kida joined the Royal Swedish Ballet in 2012 and was appointed principal dancer 2014. She has also worked for Alberta Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal and The Göteborg Ballet/The Göteborg Dance Company.

Roles: Aurora in Sleeping Beauty (Mats Ek), Door pas de deux in Appartement (Mats Ek), Juliette Romeo & Juliette (Jean-Christophe Maillot), Principal Couple in Rubies and Principal in Allegro Brillante (George Balanchine), Bella Figura and Red Couple in Forgotten Land (Jirí Kylián), Kaamos, Arbos, Minus One, Perpetuum (Ohad Naharin), Nobody (Sasha Waltz). At the Royal Opera stage she has appeared in the works of Marcia Haydée, Johan Inger and Emanuel Gat. Mats Ek created his Juliet for Mariko and she danced the world premiere. Mariko has danced in pieces by Alexander Ekman, Medhi Walerski, Örjan Andersson, Helena Franzén, Stijn Celis, Fernando Melo and many others.

Other experiences:Mariko was invited as a guest to dance for 50 years of anniversary of the Canadian Embassy in Cairo, Egypt at the Cairo Opera House (2004). She danced at Japanese Prince Takamado’s Memorial Lausanne Gala as the winner of Prix de Lausanne (Tokyo, 2007).

Awards:Prix de Lausanne Scholarship 2000 (Lausanne, Switzerland), the Benois de la Danse Award winner in 2014 for her role as Juliet in Mats Ek’s Juliet & Romeo and the Léonide Massine prize 2014 for the same role.

Other information:Mariko was elected “Outstanding Dancer of the Year” by Dance Europe (October, 2010) for the role of Aurora in Mats Ek’s Sleeping Beauty. She was selected as one of “25 to Watch in 2006” by Dance Magazine (USA, 2006) for starring in Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Romeo and Juliette.

Ema YuasaEducation: Started to dance in 1992 in Hiroshima, Japan before entering Académie de danse classique Princesse Grace under the direction of Marika Besobrasova in 1999. Ema graduated 2001 at the top of her grade.

Roles: After dancing in Dresden Ballet in 2002 and Ballet de l’Opéra de Nice in 2013 she joined NDT 2 in 2204 and NDT 1 in 2006. She has performed pieces from Jiří Kylián, Mats Ek, William Forsythe, Ohad Naharin, Han van Manen, Paul Lightfoot, Sol León, Crystal Pite, Johan Inger, Tero Saarinen, Syusaku Takeuchi, Wayne Macgregor, Stephan Toss, Marco Goecke, Medhi Walerski, Alexander Ekman, Gabriela Carrizo & Franck Chartier (Peeping Tom), Sharon Eyal & Gui Behar amongst others.

Other experiences:In 2010 started choreographing at annual NDT event “SWITCH” and her piece was chosen to perform at Korzo Theatre in Holland. In 2012 she choreographed a site specific dance piece in Japan and in 2014 she choreographed for young dancers at the NDT’s Summer Intensive Dance Course.

Anthony Lomuljo Education: BFA from The Juilliard School in 2010 under the direction of Lawrence Rhodes. Lomuljo joined the Royal Swedish Ballet in 2012. He has also worked for The Göteborg Ballet/the Göteborg Dance Company.

Roles: Lomuljo has worked with choreographers such as José Limón, Mark Morris, Jerome Robbins, John Wielond, Azsuie Barton, Crystal Pite, Fernando Melo, Stijn Celis, Luke Timulak, Helena Franzén, Emanuel Gat, Örjan Andersson, Johan Inger, Kenneth Kvarnström, Alexander Ekman, Sacha Waltz, Sharon Eyal and Mats Ek. Mats Ek created his Romeo for Anthony and he danced the role at the world premiere.

Other experiences: Sidra Bell Dance New York City, Zhukov Dance Theatre, San Francisco.

Anton ValdbauerEducation:Vaganova Ballet Academy, St. Petersburg. Anton Valdbauer joined the Royal Swedish Ballet in 2012. He has also worked for European Ballet, Netherlands Dance Theatre 2, Cullberg Ballet, Netherlands Dance Theatre 1.

Roles: Pieces by Jiří Kylián, Mats Ek, Ohad Naharin, Crystal Pite, Paul Lightfoot and Sol León, Marco Goecke, Johan Inger, Alexander Ekman, Medhi Walersky, Stijn Celis, Luke Timulak, Hans van Manen, Örjan Andersson, Crystal Pite, Sharon Eyal and Mats Ek. Anton Valdbauer has danced the role of Romeo in Stockholm and on tour.

Awards:Prize for Best Choreography in the 10th International Ballet Competition in Moscow, prize for best interpretation of Choreography Competition in Burgos, (Spain).

Arsen MehrabyanEducation:Armenian National Ballet School 1989–1998, Hamburg Ballet School 1998–2000. Mehrabyan joined the Royal Swedish Ballet in 2011 as 1st soloist and was appointed principal dancer 2014. He has also worked for Hamburg Ballet 2000–2009 (soloist from 2003), Zurich Ballet 2009–2011 (1st Soloist).

Roles:Solor, Bronze God in La Bayadère (Natalia Makarova), Nijinski (Golden Slave, Stanislav, The Spirit of the Rose), The Faun (John Neumeier), the Charcoal Burner in The Nutcracker (Pär Isberg), James in La Sylphide (August Bournonville) and Onegin in Onegin (John Cranko). He performed the role of the Father at the world premiere of Juliet & Romeo.

Other experiences: Artistic director and choreographer for Forceful Feelings, the first mobile professional, the Armenian Ballet Company.

Guest performances: Roberto Bolle and Friends in Genova, Italy.

Awards: National Ballet Soare, Montevideo, Uruguay; Zurich Ballet, Heinz Spoerli; Bubenicek and

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Friends, Prague and International Ballet Gala, Moscow.

Andrey LeonovitchEducation: Born in Minsk, Belarus, and educated at the Minsk Ballet Academy in Belarus. Leonovitch has been with the Royal Swedish Ballet since 2004 as 1st soloist and has also worked as a principal dancer at Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in Montreal, Canada, Ballet Theatre of Minsk, Belarus, Poznan Bolshoi Ballet in Poland, Warsaw National Theatre in Poland, as a soloist in the National Ballet of Belarus and as a guest in Bratislava National Ballet.

Roles: With the Royal Swedish Ballet: Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake (Natalie Conus), the Charcoal Burner in The Nutcracker (Pär Isberg), Captain Ephraim of Pippi Longstocking (Pär Isberg), Jean in Miss Julie (Birgit Cullberg), Onegin in Onegin (John Cranko). Soloist parts in ballets by Mats Ek, Nacho Duato, John Neumeier, Mats Ek, Patrice Bart, Christian Spuck, Nils Christe, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Jiří Kylián, Krzysztof Pastor, Natalia Makarova.

Other experiences: Guest performances in France, Germany, Austria, Holland, Switzerland, China, Japan, USA, Taiwan, Canada, Mexico, Spain and Belgium.

Nadja SellrupEducation:Born in Stockholm and educated at the Royal Swedish Ballet School. Sellrup joined the Royal Swedish Ballet in 1984, the same year as she was the finalist in Prix de Lausanne. In 1995 she won silver medal at the Eurovision Contest for Young Dancers and joined the Bayerisches Staatsballett in Munich as soloist. In 2001 joined the Victor Ullate Company in Madrid and in 2002 Nacho Duatos Compañia Nacional de Danza. She returned to the Royal Swedish Ballet in 2007 as principal dancer.

Roles:Odette/Odile in Swan Lake (Natalia Conus after Petipa/Ivanov), Giselle in Giselle (Nathalia Makarova), Juliet in Romeo and Juliet (McMillan), Manon in Manon (Kenneth MacMillan) Maid in Nutcracker (Pär Isberg),

Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Pär Isberg), Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Johan Neumeier), Jungfrun in Light Beings (Mats Ek), Odette/Odile in Swan Lake (Mats Ek), The Fairy Goodmother Cendrillon (Jean-Christophe Maillot), Aurora in Sleeping Beauty (Marcia Haydee), Raymonda in Raymonda (Pontus Lidberg), The Hostess in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Alexander Ekman). Principal and Soloist parts in ballets by Maurice Béjart, Mats Ek, Jiří Kylián, Nacho Duato, Ohad Naharin, William Forsythe, Paul Taylor, Jocopo Godoni, Wim Vanderkeybus, George Balanchine, Victor Ullate, Örjan Andersson, Birgitta Egerbladh, Pontus Lidberg, Alexander Elman, Christina Caprioli, Giovanni Buccieri, Lee Brummer.

Other experiences: Nadja participated in the documentary Life at the Opera as well as other dance films with Alexander Ekman, Giovanni Buccieri and Malin Elgán. She has been a member of the dance company Stockholm 59 North since 2000. Guest performances in Spain, France, Hungary, Slovenia, Argentina, China, USA, Canada, Taiwan, Korea, Cuba, Colombia.

Daria IvanovaEducation:School of Irina Tihomirnova 1994–2001, Dance Centre Timofeeva 2001–2003, Rudra Béjart Lausanne 2003–2005. Ivanova joined the Royal Swedish Ballet in 2012. She has also worked for the Béjart Ballet Lausanne 2005–2012.

Roles: Bahkti III (Maurice Béjart), Serait-ce la mort (Maurice Béjart), Opus 5 (Maurice Béjart), Marteau sans Maître (Maurice Béjart), Figures of Thought (Alonzo King), Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty (Marcia Haydée), in I Knew Then (Johan Inger), The Snow Queen in The Nutcracker (Pär Isberg), Myrtha in Giselle (Natalia Makarova), Mozart: Mass in C minor (Stijn Celis), Rosalinda in Juliet & Romeo (Mats Ek). Performed the role of Rosalinda at the world premiere of Juliet & Romeo.

Pascal JanssonEducation:Educated at The Royal Swedish Ballet School. Jansson joined the Royal Swedish Ballet in 2000 and was previously with the Finnish National Ballet 1996–2000.

Roles:Prince in Nutcracker (Rudolf Nureyev), Prince in Sleeping Beauty (Rudolf Nureyev), Des Grieux (Kenneth MacMillan), Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (John Neumeier), Florestan in Sleeping Beauty (Beryl Grey). Lensky in Onegin (John Cranko), Charcoal Burner in Nutcracker (Pär Isberg), Efraim in Pippi Longstocking (Pär Isberg), Brahmin in La Bayadère (Natalia Makarova). Soloist parts in Ballets by Twyla Tharp, Nacho Duato, Jiří Kylián, William Forsythe and George Balanchine.

Other experiences:Participated in “Créange” as well as together with Jorma Uotinen and Sylvie Guillem, Guesting as Danilo in The Marry Widow (Maria Gracias) and as 1st slave in Aida at the Arena di Verona.

Awards:The Philip Morris Flower Award “for young and talented dancers” in Finland 1998. The Marianne Orlando Award “Dancer of the Year” 2006.

Ana LagunaEducation:Laguna was born and educated in Zaragoza, Spain, where she received her primary dance training from Maria de Avila. In 1974 she joined the Cullberg Ballet in Stockholm under the direction of Birgit Cullberg and Mats Ek and remained there until 1993 with the excep-tion of a one-year interlude with Nederlands Dans Theater in 1980–81.

Roles: Laguna created roles in important works by Mats Ek as well as by Jiří Kylián, Nacho Duato, Ohad Naharin and William Forsythe.

Other experiences:She has appeared on practically every major stage in the world and been awarded numer-ous honors including Premio Nacional de Danza (Spain) and Golden Carina Ari Medal

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(Sweden). After leaving the Cullberg Ballet in 1993, Laguna worked in drama and dance theatre productions and today teaches and coaches the works of Mats Ek at other dance companies.

Awards:Ana Laguna was awarded the title Dancer of the Royal Court 2006. Ana has been awarded numerous honors including Premio Nacional de Danza, Carina Ari Medal.

Marie LindqvistEducation: The Royal Opera Ballet School and the Royal Swedish Ballet School. Employed at the Royal Swedish Ballet 1987, appointed Soloist 1991, Principal Dancer 1993 and Dancer of the Royal Court 2004. Received the Royal Medal Litteris et Artibus 2014.

Roles:Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Manon and Mary Vetsera in Mayerling (Sir Kenneth MacMillan), Aurora in Sleeping Beauty (Dame Beryl Grey), Bianca in Taming of the Shrew and Tatjana in Onegin (John Cranko), Hippolyta/Titania in A Midsummer Nights Dream and Solveig in Peer Gynt (John Neumeier), Odette/Odile in Swan Lake (Natalia Conus and Sir Peter Wright), Cinderella (Frederick Ashton), Kitri in Don Quixote (Rudolf Nureyev), Giselle and both Gamzatti and Nikita in La Bayadère (Natalia Makarova), Miss Julie (Birgit Cullberg), Miranda in The Tempest (Glen Tetley), The Maid in The Nutcracker and Esmeralda in The Hunchback in Notre Dame (Pär Isberg), Firebird (Alexei Ratmansky), Isolde in Tristan (Krzysztof Pastor) Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty (Marcia Haydée) among others. She danced the role of The Mother in Juliet & Romeo on the world premiere.

Other experiences:She has also danced title roles in ballets by George Balanchine, Ulysses Dove, Mats Ek, Pär Isberg, Per Jonsson, Jiří Kylián, William Forsythe, Twyla Tharp and Birgit ÅkessonKrzysztof Pastor, Nacho Duato, David Dawson, Christopher Hampson and Alvin Ailey, Alonso King, Maurice Bejart and Alexander Ekman. Marie Lindqvist has been invited as guest artist in Hamburg, Copenhagen, Japan, Portugal and USA, China,

Italy, Denmark, Hungary, Ireland, Rumania and Venezuela. She was nominated for the Benois de la Danse Award 2005.

Awards:DN Casper award 1990 and also Svenska Dagbladets Opera Prize 1992 as well as the Philip Morris Ballet Flower Award 1994.

Oscar SalomonssonEducation:Salomonsson was born and raised in Stockholm and educated at the Royal Swedish Ballet School. Since 1997 he was employed at the Royal Swedish Ballet where he was appointed soloist 2002 and principal dancer 2012. Between 2004–2007 he was engaged as principal dancer in Nacho Duato’s Compañia Nacional de Danza in Madrid. From 2007 he returned to the Royal Swedish Ballet and in 2009 he received Artist of the Year Award.

Roles: The Prince in Sleeping Beauty (Dame Beryl Grey), Prince in Cendrillon (Jean-Christophe Maillot), the Charcoal Burner in The Nutcracker (Pär Isberg), Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Pär Isberg), The Chosen One in The Rite of Spring (Maurice Béjart), Franz in Coppelia (Marc Ribaud) Colas in La Fille mal Gardée (Sir Frederick Ashton), Lenskij in Onegin (John Cranko), Principle Couple in Scenes de Ballet (Sir Frederick Ashton). Solo parts in works by Nacho Duato, Mats Ek, William Forsythe, Örjan Andersson, George Balanchine, Pontus Lidberg, Alonzo King and others.

Other experiences:Participated in the movie A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence by Roy Andersson, premiere in Venice September 2014. Oscar Salomonsson danced the role of Paris at the world premiere of Juliet & Romeo.

Dawid KupinskiEducation:National Ballet School in Gdansk, Poland. Joined the Royal Swedish Ballet in 2012. He has previously worked for The Royal Ballet, Copenhagen, Denmark 2002–2007 and Béjart Ballet Lausanne 2007–2012.

Roles: The title role and Phoenix in The Firebird (Maurice Béjart), The Chosen One The Rite of Spring (Maurice Béjart), Le Chant du Compagnon Errant (Maurice Béjart), Lescaut in Manon (Sir Kenneth Macmillan), Etudes (Harald Lander), Prince Désiré in The Sleeping Beauty (Marcia Haydée), the Charcoal Burner in The Nutcracker (Pär Isberg ), Albrecht in Giselle (Natalia Makarova), Lenskij in Onegin (John Cranko), Paris and Tybalt in Juliet & Romeo (Mats Ek). Dawid Kupinski has performed the role of Paris as well as Tybalt in Stockholm and on tour.

Jérôme MarchandEducation: The Conservatoire National Supérieur Musique et Dance in Lyon. Jérôme joined the Royal Swedish Ballet in 2012 as 1st Soloist. He was appointed Principal Dancer 2014. He previously worked with The Ballet des Monte-Carlo 1998–2012 where he became principal dancer in 2007.

Roles:Paris, father Laurant and Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet (Jean Christophe Maillot), Carabosse in La Belle (J-C Maillot), Boléro (Maurice Béjart), Time Themes (Emanuel Gat), Mercutio in Juliet & Romeo (Mats Ek). Jérôme has been dancing in pieces by William Forsythe, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Jacopo Godani, Jirí Kylián, Paul Lightfoot and Sol León, Maurice Béjart, Itzik Galili, Twyla Tharp, Johan Inger, Alonzo King, Emio Greco, Shen Wei, Stijn Celis, Marcia Haydée, Emanuel Gat, Mats Ek and George Balanchine. Jerôme Marchand performed the role of Mercutio at the world premiere of Juliet & Romeo.

Clyde Emmanuel ArcherEducation: Ballet Tech in New York entered the Ailey School in 1997 and Julliard Scholl in 1997. Clyde Emmanuel Archer joined the Royal Swedish Ballet in 2013 and was appointed 1st soloist in 2016. He previously worked with Nacho Duatos Compañia Nacional de Danza,The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Cullberg Ballet and Gothenburg Ballet.

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Roles: Prince in Swan Lake (Mats Ek), Mercutio in Juliet & Romeo (Mats Ek).

Other experiences:Productions with Lesely Telford / Korzo teater in Holland and with Marcos Morau and la Veronal in the creation of SIENA.

Awards:Arts Award 1997, Princess Grace Award 2000, Dance Europe nomination one of 100 best dancers.

Hokuto KodamaEducation:Tokyo Ballet Works, San Francisco Ballet School. Joined the Royal Swedish Ballet in 2012. Prevously worked for the Alberta Ballet 2001–2004, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal, 2004–2008, 1st Soloist Göteborg Ballet/the Göteborg Dance Company 2008–2012.

Roles: Hokuto has worked with choreographers such as Ohad Naharin, Mats Ek, Sasha Waltz. Has been in the works of Wim Vandekeybus, Johan Inger, Stijn Celis, Örjan Andersson, Inbal Pino and many more. Additional expe-rience: Worked himself as a choreographer. Participated in a choreographic team in NUDANS 2010 have a collective dance project in Japan called Black Point

Awards:Mary von Sydow’s Award, 2010, 2nd Prize Varna International Ballet Competition, 2000.Hokuto Kodama performed the role of Benvolio at the world premiere of Juliet & Romeo.

Jens RosénEducation:Born in Sweden and educated at the Royal Swedish Ballet School. Jens has been with the Royal Ballet since 1995 and was appointed 1st soloist 1999. He has also worked in Victor Ullate Ballet Company, Madrid 2000–2001 and Compania Nacional de Danza, Madrid 2001–2007 (Artistic director: Nacho Duato)

Roles: Peter in The Nutcracker (Pär Isberg), Alain in La Fille mal Gardée (Sir Frederick Ashton)

Pulcinella (Birgit Cullberg), Castrati (Nacho Duato), Sola (Victor Ullate), Pas de Danse (Mats Ek), Harlequin in Harlequin’s Death (Ivo Cramér), Sqaranello in Don Juan (Regina Beck-Friis), The man in the Skating Rink (Millicent/Hodson), Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (John Neumeier), Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Pär Isberg), Benvolio in Juliet & Romeo (Mats Ek). Bronze Idol in La Bayadére (NataliaMakarova), The Jester in Swan Lake (Natalie Conus), Peasant pas de deux in Giselle (Natalia Makarova), Anders in Miss Julie (Birgit Cullberg), Youth aspect of Peer Gynt (John Neumeier), Benvolio in Romeo & Juliet (Sir Kenneth MacMillan), Pastoral pas de trois in Gustav III (Patrice Bart), Intendant in Cendrillion (Jean-Christophe Maillot) Pas de trois in Swan Lake (Natalie Conus). Jens Rosén has also danced solo parts in ballets by Nacho Duato, Paul Taylor, Mats Ek, William Forsythe, Twyla Tharp, Jirí Kylián, Maurice Bejárt, Jacopo Godani, Ohad Naharin, Victor Ullate, Edoardo Lao, Orjan Andersson, Per Jonsson, Kenneth Kvarnstrom.

Other experiences:Artistic leader of the dance group Stockholm 59˚ North since 2007.

Jeannette Diaz-BarbozaEducation: The Royal Swedish Ballet School 1992–2000. Engaged at the Royal Swedish Ballet since 2000, and appointed 2nd soloist in 2009. She has also worked for Alonzo King Lines Ballet 2010–2011.

Roles::Snow Queen in The Nutcracker (Pär Isberg), Polish Princess and Leader swans in Swan Lake (Sir Peter Wright), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (John Neumeier), Neapolitan solo and Leader of the swans in Swan Lake (Natalie Conus), Peasant pas de deux in Giselle (Natalia Makarova), Stepsister in Cendrillon (Jean-Christophe Maillot), Angel in Pippi Longstocking (Pär Isberg), Beauty fairy in Sleeping Beauty (Beryl Grey), Kristin in Miss Julie (Birgit Cullberg), Quartett # 11 (Örjan Andersson), Handel (Alonzo King), The Thrill of Exactitude Vertigius (William Forsythe), the Angel in Annunciation (Angelin Preljocaj), Hookers in Romeo and Juliet (Kenneth

MacMillan), Agon (George Balanchine), Courtesan in Manon (Sir Kenneth MacMillan), Rosalinda in Juliet & Romeo (Mats Ek). Roles in Chinese Objects (Susanna Leinonen), Na Floresta and Por vous muero (Nacho Duato), Radis Noir (Mats Ek), Gustav III (Patrice Bart), door Pd2 in Apartment (Mats Ek).

Jörgen StövindEducation: Jörgen Stövind was born in Norway and edu-cated at the Norwegian Opera Ballet School and the Royal Swedish Ballet School. Jörgen has been with the Royal Swedish Ballet since 1999.

Roles:Peaux (Per Jonson) at Kulturhuset in Stockholm, Mandolin solo in Romeo & Juliet (Sir Kenneth MacMillan), Peter in The Nutcracker (Pär Isberg), traitors in Tristan (Krzysztof Pastor), Second Detail (William Forsythe), Apartment (Mats Ek), Scene de Ballet (Sir Frederick Ashton), Carmen (Kenneth Kvarnström), Symphony of Psalms (Jiří Kylián) Radis Noir (Mats Ek), Na Floresta (Nacho Duato). Jörgen Stövind performed the role of Peter at the world pre-miere of Juliet & Romeo.

Hampus GauffinEducation:The Royal Swedish Ballet School. Joined the Royal Swedish Ballet in 2012. He has also worked for Ballet Jörgen, Toronto, Canada, 2007–2011.

Roles:Romeo in Romeo and Juliet with Ballet Jörgen, prince in The Nutcracker with Ballet Jörgen, Prince in Cinderella (Ballet Jörgen), Franz in Coppelia (Ballet Jörgen), Grosse Fuge by Hans van Manen, the Jester in Swan Lake (Natalia Conus), Peter in Juliet & Romeo (Mats Ek). Hampus Gauffin has performed the role of Peter in Stockholm and on tour.

Other experiences: Guest Artists with Banff Festival Ballet, Gala with the principal dancer of the National Ballet of Canada.

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Pacific Symphony