STEPHEN DELATTRE
Stéphen Delattre, born in France, received his initial professional dance education at the "Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Danse - Roland Petit" in Marseille from 1993 to 1999. His first engagement led him to the "Jeune Ballet International - Rosella Hightower" in Cannes in 2000, followed till 2012 by various engagements as a Soloist Dancer at the State Theatre Saarbrucken, the State Theatre Braunschweig, the State Opera House Hanover, the State Theatre Augsburg and the State Theatre Mainz. During those years, Stéphen was regularly invited to perform as a guest dancer at different events around the world, such as dance festivals and charity or star galas. Stéphen Delattre has danced a wide and famous repertoire by over 40 choreographers, including works by George Balanchine, William Forsythe, Roland Petit, Mauro Bigonzetti, Nacho Duato, Angelin Preljocaj, Cayetano Soto, Jacopo Godani, Thierry Malandain, Itzik Galili, Christian Spuck and Marco Goecke. Stéphen has interpreted many main roles such as "The White Rabbit" in Alice in Wonderland, "Mercutio" in Romeo and Julia, "The Prince" in Traumgekrönt, "Lysander" in A Midsummer Night's Dream, "Jago" in Othello, "Fritz" and "The Chinese" in The Nutcracker. In 2000, Stéphen Delattre was awarded the "First Prize" for both solo and duo categories in the National Dance Competition of the PACA area (South France) whereas the Augsburg Journal (Germany) named him "Best Dancer of the year 2009". Stéphen started choreographing at age thirteen and has since become an inventive and passionate choreographer who draws on both classical and contemporary dance to synergistically sculpt his own distinctive body language. His originality empowers him to command space and time in the vast poetic tapestry that he calls to life. After dancing as a Soloist for more than twelve years in six national theatres, Stéphen Delattre took his next career step and became the Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer of the Delattre Dance Company. Interweaving authenticity and innovation, Delattre focuses on reaching the deep emotions and thoughts of his viewers and is dedicated to making everyone feel welcome and directly involved in the artistic world. During his choreographic career, Stéphen has been invited to work in France, Poland, Korea, Russia, Dominican Republic, Belgium, The Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, Israel, Portugal, China, Greece, Japan and Italy. After his selection for the International Dance Festival "Side-by-Side" in Düsseldorf, his work was awarded the prize "Best Video of the month". In 2008, the danceforyou-magazine named Stéphen "Best Upcoming Choreographer 2007". Over four consecutive years, Stéphen Delattre was invited to choreograph for the "Noverre-Gesellschaft" in Stuttgart and also for the International Choreographers’ Contest in Hanover, where he received the "Critic’s Prize 2010". Delattre has created several pieces for German opera houses and theatres, such as the Saarland State Theatre Saarbrucken, the State Theatre Braunschweig, the State Opera House Hanover, and the State Theatre Augsburg. His choreographies are also sought after internationally, with contributions to the Kielce Dance Company in Poland, the Modern Dance Theatre of Ankara in Turkey, the Busan International Dance Festival in Korea, the National Centre for Performing Arts of Beijing in China, the Modern Dance Festival in Portugal, the International Stage Dance Gala in Italy and in Japan. Furthermore, he has choreographed for the "Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Danse" in Marseille and the "Ecole Supérieure de Danse" in Cannes (France). Stéphen was invited to the State Theatre Stuttgart, the Lucky Trimmer Tanz Performance in Berlin, the State Theatre Giessen, the State Theatre Coblence and the State Theatre Gärtnerplatz Munich as a guest choreographer. After creating BLA Bla bla in 2011 for dancers of the State Theatre Mainz, Stéphen Delattre presented his first full choreographic evening Poetry takes Form at the Mainzer Kammerspiel Theatre, a production supported by the German Ministry of Culture. Moreover, Delattre has created choreographies for Principal Dancers of the State Theatre Karlsruhe, the English National Ballet of London, the Royal Danish Ballet of Copenhagen and the National Opera Dresden, as well as for the Principal Dancers of the Stuttgart Ballet like Alicia Amatriain, David Moore, Bridget Breiner, Katja Wünsche and Alexander Zaitsev. In 2012, Delattre won the "ilDance's first Choreography Competition" in Sweden and was invited to choreograph Rain, in her dark eyes for the Star of the National Paris Opera House, Marie-Agnès Gillot, which was premiered at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow for the 20th Anniversary of the "Benois de la Danse". In 2013, he was invited to adjudicate for the International Dance Competition "Terpsichore's Works 2013" in Greece. In 2014, Stéphen premiered his Story-Ballet MOMO, from the famous novel by Michael Ende, and in 2016 Notre-Dame de Paris, based on Victor Hugo’s historical novel: both creations were well-received by a large audience and acclaimed by the press. Today, Stéphen Delattre is regularly invited to diverse events worldwide as a guest choreographer and a teacher. At the same time, he is a successful Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer: in addition to the full ballet evenings he organises and choreographs, Delattre also calls on talented and prestigious contemporary guest choreographers. In so doing, his objective is to challenge the motivated and inspired members of the Delattre Dance Company to open their bodies, minds and hearts to a provocative frontier between movement and feelings.