Jean-Christophe Maillot was born in the French city of Tours, but didn’t stay there for long. He studied dance and piano at a very young age at the Tours Conservatory directed by Alain Davesne. He was awarded the Prix de Lausanne in 1977.
Taken on by John Neumeier at the Hamburg Ballet, he performed leading roles for five years. His career as a dancer came to an end when he suffered an accident.
He became choreographer and director of the Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Tours in 1983. Two years later, he founded the dance festival “Le Chorégraphique”.
My father used to say to me: you belong only to yourself. The day you give in, you don’t completely belong to yourself anymore. Because then you owe something to others.
Jean-Christophe created his first piece in Monaco, Les Adieux, for the Monte-Carlo Ballet in 1986. He successively became artistic advisor and then director-choreographer in September 1993. In July 2014, at the invitation of Sergeï Filin, he created La Mégère Apprivoisée for the Bolshoi Theatre Ballet.
Today, the choreographer works with the Ballet de Monte-Carlo, surprising local audiences and touring with his dancers all over the world. He has profoundly reoriented the company’s repertoire, dealing with both classical themes and the field of abstraction.
Since 1993, Jean-Christophe has been creating magic in Monaco as artistic director.
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