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Nacho Duato | STAFF |
Born in Valencia, Spain, Nacho Duato started professional ballet training with the Rambert
School in London at eighteen, expanding his studies at Maurice
Béjart's Mudra School in Brussels and completing his dance education at the Alvin
Ailey American Dance Centre in New York.
In 1980 Duato signed his first professional contract with the Cullberg
Ballet in Stockholm, and a year later Jirí Kylián brought him to the Nederlands
Dans Theater in Holland, where he was quickly incorporated into the company and repertoire.
For his achievements as a dancer
he received the
VSCD Gouden Dansprijs (Golden
Dance Award) for the year
1987. Duato's natural talent soon
had him look beyond the limitations
of a dancer and turn towards choreography.
His first attempt, in 1983, turned
into a major success: Jardí Tancat,
to Spanish/Catalan music by compatriot
María del Mar Bonet won him the
first prize at the International
Choreographic Workshop (Internationaler
Choreographischer Wettbewerb) at Cologne.
In 1988 Nacho Duato was named Resident
Choreographer for Nederlands Dans
Theater working alongside Hans van Manen and Jirí Kylián.
With the
growing demand from international
companies requesting a work
of his for their repertoire,
Duato had to take a decisive
step in
his career. His ballets form
part of the repertoire of
companies like Cullberg Ballet,
Nederlands Dans Theater,
Les Grands Ballets Canadiens,
Deutsche Oper Ballet, Australian
Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet,
Ballet Gulbenkian, Finnish
Opera Ballet, San Francisco
Ballet, Royal Ballet and American
Ballet Theatre and
Paris
Opera Ballet.
In 1995, he received the grade of Chevalier
dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres which is awarded annually by the French
Embassy in Spain.
In 1998 the Spanish Government awarded him the Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts.
In April 2000 at the Stuttgart
Opera he won the
Benois de la Danse, one of the most prestigious international awards for choreography, presented by the International
Dance Association for Multiplicity.
Forms of Silence and Emptiness.
Duato is National
Dance Award 2003 in the category of “Creation”.
At the invitation of the Instituto
Nacional de las Artes Escénicas y de la Música of the Spanish Ministry of Culture, Nacho Duato has been Artistic Director of the Compañía
Nacional de Danza since June 1990.
