Mats Ek Choreographer

Biography

Mats Ek is born on 18 April 1945 in Malmö, Sweden. He is the son of choreographer Birgit Cullberg and actor Anders Ek, who starred in Ingmar Bergman films. At the age of eight, he took part in Medea, a choreography by his mother, and nine years later, he was introduced to the Martha Graham technique. From 1966 to 1973, he worked as an assistant director, notably for the Stockholm Puppet Theatre (Wozzeck, 1968).

In 1972, he studied classical dance and joined the Cullberg Ballet a year later. He then embarked on a career as a choreographer: The Officer's Servant, Saint George and the Dragon (1976) and Soweto (1977). From 1978 to 1980, he co-directed the Cullberg Ballet with his mother. Then he spent a season as dancer and choreographer at the Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT). He subsequently became artistic director of the Cullberg Ballet.

Mats Ek gained international recognition for his reinterpretations of the great repertoire classics – Giselle (1982), Swan Lake (1987), Carmen (1992), Sleeping Beauty (1996). After passing on Giselle in 1993 to the dancers of the Paris Opera Ballet, he created Appartement in 2000 at the Palais Garnier.

This was followed by Place for Ana Laguna and Mikhaïl Barychnikov and The Other for Niklas Ek and Mikhaïl Barychnikov in 2007. Over the course of his career, Mats Ek filmed some of his ballets, including The House of Bernarda, Wet Woman (with Sylvie Guillem) and Smoke (with Sylvie Guillem and Niklas Ek).

For the theater, he has also directed numerous plays, including Dom Juan, The Cherry Orchard, Andromaque and The Merchant of Venice.

In 2019, Mats Ek returned to the Paris Opera to offer the dancers of the company two creations, Another Place and Boléro. In 2025, he created A Cup of Coffee for the Royal Swedish Ballet, with Ana Laguna, Yvan Auzely, Lisa Drake and Nicolas Le Riche as guest dancers.

Currently in

Immerse in the Paris Opera universe

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