Mats Ek

Ek was born in Malmö (18 April 1945), the son of the Royal Dramatic Theatre actor Anders Ek and famous choreographer Birgit Cullberg.

At 17, he followed a summer dance course (modern) taught by Donya Feuer. He pursued theatrical studies at the Marieborg Folks College in Sweden. From 1966 until 1973, he acted as the director for the Marionett Theater as well as the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm.

In 1972, Ek joined the Cullberg Ballet. In 1975, he formed part of the corps de ballet for the Ballett der Deutschen Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf. And in 1976, he made his first choreography titled The Officer's Servant for the Cullberg Ballet. In 1978, Ek became, together with Birgit Cullberg, artistic director of the Cullberg Ballet, until 1985 when the responsibility became his entirely. This position he fulfilled until 1993. During the season 1980-1981, he was associated with the Nederlands Dans Theater as dancer as well as choreographer.

In some of Ek's former choreographies, traditions of Kurt Jooss and of his mother, Birgit Cullberg may be apparent. He uses classical as well as modern dance techniques. Social engagement of psychological dilemmas combined with subtle humor, form the basis of his choreographies. For Ek, movement is a means of individual expression. Aesthetic value is not his first priority.

He has for thirty years been a highly esteemed choreographer throughout the world. He studied dance and theatre and directed theatre at the Marionette Theatre, the Stockholm City Theatre and the Royal Dramatic Theatre. In 1973 Mats Ek joined the Cullberg Ballet as a dancer. Three years later he began choreographing for the company with immediate success. Saint George and the Dragon, Soweto and The House of Bernarda belong to his earliest ballets. From 1981 until 1993 Mats Ek was the artistic director of the Cullberg Ballet, succeeding his mother Birgit Cullberg. Mats Ek's extensive production of ballets includes more than twenty works for the Cullberg Ballet, among them the sensational reworks of the great classics like Giselle (1982), Swan Lake (1987) and Carmen (1992). After leaving the Cullberg Ballet, Mats Ek became guest choreographer with major international dance companies. He created Sleeping Beauty for the Hamburg Ballet (1996), A Sort Of for the Nederlands Dans Theater (1997), and Apartment for the Paris Opera (2000). Several of Mats Ek's ballets have been adapted for television, two of them received Emmy awards.

Mats Ek is also acclaimed for his choreographic theater works, Don Giovanni (1999) and Andromaque (2001) at the Royal Dramatic Theatre being two of them. With his latest choreography FLUKE, premiered in November 2002 at Dansens Hus in Stockholm, Mats Ek has once again created a work for the Cullberg Ballet, this time in cooperation with the Pork Quartet.
In 2006, he won the Prix Benois de la Danse.

Last Updated-2012
Accessed-Tuesday 7th February 2012
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mats_Ek

Mats Ek has worked as a choreographer for 41 years. He is one of the most important names on the international dance scene. Mats Ek completed a dance course under Donya Feurer in the summer of 1962 and then studied theatre at Mariebergs Folk High School. Between 1966 and 1973 he worked as assistant director and director at the Marionette Theatre, Stockholm’s Stadsteater and the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm. Mats Ek was a dancer at the Cullberg Ballet from 1973 and from 1976 also a choreographer. From 1982 to 1993 he was the artistic director of the Cullberg Ballet, a task he took over from his mother Birgit Cullberg.
Mats Ek has created some twenty dance productions for the Cullberg Ballet. Some of them are new interpretations of the major classics, among them Giselle (1982) and Swan Lake (1987) that were on the repertoire for fifteen years and have been performed by the Cullberg Ballet all over the world. In 1992 he created Carmen, the TV-version of which won an Emmy. Included in the non-narrative genre were ballets such as She was Black and Solo for Two, which also won an Emmy when it was produced for TV under the name of Smoke.
Ek’s breakthrough production was Saint George and the Dragon, performed at Stora Teatern in 1978. The scenography was by Marie-Louise Ekman, and Ulf Gadd performed the role of Saint George. 1980 saw the production of The House of Bernarda Alba, again with scenography by Ekman. Vilgot Gyllengran danced the role of Bernarda and the ballet became so successful that it was performed again in 1982. Both productions were created during Ulf Gadds time as Ballet Director at Stora Teatern. When Gadd then returned to the Göteborg Opera as ballet director, Mats Ek’s Giselle (1999) was produced. Monica Milocco danced the leading role, with Annethe Kevin alternating in the role,and the scenography once again bore the signature of Marie-Louise Ekman. This production too was so highly acclaimed that it was revived, with a new premiere in January 2001.
After leaving the Cullberg Ballet in 1993 Mats Ek worked as a freelancechoreographer and gave guest performances in many parts of the world. Apart from creating ballets for the Cullberg Ballet he has also choreographed works for the Hamburg Ballet (Sleeping Beauty, 1996), Nederlands Dans Theater (A Sort of, 1977, etc.) and the Paris Opéra Ballet (Appartement, 2000). Sleeping Beauty and A Sort Of were subsequently included in the Cullberg Ballet’s repertoire. In 2005 Mats Ek choreographed Aluminium for Compañia Nacional de Danza in Madrid. Parallel with his dance career, Mats Ek has also directed/choreographed dance theatre for Unga Klara in Stockholm (Dance with your Neighbour 1995), The Orion Theatre (On Malta 1996, Johanna 1998) and The Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm (Don Juan, 1999; Andromache, 2002, The Merchant of Venice, 2004). Mats Ek is currently engaged as director/choreographer of A Dream Play that had its premiere at The Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm.

Accessed-Tuesday 7th February 2012
http://en.opera.se/om-oss/personal/portratt/mats-ek/