Alexander Ekman
Alexander Ekman is an international choreographer/director creating pieces for theatres, opera houses and museums. He also directs films and creates live performances/events in pop up locations around the world.
Ekman is known for his fast paced timing, witty humor and clever transitions. He aims to create work that the majority can relate and connect with. Since 2006 he has devoted his time to creating pieces that both entertain and question the observer. He aims to transform the atmosphere in the audience and to always surprise.
Ekman has created and collaborated with around 45 dance companies worldwide including the Royal Swedish Ballet, Cullberg Ballet, Compañia Nacional de Danza Goteborg Ballet, Iceland Dance Company, Bern Ballet, Cedar Lake Contemporary Dance, Ballet de l’Opéra du Rhin, The Norwegian National Ballet, Boston Ballet, Royal Ballet of Flanders, Sydney Dance Company, The Royal Ballet of Denmark and Vienna Ballet. He has also created for festivals the French Europa Danse and the Athens International Dance Festival.
In 2005, at the International Choreography Competition of Hannover, Ekman was awarded first prize by the critics, and won second prize with Swingle Sisters (one of the ballets from his Sisters trilogy).
During 2011 Ekman also worked as a teacher/choreographer at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City.
Ekman’s 2010 work Cacti has become a worldwide hit and has been performed by 15 dance companies including Sydney Dance Company. The work was nominated for the Dutch Zwaan dance prize in 2010, the National Dance Award (UK) in 2012, and also for the prestigious British Olivier Award. Cacti continues to entertain audiences around the world with its important message.
In 2009 Ekman created the dance film 40 Meters Under for and with Cullberg Ballet, which was broadcasted on national Swedish television. That autumn he collaborated with the renowned Swedish choreographer Mats Ek on video projections for Ek’s play Håll Plats. Ekman also created an installation for the Modern Museum in Stockholm with dancers of Cullberg Ballet.
In 2012 he collaborated with Alicia Keys and incorporated her into his work Tuplet.
In 2013 Ekman created his first commercial for the flooring Company Bolon, which has won several design awards internationally.
In 2014 Ekman created his own version of Swan Lake, a new take on the most famous ballet of them all. A Swan Lake received enormous attention worldwide and will return to the Oslo Opera House in 2016. Ekman filled the stage with 6,000 litres of water creating a real lake on stage. A Swan Lake is available on DVD and the documentary Rare Birds by TM Rives shows the process of how it became possible to create a lake inside an opera house.
Ekman has also collaborated closely with top fashion designer Henrik Vibskov who created the costumes for Ekman’s A Swan Lake. Vibskov then adapted the choreography for his fall collection, which was shown in Paris and Copenhagen during Fashion Week.
In 2015 Ekman created his own version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Royal Swedish Ballet, which became an instant hit with the audience and critics. In September of that year he received the Swedish Medea Award for “Inventor and renewer”.