EDUCATION
1986 - 1993 - Dance Conservatoire in Prague
2000 - 2023 - Master of Arts Dance Pedagogy Degree at the Paluccca University of Dance Dresden

CAREER
1993 - 2006 - member of Hamburg Ballet under John Neumeier
1997 - At the age of 22  promoted to Principal dancer
since 1999 - Choreographer

2006 - 2015 - Principal dancer at Semperoper Ballet in Dresden
2009 - Creater of Les Ballets Bubeníček
2023 - Creator of Bubeníček Ballet Masterclasses

since 2015 - Freelance Choreographer 

Internationally sought-after choreographer Jiří Bubeníček enjoyed enormous acclaim over his almost 25-year career as one of the world’s top ballet dancers. Musicality, athleticism, suppleness, an unparalleled technique and his instinctive sense of character turned him into an international star. During his time with the Hamburg Ballet, John Neumeier created numerous roles for him, the most legendary being “Nijinsky”. Following his engagement from 1993-2006 (from 1997 as principal), Jiří Bubeníček went to Dresden to take up the position of principal with the Semperoper Ballet. There he performed countless choreographies by Petipa, Fokine, Balanchine, McMillan, Cranko, Kylián, Inger, Forsythe, Dawson, Celis and the Dresden ballet director Aaron S. Watkin until his departure in 2015. Guest appearances took him around the world. Particularly memorable were his engagements at the Ballet de l’Opéra de Paris where he partnered the leading ballerinas of the age in the “Lady of the Camellias”. In 2002 he was awarded the “Benois de la Danse” for his interpretation of Armand. His many other prizes include the “Espèces” of the Prix de Lausanne or the Mary Wigman Prize bestowed by the Semperoper.

Jiří Bubeníček created his first choreographies back in 1999 in the midst of his dancing career. From short scenes to abstract pieces to full-length narrative ballets, his current oeuvre of over 65 works is impressively large.

In particular, Jiří Bubeníček has established an outstanding reputation as a choreographic storyteller: his successful productions include “Anita Berber – Goddess of the Night” (2016), “Doctor Zhivago” (2016), “The Piano” (2018), “The Trial” (2019), “Cinderella” (2019) or "Romeo and Juliet" (2022). Amongst his many honours, the choreographer was awarded the “Europa in Danza” for his version of “Carmen” (2019) or “Boris Papandopulo” award for „Romeo and Juliet“ for the best ballet performance in the 2021/22 season. His last creation was narrative full length ballet „Spartacus“, premiered January 27, 2023 for the Croatian National Ballet in Zagreb. And, of course, Jiří Bubeníček is a familiar face in the international media through TV and DVD productions of his choreographies as well as those featuring him as a dancer. In addition to founding a touring company “Les Ballets Bubeníček” to perform own choreographies, Jiří Bubeníček is also socially engaged, striving to build bridges between diverse cultures. For these efforts, he was awarded the “Silver Medal of the City of Prague” in 2017, a very special accolade from his home city. 

He has choreographer for ballet companies such as:

San Francisco Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, Teatro di Roma, Royal New Zealand Ballet, Tokyo City Ballet, New York City Ballet, State Vienna Ballet, Hamburg Ballet, Semperoper Ballet in Dresden, Mariinsky Ballet Theater, National Ballet of China, North Carolina Dance Theatre in Charlotte in USA, for dancers from Opéra national de Paris, Zurich Ballet, Croatian National Ballet in Zagreb, for dancers from National Theatre in Prague, Croatian National Ballet Ivan pl. Zajc in Rijeka, Nuovo Balletto di Toscana in Florence, Badisches State Theater in Karlsruhe, Dortmund Ballet, State Ballet Nürnberg, Slovenia National Theatre Opera and Ballet in Ljubljana,  Gauthier Dance, Košice State Theatre, Musiktheater im Revier Gelsenkirchen Ballet Company, Laterna Magika in Prague, Thüringer State Ballet in Gera, Copenhagen International Ballet, Palucca Dance High School, Hamburg ballet School, New York Choreographic Institute, Royal New Zealand School, he was a choreographer for The Vienna Philharmonic New Year's Concert 2016 and many other companies around the globe.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Jiří is currently in his final semester at Palucca Dance University in Dresden, pursuing a Master of Art degree in Dance Pedagogy. He has also conducted numerous workshops at various schools, including:

2021 - Palucca University of Dance Dresden
2021 - Prague Dance Conservatory
2017 - Architanz, Tokyo, Japan

Summer Ballet Schools:
2023 - Bubeníček Ballet Masterclasses
2023 - Valencia Endanza
2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 - Prague Ballet Intensive - Jiří Jelínek
2017 - Art Of Innovative Ballet Master Class & Art,  Madrid, Spain
2009 - Balletsummer SchoolLeipzig

And Zoom Online Classe:
2020 - 2021 - Danzoom, Online platform for Ballet and Dance Education
2021 - OnDance - Roberto Bolle
2021 - Oklahoma Summer Intensive 
2021 - DeCruz summer course

Former teacher and founder of DANZOOM, Online platform for Ballet and Dance Education

EDUCATION
Nikos Kalivas was born in 1988, studied Mathematics at the University of Patras and Dance at the professional dance school Aktina.

CARREE
As a dancer, he has worked with choreographers such as Annie Vigier, Frank Apertet, Antigoni Gira, Betty Dramisioti, Xaris Mandafounis, Giannis Antoniou, Patritsia Apergi, Konstantinos Rigos, Leyya Mona Taiwil, Xaris Kousios and more.

WORKS
As a choreographer he created «TripTap», «Psychord», and «RoomsToLet». In 2018 he was selected by Aggeliki Stelatou as an upcoming choreographer and worked at Munich Biennale Platform in collaboration with Onassis Culture Center. In 2019 he co-founded RopisCo and choreographed «Dépaysement» at Onassis Culture Center at the Festival of Young Choreographers.

WORKSHOPS
Since 2015 he has been teaching contemporary dance and improvisation at the professional dance school Aktina and other schools.