Contract extension
Ballet director
Cathy Marston

The Zurich Opera House is delighted to announce the extension of Cathy Marston's contract. The ballet director and chief choreographer will thus continue her successful programming until the 2029/30 season. The contract term for Cathy Marston, who has been directing the company since 2023/24, is based on the current term of office of artistic director Matthias Schulz.

Matthias Schulz, Director of Zurich Opera House: «Ballet Zurich is one of Europe's most distinguished companies. It is internationally renowned for its stylistic diversity and its integration of contemporary dance alongside the classical repertoire. We are delighted that Cathy Marston will continue her outstanding work with Ballet Zurich, further shaping the company with her engaging personality and her keen sense for this artistic interplay».

Cathy Marston, Director of Ballet Zurich: «I’m very happy to accept Matthias Schulz’s invitation to extend my contract as Director of Ballet Zurich for another two years until July 2030. Over the past two and a half years, I have had the great opportunity to developing Ballet Zurich’s ensemble of exceptional dancers as well as our repertoire of both classical and contemporary works, celebrated masterpieces and acclaimed world premieres. I look forward to working with Matthias Schulz, sharing our passion for dance and music with our Zurich audiences as well as cementing Opernhaus Zurich and Ballet Zurich’s reputation for excellence and innovation around the world».

The new ballet evening «Timeframed», which premieres on 17 January, is a prime example of how Cathy Marston's artistic vision is implemented in the repertoire of the Ballet Zurich. Pieces by dance legends William Forsythe and Hans van Manen, who recently passed away in December, enter into an exciting dialogue with two world premieres by choreographers of the next generation. Internationally sought-after Greek choreographer Andonis Foniadakis will be creating for Ballet Zurich for the first time. Lucas Valente, Brazilian, has been with the ensemble as a dancer since 2017, choreographed for our Junior Ballet in 2025, recently embarked on a promising career as a choreographer.

Internationally renowned choreographer Cathy Marston holds both British and Swiss citizenship. From August 2023, she is the new Director of Ballet Zurich. She received her dance training in Cambridge and at the Royal Ballet School in London. Between 1994 and 1999, she danced with Ballet Zurich, the Ballet of the Lucerne Theatre, and Konzert Theater Bern. From 2002 to 2006 she was an Associate Artist of the Royal Opera House in London, and from 2007 to 2013 she served as Ballet Director at Konzert Theater Bern. For many years she has worked with great success as a freelance choreographer and has been invited by a wide range of leading international companies and institutions. Her creations include works for the Royal Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet, English National Ballet, Northern Ballet, the Finnish National Ballet, Ballet Black, the National Ballet of Cuba, as well as Opera Australia and the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts.

In recent years she has increasingly worked in the United States, including with San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Houston Ballet, and Joffrey Ballet Chicago. In her choreographic work she brings major literary works to life through dance, and she also approaches important historical figures in unusual and original ways. She has enjoyed major success with her ballet adaptations «Mrs. Robinson» (after Charles Webb’s novel «The Graduate»), «Snowblind» (after Edith Wharton’s novel «Ethan Frome»), Charlotte Brontë’s «Jane Eyre», and John Steinbeck’s «Of Mice and Men». Unconventional perspectives also shape her biographically inspired works «The Cellist», «Victoria», and «Hexenhatz». Cathy Marston has received numerous awards for her choreographic work, including a South Bank Sky Arts Award and the UK National Dance Award. In 2020, the International Institute for Dance and Theatre awarded her a prize for excellence in international dance.