1945 in Malmö (Schweden) geboren und in einer Künstlerfamilie aufgewachsen, studierte Mats Ek zunächst Theaterwissenschaft, wurde Schauspieler, absolvierte eine Tanzausbildung und tanzte dann im Ensemble seiner Mutter Birgit Cullberg, dem Cullberg Ballet, dessen künstlerische Leitung er später vorübergehend übernahm. 1976 begann er zu choreografieren, schuf zeitkritische Stücke wie Soweto, eine Fülle kürzerer Werke, adaptierte literarische Stoffe wie Bernarda Albas Haus und interpretierte in seiner dynamischen, expressiven Bewegungssprache die Eckpfeiler des Ballettrepertoires neu: Giselle (1982), Le Sacre du printemps (1984), Schwanensee (1987), Carmen (1992) oder Dornröschen (1996). Ausserdem ist er Gastchoreograf für die führenden Compagnien der Welt und arbeitet unter anderem mit dem Königlichen Schwedischen Ballett, dem Ballett der Norwegischen Oper, dem Nederlands Dans Theater, dem Stuttgarter Ballett, dem Hamburger Ballett, dem American Ballet Theatre, dem Ballett der Mailänder Scala, der Metropolitan Opera in New York und dem Pariser Opernballett zusammen. Im Jahr 2008 kreierte er Place, einen Pas de deux für Ana Laguna und Mikhail Baryshnikov. Zudem produzierte mit Starballerina Silvie Guillem zwei Videofilme, seine bekanntesten Werke wurden für das Fernsehen adaptiert. Ausserdem schreibt, spielt inszeniert er an vielen verschiedenen Theaterhäusern. 2025 feiert Mats Ek seinen 80. Geburtstag. Für das Royal Swedish Ballet entstand aus diesem Anlass die Choreografie A Cup of Coffee.

The conductor Matthew Rowe is originally from London. Since his debut with the Dutch National Ballet in 2004, he has maintained a close connection with the company and was appointed Music Director and Artistic Director of the Dutch Ballet Orchestra in 2013. In 2024, he stepped down from this dual role and now serves as Principal Guest Conductor. His major ballet productions include Christopher Wheeldon’s «Cinderella», Krzysztof Pastor’s «The Tempest», Shen Wei’s «Sacre du Printemps», and the world premieres of Ted Brandsen’s «Mata Hari», Yuri Possokhov’s «Violin Concerto», and Jorma Elo’s «Sibelius 4th Symphony». His extensive repertoire spans works by many renowned choreographers, including numerous pieces by George Balanchine, Hans van Manen, Alexei Ratmansky, and David Dawson. In addition, Rowe conducts classics such as «Swan Lake», «The Nutcracker», «The Sleeping Beauty», «Romeo and Juliet», «Don Quixote», «Paquita», «Giselle», and «Coppélia». Further productions with the Dutch National Ballet and the Dutch Ballet Orchestra include the European premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s «The Fairy’s Kiss» and the world premieres of David Dawson’s «Requiem» with music by Gavin Bryars and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s «Frida» with music by Peter Salem. Matthew Rowe has also enjoyed a long-standing collaboration with Nederlands Dans Theater, where he has worked with many contemporary choreographers such as Jiří Kylián, Lightfoot/León, Marco Goecke, Alexander Ekman, Hofesh Shechter, and Crystal Pite. Most recently, he conducted «Do Not Run, Do Not Fly», featuring world premieres by Marcos Morau and Yoann Bourgeois. He has also conducted performances with San Francisco Ballet, Vienna State Ballet, the National Ballet of Japan, Hong Kong Ballet, the National Ballet of Canada, Finnish National Ballet, Polish National Ballet, and the Royal Danish Ballet.

Marie-Louise Ekman (b. 1944) is a Swedish artist, filmmaker, playwright, and cultural leader known for her distinctive and inimitable fusion of visual art, theatre, and film. In the 1960s, she became part of Sweden’s avant-garde and pop art movement. She developed a playful yet pointed visual language through which she explored themes such as gender, identity, and social norms. Over the decades, she directed numerous films and theatre productions and wrote many plays for both stage and screen. Beyond her creative work, Ekman has also held leading positions in the arts sector. In 1999, she became the first female professor and later president of the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm, and she successfully served as director of Sweden’s Royal Dramatic Theatre for six years. Today, she is considered one of Sweden’s most influential contemporary cultural figures and is celebrated for her innovative, interdisciplinary contributions to the arts. Major exhibitions of her work have been shown in Paris, London, and New York. Her set and costume designs for Mats Ek include «Orpheus and Eurydice», «The House of Bernarda Alba», «Antigone», «Cain and Abel», «Giselle», «The Park», «Swan Lake», «Carmen», «Bolero», and «Le Sacre du printemps» — presented in cities such as London, Milan, Munich, Paris, Lyon, Stockholm, and now also Zurich.