The Butterfly Effect

The internationally renowned choreographer Cathy Marston holds both British and Swiss citizenship. Since August 2023, she has been Director of Zurich Ballet. She received her dance training in Cambridge and at the Royal Ballet School in London. Between 1994 and 1999, she danced with Zurich Ballet, the Ballet of Lucerne Theatre, and Konzert Theater Bern. From 2002 to 2006, she was an Associate Artist at the Royal Opera House in London, and from 2007 to 2013 she served as Ballet Director at Konzert Theater Bern.

For many years highly successful as a freelance choreographer, Cathy Marston has been invited by numerous renowned international companies and institutions. She has created works for The Royal Ballet, Hamburg Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet, English National Ballet, Northern Ballet, the Finnish National Ballet, Ballet Black, the National Ballet of Cuba, as well as for Opera Australia and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. In recent years, she has worked increasingly in the United States, including with San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Houston Ballet, and The Joffrey Ballet in Chicago.

In her choreographic works, she brings major literary sources to life through dance and approaches significant historical figures in unusual and original ways. She has celebrated major successes with her ballet adaptations of "Mrs. Robinson" (Charles Webb), "Snowblind" (based on Ethan Frome), "Jane Eyre" (Charlotte Brontë), and "Of Mice and Men" (John Steinbeck). Distinctive perspectives also characterize her biographically inspired works "The Cellist", "Victoria", and "Hexenhatz". Cathy Marston has received numerous awards for her choreographic achievements, including a South Bank Sky Arts Award and the British National Dance Award. In 2020, the International Institute for Dance and Theatre honored her with an award for excellence in international dance.

A highlight of her first season as Director of Zurich Ballet was the 2024 world premiere of "Atonement", based on the novel of the same name by Ian McEwan (a co-production with The Joffrey Ballet). In addition, her works "The Cellist" and "Snowblind" were presented in Zurich. In the previous season, her Clara Schumann ballet "Clara" premiered. In 2026, she will choreograph "Romeo and Juliet" for Zurich Ballet.

Lucas Valente comes from Brazil. He studied Performing Arts and Philosophy at the University of São Paulo. After engagements with Ballet Laura Alonso in Havana, the São Paulo Companhia de Dança and Richard Siegal’s Ballet of Difference, he was a member of Ballett Zürich from the 2017/18 season to the 2024/25 season. He appeared, among others, in choreographies by Johann Inger, Crystal Pite, William Forsythe and Christian Spuck (Monteverdi, Winterreise, Messa da Requiem).

After several works in the “Young Choreographers” series, he choreographed Sacre for the Tonhalle Zürich, Rex for the Ballet du Rhin, Sal for the São Paulo Companhia de Dança, as well as Cain and fast nacht at the Origen Festival. His choreography Umbra received the award for Best Choreography at the Biarritz Choreography Competition in 2022. In 2025 he created Point of No Return for the Junior Ballett. In 2026, Lucas Valente will choreograph for Ballett Zürich for the first time. He will also appear as a guest dancer in the 2025/26 season.

Der Choreograf Ihsan Rustem, geboren in London, wurde an der Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance ausgebildet. Seine Karriere begann er mit Matthew Bournes Kompanie «Adventures in Motion Pictures», am Münchner Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz sowie bei «Introdans» in den Niederlanden. Schliesslich zog er in die Schweiz, wo er als Solist beim Bern Ballett und als Gründungsmitglied von TanzLuzern am dortigen Theater engagiert war. Er tanzte in Rollen von u.a. Hofesh Shechter, Matthew Bourne, Stijn Celis, Cayetano Soto, Felix Landerer sowie Cathy Marston und arbeitete u.a. mit Mats Ek, Jiri Kylián, Hans van Manen und William Forsythe. Seine Arbeit als Residenzchoreograf für das «NW Dance Project» in Portland, Oregon, wurde mit zahlreichen Auszeichnungen gewürdigt: State of Matter gewann 2012 den Sadler's Wells Global Dance Contest sowie den Publikumspreis beim 25. Internationalen Wettbewerb für Choreografen Hannover; Carmen erhielt 2017 den Readers' Choice Award des Dance Magazine für die «Beste Zusammenarbeit». 2014 war er ausserdem Preisträger des Hubbard Street Dance Chicago's International Commissioning Project. Weitere Kooperationen bestehen u.a. mit dem Nederlands Dans Theater, dem Ballets Jazz Montréal, dem Moskauer Ballett, mit Hubbard Street Dance Chicago 2, der Tanzcompanie St. Gallen, dem Würzburger Ballett sowie mit Arts Umbrella Dance Company Vancouver. Er ist ehemaliger künstlerischer Leiter des Dance Art Studios der Ballettschule Luzern. 2020 gründete er gemeinsam mit Cathy Marston die in der Schweiz ansässige Kompanie «Cie. La Ronde». Jüngst wurde er Mitglied der Jury des renommierten Prix de Lausanne.