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.

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.

Jörg Zielinski comes from Berlin and has been living in Switzerland since 1991. He completed his training and studies in Berlin, Basel, and Zurich. His production management at Theater Basel and his senior role at "The Really Useful Group" gave him experience with international theater productions. He worked at Expo.02 in Yverdon-les-Bains as well as on the spatial installation Hotel Offen in Baden. He gained design experience at Vitra. As head of the props department at the Zurich Opera House, he collaborated with the Shanghai Opera House. This collaboration led to contacts with the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts in Beijing and the Zurich University of the Arts, where he was invited to give lectures. As part of a master’s program, Jörg Zielinski gives lectures at the Bern University of the Arts. He designs and realizes stage sets and scenic installations. Designs have been created for the Zurich Opera House, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, the London studio "United Visual Artists," and various independent projects. His photographs have been published and exhibited internationally.

Louise Flanagan is originally from England. After completing her ballet training at the Royal Ballet School, she danced at the Vanemuine Theatre in Estonia. She then shifted her focus to costume design, earning a degree from Middlesex University and completing a professional tailoring apprenticeship. She went on to work as a costume tailor on numerous high-profile films, musicals, and operas in England. Since 2013, she has been working as a freelance costume designer for dance and opera, collaborating with choreographers and directors such as Jörg Mannes, Kinsun Chan, Cathy Marston, Marcel Leemann, Terence Kohler, Sam Brown, Lillian Stillwell, Mauro Astolfi, Yuki Mori, Andreas Heise, Francesca Frassinelli, Peter Leung, Dimo Kirilov Milev, and Ihsan Rustem. Her work has been featured in international companies including the Bavarian State Ballet, Ballett Zürich, Ballett am Rhein, Stanislavsky Ballet Moscow, Theater Magdeburg, Theater Münster, Theater Regensburg, Oper Graz, Theater St. Gallen, Ballet du Capitole Toulouse, and the Origen Cultural Festival.

She also assisted costume designer Emma Ryott at Ballett Zürich, the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, and the Staatsballett Berlin.

Louise received a grant from the German Dance Association (Dachverband Tanz Deutschland) to research and develop a database of sustainably produced fabrics for dance costumes. By sharing and implementing her findings, she aims to reduce the environmental impact of new productions— taking a step toward greater ecological sustainability in dance and theatre.

Martin Gebhardt was a lighting designer and lighting master at John Neumeier’s Hamburg Ballet. From 2002, he worked with Heinz Spoerli and the Zurich Ballet. Ballet productions of both companies took him to renowned theaters in Europe, Asia, and America. At the Zurich Opera House, he created the lighting design for productions by Jürgen Flimm, David Alden, Jan Philipp Gloger, Grischa Asagaroff, Matthias Hartmann, David Pountney, Moshe Leiser/Patrice Caurier, Damiano Michieletto, and Achim Freyer. At the Salzburg Festival, he designed the lighting for La bohème and a new version of Spoerli’s Death and the Maiden. Since the 2012/13 season, Martin Gebhardt has been head of lighting at the Zurich Opera House. Today, he maintains a close collaboration with choreographer Christian Spuck (including Winterreise, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Messa da Requiem, Anna Karenina, Woyzeck, The Sandman, Leonce and Lena, The Little Match Girl). He was also the lighting designer for choreographers Edward Clug (including Strings, Le Sacre du printemps, and Faust in Zurich), Alexei Ratmansky, Wayne McGregor, Marco Goecke, and Douglas Lee. He collaborated with Christoph Marthaler and Anna Viebrock on Handel’s evening Sale and Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims in Zurich, as well as on Lulu at the Hamburg State Opera, and with Jossi Wieler and Sergio Morabito at the Geneva Opera for Les Huguenots. In 2023, he designed the lighting for Spuck’s ballet Bovary at the Berlin State Ballet and in 2024 Rossini’s Tancredi at the Bregenz Festival. Additionally, he was the lighting designer for Atonement by Cathy Marston at the Zurich Opera House.

Michael Küster is from Germany. After studying German studies, art, and speech science at the University of Halle, he worked as a presenter, author, and speaker at various broadcasting stations in Germany. There, he hosted numerous classical music programs and live broadcasts of major concert events, including those from the Metropolitan Opera New York, the Semperoper Dresden, and the Leipzig Gewandhaus.
Since 2002, he has been a dramaturg at the Zurich Opera House, working with directors such as Matthias Hartmann, David Alden, Robert Carsen, Moshe Leiser/Patrice Caurier, Damiano Michieletto, David Pountney, Johannes Schaaf, and Graham Vick.
As dramaturg of Ballett Zürich, Michael Küster has collaborated since 2012 with Cathy Marston, Marco Goecke, Marcos Morau, Kim Brandstrup, Edward Clug, Alexei Ratmansky, William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, and Hans van Manen. Together with Christian Spuck, he worked on productions including «Winterreise» («Prix Benois de la Danse»), «Romeo and Juliet», «Messa da Requiem», and «The Sleeping Beauty».
At La Scala in Milan, Michael Küster was dramaturg for Matthias Hartmann’s opera productions of «Der Freischütz», «Idomeneo», and «The Queen of Spades».