Born in California, Carolyn Carlson defines herself above all as a nomad. From San Francisco Bay to the University of Utah, from Alwin Nikolais' company in New York to Anne Béranger's in France, from the Opéra de Paris to the Teatrodanza La Fenice in Venice, from the Théâtre de la Ville in Helsinki, from the Ballet de l'Opéra de Bordeaux to the Cartoucherie de Paris, from the Venice Biennale to Roubaix, Carolyn Carlson is a tireless traveler, always seeking to develop and share her poetic universe.
Heir to Alwin Nikolais's conceptions of movement, composition and pedagogy, she arrived in France in 1971. The following year, with Rituel pour un rêve mort (Ritual for a Dead Dream), she signed a poetic manifesto that defined an approach to her work that has remained unchanged ever since: a dance unmistakably turned towards philosophy and spirituality. Carolyn Carlson prefers the term "visual poetry" to "choreography". Giving birth to works that bear witness to her poetic thinking, and to a complete art form within which movement occupies a privileged place.
Over the past five decades, her influence and success have been considerable in many European countries. She has played a key role in the emergence of French and Italian contemporary dance with the GRTOP at the Opéra de Paris and Teatrodanza at La Fenice.
She has created over a hundred pieces, many of which are major milestones in the history of dance, from Density 21.5 to The Year of the horse, from Blue Lady to Steppe, from Maa to Signes, from Writings on water to Inanna.
In 2006, her work was crowned with the first ever Golden Lion awarded to a choreographer by the Venice Biennale. She is also a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters and of the Legion of Honor. In 2019, the choreographer became a French citizen, and the following year was elected a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in the choreography section.
In addition to her choreographic creations, she writes poems and paints; her collections of poems have been published by Actes Sud, Gallimard and more recently Le Passeur(complete bibliography here), and her graphic work is also recognized today and exhibited in museums and art galleries in France. Ten of his autographed drawings have been part of the CNAP collection since 2020.
Founder of the Atelier de Paris at La Cartoucherie (Paris 12) in 1999, which has since become a National Choreographic Development Center, she was associate artist with the Carolyn Carlson Company at the Théâtre National de Chaillot from 2014 to 2016.
Since 2023, the choreographer has placed teaching and transmission at the heart of her company's projects, alongside the dissemination of her repertoire.
Carolyn Carlson in brief
1965-1971
Soloist in Alwin Nikolais' company
1974-1980
Etoile-Chorégraphe au Ballet de l'Opéra de Paris (GRTOP)
1980-1984
Artistic director of Teatrodanza La Fenice, Venice
1985-1991
Residency at Théâtre de la Ville, Paris
1991-1992
Residency at Finnish National Ballet and Helsinki City Theater
1994-1995
Artistic Director, Cullberg Ballet, Stockholm
1999-2002
Artistic Director of the Dance Section at the Venice Biennale
Since 1999
Founder and Honorary President of Atelier de Paris-CDCN
2004-2013
Director of the Centre Chorégraphique National Roubaix Nord-Pas de Calais
Since 2014
Artistic Director of the Carolyn Carlson Company
