Gil Roman
After intensive training with Marika Besobrasova, Rosella Hightower and José Ferran, Gil Roman joined Maurice Béjart at Le Ballet du XXe Siècle in 1979. After performing the choreographer’s most renowned ballets for over thirty years, Gil Roman assumed the artistic direction of the Béjart Ballet Lausanne following Béjart’s passing, from 2007 until February 2024.
Since 1995, his choreographic work is rich in numerous creations: L’habit ne fait pas le moine, Réflexion sur Béla, Echographie d’une baleine, Casino des Esprits, Aria, Syncope, Là où sont les oiseaux, presented as a world premiere at the China Shanghai International Arts Festival, and Anima blues. Since this creation in 2013, new pieces added up to the BBL’s repertoire: 3 Danses pour Tony, Kyôdaï, Tombées de la dernière pluie, Impromptu… and t ‘M et variations…, ballet that marked the 30th anniversary of the BBL’s creation and the 10th year of Maurice Béjart’s demise. In 2019 at the Opera of Lausanne, he presented his last creation Tous les hommes presque toujours s’imaginent – entirely choreographed to the music of John Zorn, and one year later Basso Continuum, to the music of Richard Dubugnon. In 2022, he created Alors on danse… ! at the Opera de Lausanne. The following year, he choreographed Nivagation, a creation by Marc Hollogne for the BBL.
Gil Roman’s dance career, which span over 40 years, was honored in 2005 with the prestigious Danza & Danza Award for Best Dancer for his performance as Jacques Brel in Brel et Barbara. Since then, many awards have distinguished an exceptional career: the prestigious Nijinsky Award awarded by the Monaco Dance Forum (2006), the Prix for cultural awareness, by Vaud State Foundation for Culture (2014), the special Prize from Shanghai Art Festival (2014) and the Maya Plissetskaya Award (2015). In 2015, the French Embassy in Switzerland awarded him the insignia of Knight in the National Order of Merit. Four years later, the Council of State of the canton of Vaud presented him with the Cantonal Merit.
