Patrick Delcroix

Patrick came to Stuttgart to teach the company Sechstanze by Jiri Kylian. His reputation precedes him. I already knew of his work as a Freelance choreographer and assistant repetitor for Kylian Productions. From the first day you could see that Patrick is confident in his work and loves his job. Patrick is a excellent teacher AND mover. He gave a lot of information but we never wasted time. He always kept an easy attitude.

He was in control of the rehearsals. One day in rehearsal,, after giving a correction to a dancer, the dancer went to show the correction to Patrick and he stops her and says “you don’t have to show me, I know you can do it” and moved on swiftly to the next correction. The process was so much fun, it didn’t feel like…work. We were dancing a ballet we loved to dance and the time with Patrick was great. There was a lot of hard work, but we learned a lot as well.

Patrick is from France. He studied at the Centre International de Danse Rosella Hightower Cannes and in 1982 joined the Iwanson Dance Company Munich. Soon after he was engaged by the Scapino Ballet Amsterdam and Nederlands Dans Theater where he danced from 1986 to 2003 under the direction of Jiri Kylian.

As a choreographer, Patrick has created works for NDT 1,2&3 as well as the Ballet Basel, Ballet du Capitole, Cape Town City Ballet, Wienerstaatsoper Ballet, Aalto Ballett Theater Essen, Cia. Cisne Negro, Ballet Jazz de Montreal, Introdans, Prague Chamber Ballet, Croatian National Theater, Junior Ballet Genève, It Danza, Djazzex, Artscape, NECB, Tanz Theater Braunschweig, Companhia Portuguesa de Bailado Contemporâneo, Tanz Luzerner Theater & Dancers of the Royal Ballet. In 2001 Patrick was knighted by the French government for services to the arts, being made “Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres”.

Gauthier Dance was a small company, and we were used to rehearsing ballets over and over…all day. I remember one day in rehearsal after a run of Sechtanze, all of the dancers wanted to run the piece again after the corrections. We thought we could do better, we were not happy with it.We had more than enough time to fit in another run, and we always did! Patrick looked at us with a side smile and said “No. Tomorrow we have another”. This of course was a shock… but I think it was a valuable lesson. I walked away thinking, I better be more prepared for the next rehearsal. Especially if we only get one chance.

Thank you Patrick for your inspiration! I look forward to working with you again in the future!

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? Did you always want to do what you’re doing now?

When I was young, I played Basketball and tried to pursue this as a career but they said I was too small! My next goal, and my real love at the time, was cooking. I wanted to become a chef and so I applied for the famous culinary school of Bordeaux but failed to get in. So at 16 I decided to dance instead. Just like that. I had taken a few tap classes at the local ballet school in the village and thought it was fun!

Patrick’s favorite Things

Things to eat?

Ice cream! one liter and I’m in heaven.

Favorite books?

I love the crazy mind of Stephen King and all his novels.

Favorite Movies?

‘Delicatessen’ by Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Favorite Ballets?

Well, naturally, I have to include Kylian’s work here. In my 17 years working for Jiri at NDT, I was extremely lucky to experience his incredible repertoire and all of his works hold a very special and personal place in my heart. But the one that will always stand out for me is ‘As if Never Been’ – a duet he created for Nancy Euverink and myself. A huge challenge and great memories.Other ballets that brought me great pleasure to dance included ‘Grass’ from Mats Ek, ‘Touch to Include’ from Edouard Lock & ‘Enemy in the Figure’ from William Forsythe, amongst others.

I like dancers who…

know how to have fun in the studio, like I do (and did!) but work hard!!

Dear aspiring artists,

Be inspired. Believe in what you do and love. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Dance today like there is no tomorrow.

Anything else you would like to mention?

You’re welcome to stretch your feet 🙂

Photo Journal

For more info on Patrick you can find him online at www.patrick-delcroix.com or on his youtube channel at www.youtube.com/patrickdelcroix .