Peter Schaufuss

Peter Schaufuss trained at the Royal Danish Ballet School from age seven. He joined the Royal Danish Ballet where he choreographed his first ballets and had his debut in the Don Quixote pas de deux already as a teenager, shortly thereafter he was invited to join London Festival Ballet as principal dancer. He established himself as an international guest dancer in companies including the Kirov, American Ballet Theatre, Paris Opera Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, the Royal Ballet and New York City Ballet. Choreographers such as George Balanchine, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Roland Petit, and Sir Frederick Ashton all choreographed ballets specifically for Schaufuss.

Schaufuss has produced Bournonville’s Folktale, Napoli and La Sylphide, in addition to Giselle, and the Tchaikovsky trilogy of Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker for many companies in Europe and America, including Deutsche Oper Berlin, National Ballet of Canada, English National Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Berlin Ballet,Vienna Opera Ballet, Roland Petit Ballet Company, Zurich Ballet La Scala Milano, Leipzig Balletand Ballet West (USA).  He has created more than 22 full evening ballets and Dancicals for his own company Peter Schaufuss Ballet, including the London West End productions of, Satisfaction (Rolling Stones), Divas, Marilyn, The Tchaikovsky Trilogy (for the 2012 Olympic Games) and Midnight Express.  

Schaufuss has worked as dancer, director and choreographer in a number of television programs, and has had his own 4-part television serial for the BBC “Dancer” which was nominated for an Emmy Award. He has won a number of international awards in recognition of his contribution to ballet, including the Olivier and The Evening Standard Awards in London for his production of La Sylphide. 

In 1988, he was knighted in Denmark, and in 1995 was made an Officer of the Belgian Order of La Couronne.

Schaufuss has held the positions of Director of London Festival Ballet whose name he changed to English National Ballet and where he also founded the English National Ballet School, Berlin Ballet at Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen, in 1997 he founded his own company, the Peter Schaufuss Ballet, in Denmark where he also built his own theatre.

Schaufuss’s company tour extensively within Denmark and internationally to Spain, Germany, Norway, Edinburgh, London, Paris, Istanbul and Hong Kong to great public and critical acclaim.