Lionel Hoche

Lionel Hoche was born in 1964 in Paris and in 1978 began his dance studies at the Paris Opera Ballet School.

He  joined the Nederlands Dans Theater in 1983, where he danced under the  direction of Jiri Kylian. During his six years with the company, he also  collaborated with or danced pieces by other prestigious choreographers  such as William Forsythe, Nacho Duato, Ohad Naharin, Jerome Robbins,  Hans van Manen, Jose Limon, Uwe Scholz…

Lionel Hoche undertook his  first choreographic work in 1988, “U should Have Left the Light on”, for  the Nederlands Dans Theater II – work that was subsequently performed  by the Companhia de Dança de Lisboa, the Nomades le Loft Vevey company  and the Balleto del’Opera di Roma.

In 1989 Lionel Hoche joined  Astrakan, Daniel Larrieu’s company, with whom he danced until 1991. In  1992 he became Larrieu’s assistant for Attentat Poétique, created for  the Paris Opera Ballet.

Lionel Hoche founded his own company that  same year and presented “Prière de tenir la main courante” at the  International Cannes Dance Festival, who commissioned and produced this  work.

From 1998-2002 Cie Lionel Hoche was the resident dance company  at the Esplanade Opera Theatre in Saint-Etienne, then from 2005 until  2008 in Maison de la Musique in Nanterre, from 2010 to 2013 in Opera de  Massy, from 2013 til 2016 in Centre des Arts in Enghien les Bains.  The  company just began a new collaboration with two cities: Villetaneuse and  Pierrefitte sur Seine.
Lionel Hoche has worked as a freelance  choreographer for various companies since 1990. Much in demand, he has  created over eighty new commissioned works for more than thirty of  Europe and Asia’s most prestigious ballets, such as the Paris Opera  Ballet, the Nederlands Dans Theater, the Batsheva Dance Company, the  Ballets de Monte-Carlo, the Zurich Ballet, the National Ballet of  Finland, the Compañia Nacional de Danza (Madrid), the Ballet du Grand  Théâtre de Genève, the Lyon Opera Ballet, the Ballet Philippines…
Besides  his choreographic work, he began a personal study of fine art in 1988,  and since 1992 designs the set for some of his choreographies.

In  January 2002, Lionel Hoche received the distinction of Chevalier de  l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French Minister of Culture, a  knighthood for his contribution to the promotion of dance in France and  abroad.

Source : Mémé Banjo website