Julien
Derouault

Acclaimed by the public and the international press, choreographer and dancer Julien Derouault stands out for his unconditional love of dance and his passionate, perfectionist and generous work.

A hyperactive child, he discovered dance at the age of twelve, and more particularly modern jazz. As a young prodigy, he enrolled at the Conservatoire of Le Mans, his native town, at the age of fourteen, on the advice of the famous choreographer Redha. Spotted by the dancer and choreographer Roland Petit, Julien Derouault was admitted to the classical dance class at the École Nationale Supérieure de Marseille.

In 1998, the famous dancer Marie-Claude Pietragalla became director of the Ballet National de Marseille and appointed Julien Derouault as her assistant. Attracted by the carnal side of sculpture and by the illumination of bodies, Julien Derouault and Marie-Claude Pietragalla looked into the exceptional destiny of Camille Claudel and Auguste Rodin and created Sakountala in 2000, a show renowned for its beauty and power.

Following this success, five other ballets followed, all of which are considered to be landmark works in the classical and contemporary repertoire. In 2004, Julien Derouault and Marie-Claude Pietragalla left the Ballet National de Marseille and created their own company, Le Théâtre du Corps, dedicated to artistic research into the meaning of movement, its expression and its theatricality. After 13 creations, the duo will soon unveil their new show, Giselle(s), a new feminist vision of this great romantic ballet.