Carolyn Carlson: La danza, un karma

Carolyn Carlson sees herself more as a "visual poet" than a choreographer. Discover her world in this portrait.

A native of California, Carolyn Carlson is above all a nomad. Trained at the University of Utah, she went to New York to join Alwin Nikolais' company as a soloist from 1965 to 1971. She has developed Nikolais' ideas throughout her career, placing great importance on movement. She arrived in France in 1971, where she created her successful play, Rituel pour un Rêve mort, performed in Avignon in 1972, in which she displayed her world with a focus on philosophy and spirituality in motion.

She worked as a choreographer at the Paris Opera Ballet from 1974 to 1980, then became artistic director at the Teatrodanza La Fenice in Venice, then at the Helsinki and Stockholm ballets, before returning to Venice, where she directed the dance section of the Biennale. She then returned to France, where she founded her workshop and directed the Choreographic Centre at Roubaix Nord-Pas de Calais.

In the various positions she has occupied and in her many creations (over a hundred), she has played a prominent role in the development of contemporary dance in Europe and the rest of the world.