Olivier Wecxsteen
Born in France, Olivier Wecxsteen trained at the Princess Grace Dance Academy of Monte Carlo with Marika Besobrasova. At nineteen, choreographer Pierre Lacotte offered Mr. Wecxsteen his first professional contract with Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo. As a soloist, under the artistic direction of Jean-Yves Esquerre, he performed ballets by important choreographers such as George Balanchine, Leonide Massine, Antony Tudor, John Neumeier, Jiri Kylian, Pierre Lacotte, William Forsythe, and Roland Petit. During this period, Mr. Wecxsteen toured the world on the most prestigious stages.
In 1993, Mr. Wecxsteen joined the Boston Ballet under the direction of Bruce Marks. As a principal dancer, he danced leading roles in the company's repertoire including Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Raymonda, Paquita, Le Corsaire, The Sleeping Beauty, Eugene Onegin (John Cranko), Giselle, Coppelia (Enrique Martinez), and George Balanchine's Bugaku, Who Cares?, and Serenade, and A Midsummer Night's Dream (Bruce Wells). He also created roles in Merce Cunningham's Breakers, and Lila York's Celts.
In 1998, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens' artistic director, Lawrence Rhodes, invited Mr. Wecxsteen to join the company as a principal dancer. He extended his repertoire to include Balanchine's Apollo and Theme and Variations, Jiri Kylian's Stepping Stones, William Forsythe's Approximate Sonata, Kim Brandstrup's Queen of Spades as well as other world premieres.
While in Canada, Mr. Wecxsteen worked with Edouard Lock and performed duets by Dominique Dumais and Edgar Zendejas.
Mr. Wecxsteen has been a guest artist with companies throughout North America, participating in international galas such as "An Evening with Ballet Stars" and "Diamonds of World Ballet" in Moscow. He has partnered many ballerinas including Maria Calegari, Muriel Maffre, Marie-Christine Mouis and Evelyn Hart.
In 2003, Helgi Tomasson invited Mr. Wecxsteen to appear as a guest artist with the San Francisco Ballet during the company's winter season.
Mr. Wecxsteen has, over the years, coached numerous dancers and taught in the United States, Canada, and Asia. He has been featured in an extensive Italian photo essay, "L'Architettura de la Danza" by Alberto Moretti, on a book and postcards by eminent photographer Helmut Newton, and on a stamp of the Principality of Monaco. In Canada, Mr. Wecxsteen took part in a documentary film "Danser à tout prix" that premiered at the World Film Festival of Montreal. Mr. Wecxsteen is a frequent guest artist with the Charleston Ballet. He has performed with artistic director Kim Pauley for more than ten years and has choreographed Introspective and Quartet 42 for the Charleston Ballet.