Born in Valencia, Spain, Nacho Duato started professional ballet training with the Rambert School in London at eighteen, extending his studies at Maurice Béjart's Mudra School in Brussels and completing his dance education at The Alvin Ailey American Dance Centre in New York. In 1980, Duato signed his first professional contract with the Cullberg Ballet. Just one year later, he became a member of Jiří Kylián's Nederlands Dans Theater. In recognition of his achievements as a dancer, he received the VSCD Gouden Dansprijs 1987 (Golden Dance Award). However, Duato soon realised that his real passion was for choreography. His first work, created in 1983, turned out to be a major succes: Jardí Tancat won him the first prize at the International Choreographic Workshop Cologne. On top of his responsibilities as a dancer, Duato created more than a dozen works for the two companies of Nederlands Dans Theater. In 1988, Nacho Duato was appointed Resident Choreographer of NDT, alongside Hans van Manen and Jiří Kylián. Encouraged by the increasing international demand for his ballets, Duato decided to fully concentrate on his career as a choreographer. His works are part of the repertoire of companies such as Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, The Stuttgart Ballet, The Finnish Opera Ballet, The Singapore Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, The Washington Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, The Boston Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet and others. His distinctions include the title of Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and the Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts awarded by the Spanish government. In 2000, his signature piece Multiplicity, Forms of Silence and Emptiness earned him the Prix Benois de la Danse. Three years later, Duato won the most important dance award of his native Spain, the Premio Nacional de Danza de Coreografía. From 1990 to 2010, Nacho Duato headed Spain's foremost dance company, Compañía Nacional de Danza. In 2011, after more than 20 years at the helm, he moved on to become Artistic Director of the ballet company of The Mikhailovsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg. From 2014 until 2018, he held the same position at The Berlin State Ballet. He recently resumed his role as Artistic director with the Mikhailovsky Theatre.