Innovative Choreographer
Born, Stockholm, Sweden, Bengt Jörgen, after graduating from the Royal Swedish Ballet School, decided to further his studies in Canada at the National Ballet where, for several years (1982-85), he was a member. Leaving the National Ballet to pursue his own choreographics career, Bengt Jörgen established, 1987, Ballet Jörgen to expand and improve opportunities for ballet choreographers. Under his directorship, Ballet Jörgen has emerged as Canada’s leading presenter of original ballets. In 1989, Bengt Jörgen was appointed resident choreographer of Toronto’s George Brown College where today he is the Artistic Director, Dance Programs. Ballet Jörgen, under Bengt’s direction, has consistently won rave reviews. A young dancer who risked everything to build an innovative choreographic company, Bengt’s troupe presents original works at Toronto, its home base, and on tour at such places as New York where the New York Times, 1995, exclaimed that “freshness, authority, and intelligence are hallmarks” of this innovative dance troupe. In 1998, Ballet Jörgen’s new production, Romeo and Juliet, premiered in Banff, Alberta, and toured Canada and the United States. To date, Bengt Jörgen has created over 30 ballets. Some 50,000 people annually see the Ballet Jörgen in action. In this view, Bengt Jörgen and Tara Butler play Romeo and Juliet, 1998. [Photo, courtesy Andrew Oxenham, photographer, via Bengt Jörgen]