Nicolas Le Riche took office as the new director of the Royal Swedish Ballet in the fall of 2017. Before that, he was the artistic director of ballet at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees in Paris. As an étoile, the highest award a French dancer can receive, he was faithful to the Paris Oppea company throughout his career with leading roles in both classical ballet, neoclassical style and modern dance. His breakthrough came in the early 90s under Rudolf Nureyev with roles such as Mercutio and then Romeo in Romeo and Juliet.
"He jumps like a tiger, flies like an angel and lands like a cat," wrote a dance critic about Le Riche, who also worked as a choreographer for several years.
In 2014, he said goodbye as a dancer at the Paris Opera to a self-directed cavalcade of performances with some of his most famous performances such as Nijinsky's L'Après-midi d'un faune, Bejart's Bolero and Nureyev's Raymonda.
Leading choreographers such as Mats Ek, Jiri Kylian, William Forsythe and John Neumeier, among others, have created works for Le Riche, who has made guest appearances at opera houses such as the Royal Opera House in London, the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, the Kirov Ballet in St. Petersburg, La Scala in Milan, the New York City Ballet and the Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen.
In the spring of 2025, during his final season as artistic director of the Royal Swedish Ballet, Nicolas Le Riche returns to dance on stage, in Mats Ek's A Cup of Coffee, which will also be Nicolas Le Riche's stage debut at the Royal Swedish Opera.
