Jean-Claude Gallotta trained in fine arts at the Ecole d’Art in his native city of Grenoble, France, but interrupted his studies to experiment with edgy performance works that brought together actors, musicians, dancers and visual artists. In 1978, he travelled to New York, where he discovered the work of Merce Cunningham and his unstructured approach to choreographic time, space and movement.

Retourning to France in 1979, Mr Gallotta co-founded (with Mathilde Altaraz) the Groupe Emile Dubois. In 1981, the company moved into the Maison de la Culture de Grenoble and quickly established a dynamic locus of choreographic innovation. The works Mr. Gallotta created there include Ulysse, a playful ballet that combines elements of classical and modern dance ; it was followed by Les Aventures d’Ivan Vaffan, Les Louves et Pandora.

In 1984, the company’s space was renamed the Centre Chorégraphique National de Grenoble, and the group remounted Ulysse for performances at the Los Angeles Olympic Festival, the American Dance Festival, the Holland Festival, and the Avignon Festival.

In 1986, Jean-Claude Gallotta was appointed Director of the Maison de la Culture de Grenoble (which he renamed “Le Cargo”), thus becoming the first choreographer to lead an institution of its kind.

In 1987, his ballet Mammame scored a huge hit at Montreal’s Festival International de Nouvelle Danse, and Canada’s dance and theater media presented him with the award for Best Foreign Production of the Year.

In 1989, having collaborated on a dozen audio-visual projects with, among others, Claude Mouriéras and Raoul Ruiz, Jean-Claude Gallotta directed his first feature film, Rei Dom – La Légende des Kreuls.

By 1990, the Groupe Emile Dubois had given over 130 performances in 23 countries, and its original repertoire had expanded with the addition of Docteur Labus and Les Mystères de Subal.

Jean-Claude stepped down as Director of the Maison de la Culture de Grenoble in 1990 in order to devote himself to his first book, Mémoire d’un dictaphone, published the same year.

During the 1991-1992 season, he unveiled two new multidisciplinary works, La Légende de Roméo et Juliette (premiered in November 1991 at the Festival Olympique des Arts d’Albertville) and La Légende de Don Juan (premiered in June 1992 at the Seville Universal Exposition, coproduced by the Avignon Festival). He also directed his second film, L’amour en deux.

In 1993, he published his second book, Les yeux qui dansent, a collection of interviews with Bernard Rafalli. In June of that year he remounted Ulysse for an extensive international tour culminating at the Festival de Châteauvallon.

1994, saw the premiere of Prémonitions in Grenoble.

In 1995, Jean-Claude Gallotta was commissioned by the Lyon Opera Ballet to compose La Solitude du danseur, four solos set to music by Erik Satie. He collaborated with Nicholas Hytner and Sir Charles Mackerras to stage Leos Janacek’s opera La Petite renarde rusée, produced by the Théâtre du Châtelet. At the Festival de Châteauvallon he performed the premiere of his new solo Hommage to Pavel Haas, and in Grenoble he choreographed La Tête contre les fleurs for the company, folowed in 1996 by Rue de Palanka and in 1997 by La Rue and La Chamoule ou l’art d’aimer.

He has a longstanding connection to Japan, where he was first invited by stage director Tadashi Suzuki : from 1997 to 2000, Mr Gallotta headed the Dance Department of the newly-created Shizuoka Performing Arts Centre, where he founded and directed a resident company of eight Japanese dancers.

In 1998, he directed Le Ventriloque by Jean-Marie Piemme and Le Catalogue by Jean-Bernard Pouy, and wrote a play, Pierre Chatel, as part of the “Adieu au Siècle” millennium project.

For the Opera Ballet, Jean-Claude Gallotta created Les Variations d’Ulysse (premiered at the Opéra Bastille in 1995 and recreated in 1998) and Nosferatu, with music by Pascal Dusapin (premiered at the Opéra Bastille in May 2002 and upcoming in spring 2006).

In 2002 he premiered 99 duos at the Théâtre National de Chaillot, and in 2003 created Trois Générations for the Festival d’Avignon ; however, that engagement was cancelled. The work (choreographed for an ensemble of children, former dancers, and members of the company) premiered in March 2004 at the Rampe d’Echirolles and was presented that May at the Théâtre National de Chaillot.

In 2005, he and Hans Peter Cloos codirected Les 7 Péchés Capitaux at the MC2 : Maison de la culture de Grenoble and att the MC93 : Maison de la culture de Bobigny.

In 2004, for the opening of MC2, it creates My Rock ; in 2005 with the movie director Hans-Peter Cloos, a show marrying dance, theatre and music, Les sept péchés capitaux of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill; in 2006, Des Gens qui dansent.

In October, 2007, in the Théâtre National de Chaillot of Paris, it creates Cher Ulysse (figure with whom he entered choreography in 1981).

In 2008 at MC2: Grenoble, he creates with Mirella Giardelli of L’Atelier des Musiciens du Louvre • Grenoble Bach dance expérience, a show-concert and Chroniques chorégraphiques – saison1 a “stage movie”. In 2009, it creates L’Homme à tête de chou from Serge Gainsbourg recorded by Alain Bashung.