A daring and eclectic dancer, choreographer, musician, and stage director, Juan Kruz Díaz de Garaio Esnaola is hailed as one of today’s most fascinating artists in the field of contemporary dance. Born in Legazpi, Spain, he began his musical studies as a singer, at the San Sebastián Conservatory, and later at the Early Music School in Amsterdam.

A stunning self-taught dancer, he was quickly spotted by several renowned choreographers in Europe, such as Pieter Scholten, Emio Greco, Arthur Rosenfeld, Luc Dunberry and Lloyd Newson, who all invited him to collaborate with their dance companies.

Since 1996, Juan Kruz Díaz de Garaio Esnaola is a member of the Sasha Waltz Dance Company, in Berlin. He has assisted Sasha Waltz in numerous choreographic shows and tours, while also collaborating with other companies on various projects.

In 2000, he premiered his first two choreographies, The rest of You, as well as My Dearest... My Fairest. following the success of these works, his was commissioned by the Akademie für Alte Musik in Berlin to create a new choreography, based on Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. The world premiere of this show, given at the Radial System in Berlin, was hailed by the public and the press, making Juan Kruz Díaz de Garaio Esnaola an international sensation.

In addition to his work as choreographer and performer, he is also a guest professor at the Folkwang Universität der Künste in Essen, and he regularly gives masterclasses around the world.

His latest choreography, “Dance of the Sun”, commissioned by the Geneva Camerata for an orchestra of thirty musicians and one solo dancer, has been praised as one of today’s most important accomplishments in the field of contemporary dance. Performed on tour this season in numerous cities in Europe and the USA, this hypnotic new show is also broadcast by the ARTE TV channel worldwide.