Biography
Swedish filmmaker, choreographer and actor/dancer, Pontus Lidberg is most recognized for his award-winning dance film "The Rain" (2007) for which he received numerous awards around the world, including Outstanding Achievement in Choreography for Film at the Dance Media Honors (Los Angeles); Best Film at the London International Dance Film Festival; Best Dance Short at the Tiburon International Film Festival; a nomination for the Rose D'Or in Lucerne; and the Jury's Special Mention at the Gothenburg International Film Festival.
As a choreographer for the stage, Mr. Lidberg has created over 40 works for major international dance companies such as SemperOper Ballet Dresden (2013), Le Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève (2012), The Royal Danish Ballet (2010), The Beijing Dance Theatre (2009), The Norwegian National Ballet (2005), Stockholm 59° North (2000, 2001, 2009), The Royal Swedish Ballet (2012, 2014), Morphoses (2008, 2010, 2012), Oregon Ballet Theatre (2013) as well as for his own group Pontus Lidberg Dance, which made its New York debut with "Faune" at New York City Center's Fall For Dance Festival in 2011.
In just a few short years Pontus Lidberg has firmly established himself as a creative and visionary artist bringing dance and film together. He was recently nominated for a New York Dance and Performance Award (Bessie) in Outstanding Visual Design for his dance and film evening Within (Labyrinth Within), created during his 2012 tenure as Resident Artistic Director of Morphoses. His first work for the camera: "Mirror" (2003) was commissioned by Swedish National Television, and has been screened on television as well as in dance film festivals in the US and abroad. His most recent dance film, "Labyrinth Within" (2011) received the "Court Métrange du Jury" prize at the Court-Métrange Film Festival in Rennes, France in 2011 and won Best Picture at Lincoln Center's Dance on Camera Festival in New York 2012.
Mr. Lidberg received a 2012 finalist award from The Vilcek Foundation for Creative Promise in Dance and a 2012-2013 Choreography Fellowship from New York City Center. In addition, he has been in artist in residence at the Headlands Center for the Arts (2008), Joyce Soho (2010), and the Baryshnikov Arts Center (2010). He held a 2013 Blodgett Distinguished Artist-in-Residence, co-sponsored by Harvard University's Department of Music. Raised in Stockholm, Sweden, Lidberg began training in 1987 with the Royal Swedish Ballet School. From 1996-2003, he danced with The Royal Swedish Ballet, The Norwegian National Ballet, Le Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève, and The Göteborg Ballet. He holds an MFA in Contemporary Performative Arts (2014) from the University of Gothenburg, Faculty of Fine, Applied and Performing Arts.
