“When you're a 'guest choreographer' moving from company to company you are working solely on your own work without a responsibility towards a larger vision. As Director of Bern Ballet I felt inspired bringing other dancers/choreographers together; learning from our exchanges. I’m delighted that in the case of Ihsan Rustem, an artist I brought to Bern as a dancer has since developed into an accomplished and internationally acclaimed choreographer; our artistic alchemy remains as potent as when we first met. Founding our company, Cie. La Ronde, during the Covid19 lockdown, was both a highlight of the last years for me, and an achievement I am most proud of. Stepping into a role as Artistic Advisor for the company, I look forward to accompany the artists and their work along their thrilling journey.” - Cathy Marston
Cathy Marston
Artistic Advisor
Co-Founder + former Artistic Director / Choreographer
Co-Founder/ Artistic Advisor of Cie. La Ronde, and future director of Ballett Zürich, Cathy Marston crafts unexpected matches between classical and contemporary art forms and is passionate about opening original ideas to new audiences.
While she is now Swiss, having lived here for most of her adult life, the British-born Cathy Marston received her dance training in Cambridge and at the Royal Ballet School London and subsequently danced with the Zurich Ballet, the Lucerne Theatre Ballet and the Ballet Bern.
She was Associate Artist at the Royal Opera House London for four years before joining the Konzert Theater Bern as Ballet Director in 2007, where she remained until 2013, creating numerous world premieres and inviting choreographers such as Andrea Miller, Hofesh Shechter, Tabea Martin, Alexander Ekman and Medhi Walerski to create new works for the company.
At the same time, she founded The Cathy Marston Project and created countless dance productions as a freelancer choreographer across the world, including for the Royal Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Northern Ballet, Joffrey Ballet Royal, Danish Ballet, Ballet Black, Ballett im Revier, Ballett der Theater Basel und St. Gallen, Ballet Junior de Geneve, Ballett der Oper Graz, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, Ballet Nacional de Cuba, Opera Australia and Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts.
In 2019 and 2021, Cathy Marston won the UK National Dance Award for The Suit (Ballet Black) / The Cellist (The Royal Ballet) and in 2020 received the prestigious South Bank Sky Arts Award for her production of Victoria with Northern Ballet. In the same year she was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award by the International Institute of Dance and Theatre.
From the 2023/24 season she will be the new Ballet Director and Chief Choreographer of Ballet Zurich.
“She has let the drama bleed through the dance.” Telegraph
Passionate about opening original ideas to new audiences, Cathy crafts unexpected matches between classical and contemporary art forms, for example, commissioning a new score for soprano voice and female beat-boxer by Dave Maric, or commissioning composer, Gabriel Prokofiev, to write for orchestra and DJ for her full-length ballet, Ein Winternachtstraum.
Cathy’s proudest moments include major creations for The Royal Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Northern Ballet, Danish Royal Ballet (and many more) founding her company, The Cathy Marston Project as well as leading the Bern Ballet safely away from the brink of closure to become a flourishing and celebrated ensemble.