Jean-Marc Puissant (born 26 September 1969) is a stage and costume designer. curator and consultant for live arts and exhibitions. Based in London, Puissant collaborates with international brands, directors, choreographers and curators in the UK, USA, Europe, Australia and Japan.

Early life and education

Puissant grew up in the village of Le Bourg-d'Oisans, in the French Alps. He moved to Grenoble, age 12, to study at

Lycée Stendhal The lycée Stendhal, formerly Cité scolaire Stendhal, is a secondary and higher education establishment in Grenoble. It is the oldest lycée in Grenoble, and its pupils have included Stendhal (after whom it is now named) and Champollion. I ...

and Conservatoire de Grenoble and to Paris, age 15, to study at Lycée Racine, Conservatoire de Paris and Paris Opera Ballet School. Puissant studied Art History at

La Sorbonne The University of Paris (french: link=no, Université de Paris), Metonymy, metonymically known as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, active from 1150 to 1970, with the exception between 1793 and 1806 under the French Revo ...

, Paris, and design at

Motley Theatre Design Course Motley Theatre Design Course is a one-year independent theatre design course in London. It was founded at Sadler's Wells Opera in 1966. History of the school Sadler's Wells Opera and English National Opera In 1962, Sadler's Wells Opera announced th ...

, London. Puissant guest tutored costume design at NYU's New York University Tisch School of the Arts and scenography and costume design London’s Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

Career

Puissant's career began as a professional dancer. He joined

Birmingham Royal Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) is one of the five major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside The Royal Ballet, the English National Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet. Founded as the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, the company ...

in September 1990, under the direction of

Sir Peter Wright Sir Peter Wright CBE (born 25 November 1926) is a British ballet teacher, choreographer, director and former professional dancer. He worked as a choreographer and as the artistic director of Birmingham Royal Ballet, a classical ballet company b ...

, and

Stuttgart Ballet Stuttgart Ballet is a leading German ballet company. Dating back to 1609, then the court ballet of the dukes of Württemberg, the modern company was founded by John Cranko and is known for full-length narrative ballets. The company received the L ...

in February 1995, under the direction of

Marcia Haydée Marcia Haydée Salaverry Pereira da Silva (born 18 April 1937) is a Brazilian ballet dancer, choreographer and ballet director. She was prima ballerina of the Stuttgart Ballet under John Cranko and succeeded him as the company's director, serv ...

. He danced and created roles classical and contemporary repertoires. In 2002, Puissant's breakthrough came with ''Tryst'', a ballet choreographed by

Christopher Wheeldon Christopher Peter Wheeldon OBE (born 22 March 1973) is an English international choreographer of contemporary ballet. Life and career Born in Yeovil, Somerset, to an engineer and a physical therapist, Wheeldon began training to be a ballet dan ...

's at The Royal Ballet. Wheeldon and Puissant have collaborated on 13 productions, with Wheeldon's saying of their collaboration that “He’s so willing to dare (..) He doesn’t ever go for the obvious, and he often pushes me to work that way with him. It’s not always obvious to the audience what’s going into his work, and I enjoy that a lot." In 2007,

Monica Mason Dame Monica Mason (born 6 September 1941) is a former ballet dancer, teacher, and artistic director of The Royal Ballet. In more than fifty years with the company, she established a reputation as a versatile performer, a skilled rehearsal dire ...

commissioned Puissant new stage design for the Royal Opera House's first production of

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...

's '' Jewels''. The production won two

2008 Laurence Olivier Awards The 2008 Laurence Olivier Awards were held in 2008 in London celebrating excellence in West End theatre by the Society of London Theatre. Winners and nominees Details of winners (in bold) and nominees, in each award category, per the Society of ...

, including Best New Dance Production. Judith Mackrell writes in The Guardian "The triumph of this new production is to transfer a sense of ownership to the Royal Ballet. Courtesy of designers Jean-Marc Puissant and Jennifer Tipton, the three plotless ballets that make up Jewels have been given an added theatrical resonance, which suits this company’s performing temperament". Puissant also collaborated with choreographers Karole Armitage, Maina Gielgud,

Shobana Jeyasingh Shobana Jeyasingh (born 26 March 1957 in Chennai) is a British choreographer and founder of Shobana Jeyasingh Dance. Shobana Jeyasingh has been creating dance works for 30 years. Born in Chennai, India, she currently lives and works in London ...

, Annie-B Parson,

Arlene Phillips Dame Arlene Phillips (born 22 May 1943) is an English choreographer, talent scout, television judge and presenter, theatre director, and former dancer, who has worked in many fields of entertainment. For many years, she was most noted as the c ...

Lee Blakeley Richard Lee Blakeley (16 August 1971 – 5 August 2017) was a British opera and theatre director. Born in Mirfield, West Yorkshire to Carol and Richard Blakeley, Blakeley was educated at The Mirfield Free Grammar School. He subsequently studie ...

, Arthur Pita and Alexander Whitley amongst others. In 2010, Puissant designed the stage design for David McVicar's Verdi's Aida at The Royal Opera. In August 2019, Puissant curated a critically acclaimed program for New York’s Joyce Theater’s Festival.

Recognition

* 2016

Benois de la Danse The Benois de la Danse is a ballet competition held annually in Moscow. Founded by the International Dance Association in 1991, it takes place each year on or around April 29 and it's judged by a jury. The members of this jury change every year and ...

Nomination: Best Scenographer *

2013 Laurence Olivier Awards The 2013 Laurence Olivier Awards were held on Sunday 28 April 2013 at the Royal Opera House, London. The awards were sponsored by MasterCard for the third consecutive year and presented by Hugh Bonneville and Sheridan Smith, with music from the BB ...

: Winner Best New Dance Production for Aeternum. Royal Ballet *

: Winner Best New Dance Production for Jewels, Royal Ballet *

2007 Laurence Olivier Awards The 2007 Laurence Olivier Awards were held in 2007 in London celebrating excellence in West End theatre by the Society of London Theatre. Winners and nominees Details of winners (in bold) and nominees, in each award category, per the Society of ...

: Nomination Best New Dance Production for DGV: Danse à Grande Vitesse, Royal Ballet *

2003 Laurence Olivier Awards The 2003 Laurence Olivier Awards, celebrating excellence in West End theatre, were presented by the Society of London Theatre on Friday 14 February 2003, at the Lyceum Theatre, London. A recording of the ceremony was broadcast the next night on B ...

: Nomination Best New Dance Production for Tryst, Royal Ballet * 2013

National dance awards The National Dance Awards are presented annually in the United Kingdom by The Critics' Circle, and are awarded to recognise excellence in professional dance. They are widely regarded as the most prestigious award presented for dance in the UK, a ...

: Winner Best Classical Production for Aeternum, Royal Ballet * 2008 National Dance Awards: Winner Best Classical Production for Electric Counterpoint, Royal Ballet * 2007 South Bank Sky Arts Awards: Winner: Best New Dance Production for DGV: Danse à France Vitesse, Royal Ballet * 2008

UK Theatre Awards The UK Theatre Awards, established in 1991 and known before 2011 as the TMA Awards, are presented annually by UK Theatre (formerly the Theatrical Management Association) in recognition of creative excellence and outstanding work in regional theat ...

: Nomination: Best Opera Production for A Night at the Chinese Opera, Scottish Opera

Boards

2008–2020: Trustee -

Dance Umbrella Dance Umbrella is an annual festival of modern and contemporary dance in London every October, founded by Val Bourne and Jeremy Alliger. First held in 1978, companies such as London Contemporary Dance Theatre, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Si ...

2021 to present: Trustee - Dancers’ Career Development

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puissant, Jean-Marc 1969 births Living people Costume designers