Blazing pirouettes, exquisite pointe work, grooving ensembles gliding through space, or switching directions with razor-sharp precision—Richard Siegal’s choreographies captivate from the very first moment. He masterfully blends extremes of light and shadow, sound and silence, moving objects, and dance, pushing the boundaries of the ballet system in a uniquely transformative way. The American dancer and choreographer Richard Siegal collaborates with artists from various disciplines to redefine contemporary dance.

Siegal has presented his innovative projects at festivals worldwide and received numerous awards, including the New York Dance and Performance Bessie Award, the S.A.C.D. Prize, the German Theatre Award Der Faust, and the Munich Dance Award in 2013. He is a MacDowell Fellow and an honorary member of the Bolshoi Ballet’s Benois de la Danse. As a choreographer, Siegal has worked with institutions such as the Center for Art and Media Technology (ZKM) Karlsruhe, Bennington College (Vermont, USA), and the Baryshnikov Arts Center (New York City, USA). Between 1997 and 2004, he was a member of the Ballet Frankfurt under the direction of William Forsythe, and from 2005 to April 2015, he served as an associated artist with The Forsythe Company.

Since 2010, Siegal has been an artist-in-residence at Muffatwerk Munich and, in the 2015/16 season, at the Festspielhaus St. Pölten in Austria. His creations have been performed by renowned companies such as Ballet Frankfurt, Ballet National de Marseille, GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, Bavarian State Ballet, Hessian State Ballet, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Bodytraffic in Los Angeles, and São Paulo Dance Company (premiering in June 2016). His choreographies have also been performed by Bavarian State Ballet II / Junior Company, Ballet Dortmund (premiere in February 2017), Ballet of Theater Bielefeld, and Bodytraffic.

In 2016, Richard Siegal founded a new company, Richard Siegal / Ballet of Difference, envisioned as an alternative to institutionalized ballet. Operating as an independent ensemble, the company brings together exceptional dancers from diverse backgrounds, offering a platform for various forms of knowledge and skill sets. Diversity is the central theme: Richard Siegal / Ballet of Difference explores the boundaries of societal norms.

The collaboration between Richard Siegal / Ballet of Difference and Tanz Köln, as well as Schauspiel Köln, began successfully in 2017 and was further solidified in the 2018/19 season with the production ROUGHHOUSE. This production saw the dancers of the company sharing the stage with Cologne ensemble members. It was later invited to the Holland Festival in Amsterdam and the DANCE Festival in Munich. From the 2019/20 season through 2023/24, Schauspiel Köln became the home base for Richard Siegal and Ballet of Difference, premiering works such as BoDy (without) Organs, BALLET OF (DIS)OBEDIENCE, and NEW OCEAN SEA CYCLE.

Starting in the 2025/26 season, Richard Siegal will take on the role of ballet director at the Staatstheater Nürnberg, where he will lead the ballet division.