Matz Skoog
Ballet Category Final Judge
Born in Stockholm, Matz Skoog trained as a dancer in Sweden and in the former Soviet Union. After graduating from the Royal Swedish Ballet School, he became a member of the Royal Swedish Ballet, later joining English National Ballet where, along with other guest engagements, he remained as a Principal Dancer for several years. Matz has enjoyed an extensive dancing career at the highest level in both classical ballet and contemporary dance, working with artists such as Mark Morris, Mats Ek, Jiri Kylian, Sir Fredrick Ashton and Rudolph Nureyev to mention but a few. He has also been a member of Netherlands Dance Theatre in Holland and Rambert Dance Company in the UK.
In 1996 Matz was appointed Artistic Director of the Royal New Zealand Ballet, a position he held until 2001. From 2001 to 2005 he was Artistic Director of English National Ballet. Since 2006 Matz has pursued a freelance career as a teacher, artistic consultant and personal and professional development coach; working in these capacities with national dance companies and schools in Sweden, Finland, Holland, Belgium, China, Korea, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the UK. Recent appointments include Artistic Advisor to the Royal Swedish Ballet, Head of the Artistic Department for the Royal New Zealand Ballet, Ballet Master for the Polish National Ballet. Current guest teaching engagements in the UK include the Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Rambert Dance Company and Wayne McGregor Random Dance.