Annabelle López Ochoa Choreographer

Biography

Belgian-Colombian choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa trained as a dancer at the Royal Ballet School of Antwerp. After a twelve-year career with several European dance companies, including Djazzex and Scapino Ballet, where she performed as a soloist for seven years, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa decided to focus solely on choreography in 2003.

She has created more than a hundred ballets for eighty-four dance companies worldwide, including Dutch National Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Queensland Ballet, New York City Ballet, Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève, and English National Ballet, among others.

A versatile choreographer, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s work spans a wide range of styles, from short conceptual pieces to full-length narratives and dance films. Since 2019, she has been the director of Jacob’s Pillow's contemporary ballet summer program. During the 2020-2021 pandemic, she choreographed remotely, creating a total of 22 videos released online.

Annabelle Lopez Ochoa has received numerous choreography awards, including the Hannover Choreographic Competition and the Bornem Choreographers’ Competition. She has also been honored with various prizes such as the UK Dance Award for Best Classical Ballet, the Villanueva Award, the South Bank Sky Arts Award, the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award, and in 2025, the Dance Lab New York honors.

Highly active, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa has specialized in narrative ballet, creating fourteen full-length works, including FRIDA, Coco Chanel: The Life of a Fashion Icon, Doña Perón, Callas, La Divina, and A Streetcar Named Desire. In April 2025, she will premiere a brand-new full-length version of Carmen for Miami City Ballet. She is delighted to become a resident choreographer at Dortmund Ballet starting in the 2025-2026 season, alongside Edward Clug.