La Compagnie des Ballets de Monte-Carlo was re-established in the Principality in 1985 due to the commitment of H.R.H. the Princess of Hanover in accordance with the wishes of H.S.H. Princess Grace of Monaco. The company was initially managed by Ghislaine Thesmar and Pierre Lacotte, then by Jean-Yves Esquerre.

In 1993, H.R.H. the Princess of Hanover appointed Jean-Christophe Maillot as the head of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo. Building on his dancing experience gained with Rosella Hightower and John Neumeier, and as choreographer and director of the National Choreographic Centre in Tours, Jean-Christophe Maillot gave the Monegasque company a new boost. He created an original repertoire around his own productions. Jean-Christophe Maillot’s choreographic influence dominates in pieces like Dov’e la luna, Recto-Verso, Vers un Pays Sage, Entrelacs, Opus 40, Men’s Dance, D’une Rive à l’Autre, Altro Canto and Miniatures, as well as in the great classics with their timeless themes such as Romeo and Juliette, the Nutcracker Suite, Cinderella, La Belle, Faust and Daphnis and Chloé to name just a few of the ballets, some of which have featured in the repertoire of major international companies.

Visual artists like George Condo, Ernest Pignon-Ernest, Philippe Favier, Rolf Sachs
and Dominique Drillot, composers such as Marc Monnet, Yan Maresz, Andrea Cera, Ivan Fedele, Ramon Lazkano, Martin Matalon, Daniel Teruggi and Bruno Mantovani and costume designers like Jérôme Kaplan, Philippe Guillotel and Karl Lagerfeld have been involved in these works.

Furthermore, Jean-Christophe Maillot recently enriched the repertoire of the Ballets de Monte-Carlo by inviting contemporary choreographers including William Forsythe, Jiri Kylian, Karole Armitage, Marco Goecke, Johan Inger, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Shen Wei, Alonzo King, Emio Greco, and Chris Haring among others.

Touring for part of the year, since 1993 the company of fifty dancers has been performing on major international stages. In 2009 and 2010, on the occasion of the Centenary of the Ballets Russes which was celebrated in Monaco, the Ballets de Monte-Carlo collaborated with the Académie de Danse Princesse Grace and the Monaco Dance Forum. In 2011, under the Presidency of H.R.H. the Princess of Hanover, the Ballets de Monte-Carlo merged these three institutions into one structure. The Ballets de Monte-Carlo now includes the excellence of an international dance company, the quality of a varied festival and the potential of a high-level dance school. The director is Jean-Christophe Maillot.

from http://www.balletsdemontecarlo.com