Anton Lachky
Co-artistic director of Anton Lachky & Eléonore Valère Company
Education and Career
Born in 1982 in Slovakia, Anton Lachky began dancing at the age of five in the folk dance company Maly Vtácnik. He continued his training at the Conservatory in Banská Bystrica. In 2001, he pursued further studies at the University of Bratislava, followed by advanced training at P.A.R.T.S for a year.
In March 2004, Anton joined the Akram Khan Company and toured the production MA for two years, performing in 48 countries worldwide. He then co-founded Les SlovaKs Dance Collective, with whom he created their first piece Opening Night (2006), followed by Journey Home (2009) and Fragments (2011). With these three works, the collective gained international acclaim.
Anton founded his own company in 2012. His first independent creation, Mind a Gap (2013), was followed by Side Effects (2015) and Cartoon (2017), Ludum (2019)
All of these works were met with great enthusiasm by audiences, critics, and the dance community alike.
Since 2019, Anton has co-directed the company with Eléonore Valère. Together, they have created LES AUTRES (2021) and noVLand (2026). Anton’s created also, ABSURD (2023). A the moment, these three pieces are all internationally touring.
Artistic approach
Anton Lachky blends Western-trained contemporary dance with influences from Eastern folk traditions and urban culture, creating a distinctive, hybrid movement language. Driven by a profound passion for the writing of movement, his work is rooted in precision, speed, and complex rhythmic structures.
This distinctive approach gives his choreography an unmistakable kinetic signature, places him in a unique position within the Belgian choreographic scene, and contributes to its vitality and richness.
On stage, dancers move through sequences so exacting and interdependent that every gesture depends on the group’s total awareness. Bodies interweave, respond, and synchronize with striking accuracy, making profound collaboration and collective intelligence crucial. Lachky’s work makes interdependence tangible: the choreography exists only through the dancers’ coordination and trust, embedding a political dimension directly into the fabric of the performance.
Building on his personal journey, in which he first discovered dance through folk traditions, Anton sees dance above all as a way to create social connection. For him, choreographing begins with “making a group” in the studio. Moreover, his creations are always driven by the same desire to connect with the audience. Beyond the striking visual and graphic impact of his work, his pieces invite spectators to experience joy, engagement, commitment, and the exhilarating pleasure of moving.
His work brings people together around a shared foundation: the body. In doing so, his performances embody values that are essential today. By reconnecting us with our bodily and collective dimension in a world that is increasingly dematerialized ( with all the ecological consequences this entails ) his work conveys hope, resilience, and a sense of shared responsibility.
Commissioned works
Praised and invited by major institutions around the world, Anton has created more than twenty commissioned works over the last twenty years…
Softandhard – Helsinki City Theatre, / Helsinki, Finland - 2008
Heaven Is the Place – DOT504, Prague / Czech Republic - 2008
Perfect Day To Dream – Iceland Dance Company, Reykjavík, Iceland - 2012
Kids in a play - Liberdance Company - Zagreb - Croatia - 2012
Sens interdit - SEAD- Salzburg - Austria 2013
Magical road - Konzert Theater St Gallen, Switzerland 2013
A Demain – Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy - 2014
Wonderland – Göteborg Opera Ballet, Gothenburg, Sweden - 2015
Dreamers – Scottish Dance Theatre, Dundee, United Kingdom – 2015
Private Games – BodyTraffic, Los Angeles, United States – 2016
Family Journey – DOT504, Prague, Czech Republic – 2018
Triology – Collectivo CLA, Costa Rica – 2018
Nocna Iluzia – National Theater of Slovakia, Bratislava, Slovakia – 2018-
Fortuneville – Iceland Dance Company, Reykjavík, Iceland – 2018
Special Society – Central Europe Dance Theater, Budapest, Hungary – 2018
Set Your Mind Free – Central Europe Dance Theater, Budapest, Hungary – 2020
Make a Wish – DART Company / Sadler’s Wells, Berlin / London – 2022
Golden Fishes – DART Company, Berlin, Germany – 2022
Special Night – Helsinki City Theatre, Helsinki, Finland – 2023
Fifth Season – MIR Dance Company, Germany – 2024
Die Lieben der Berenice ( OPERA ) - Luzerner Theater - Switzerland – 2026
Awards and nominations
PERFECT DAY TO DREAM – ICELAND DANCE COMPANY
✧ Grìman Award for “Best choreography” (2012) ✧
KIDS IN A PLAY - LIBERDANCE COMPANY
✧ Nominated for “Best Choreography” in Zagreb in (2012) ✧
CARTOON
✧ Price of the culture Minister (2017) ✧
FORTUNEVILLE – Iceland Dance Company
✧ Nominated for Grìman Award for “Best choreography” (2018) ✧
LES AUTRES
✧ Best dance piece / Maeterlinck prize (2022) ✧
✧ Award of the education Minister ✧
✧ Press’s favorite" ✧
Pedagogy / Puzzle work
Anton created a system called Puzzle Work. He has been invited in more than thirty countries in the world over last twenty years.
The puzzle work is integrated in the curriculum of many training centres for professional dancers.
In 2022 he created DIP and in 2026 he created ALP.
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