Jean Grand-Maitre

Jean Grand-Maitre is the opening and closing ceremony choreographer. He is the artistic director of Alberta Ballet. http://www.timescolonist.com/technology/Review+Alberta+Ballet+captures+magic+Joni+Mitchell+music/2493348/story.html Even though he is the creator of the show, he cannot give away any free tickets for the show. Also, he is under strict confidentiality order. So he cannot reveal anything about his choreography work for the Olympics. But he mentioned that many of the ideas for the show are from the the symposia Atkins and VANOC. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/ninety-minutes---thats-all-he-can-say/article1417770/ The opening ceremony of Vancouver olympics, 2010 was his first in person Olympic event. Jean Grand-Maitre is an outspoken advocate for the art internationally. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0009563

Jean Grand-Maitre was born in Quebec in 1963. He did one year dance program at the York university of Toronto. Then continued his education in Montreal at L'Ecole superieure de danse du Quebec. http://artsalive.ca/en/dan/meet/bios/artistDetail.asp?artistID=14 His project Frames of Mind got nominated for Dora Mavor Moore Award in 1994. This helped him to get into the American choreographic development program operated by the Pennsylvania Ballet. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0009563 Before getting hired by the Alberta Ballet in 2002 as director, he was working as an independent choreographer. Under his leadership, the Alberta Ballet grown to have 26 dancers and became the 3rd largest ballet company of Canada. He was also able to take his company for international tours in china and many national tours. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0009563

He has staged and directed the rock opera musical Roméo et Juliette de la haine à l’amour. The Qubek Arts Council gave him a 6 month sabbatical to live in Rome to study the Italian art. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0009563 He directed the theater musicals Théâtre de Rougemont, Festival de Théâtre des Amériques et Théâtre de Quat’Sous, Théâtre Ô Parleur, Demain matin, Montréal m’attend, and Théâtre Français de Toronto http://www.agencegoodwin.com/pdf/grandmaitre-j-en.pdf

You want to show your country to the world in a beautiful way that represents us intellectually, artistically, our amazing diversity http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/ninety-minutes---thats-all-he-can-say/article1417770/