He was born in Verona, Italy. He began his dance studies at the École supérieure de danse de Cannes with Rosella Hightower (1981). He made his first professional appearance in Basle (Switzerland), where he worked with Heinz Spoerli (1982). In 1985, he entered the Stuttgart Ballet, where he presented his first choreographies, and in 1993 he was appointed choreographer of the organization. He has served as the artistic director and choreographer of the Vienna State Opera (1995-2005), as well as artistic director of the Ballet School at the same institution (2001-2005). Afterwards, he has worked as a freelance professional dancer on an international level. He has choreographed ballets for opera productions and more than a hundred independent ballets on a great variety of content for major operas, festivals and ballet companies in Germany, Austria, Italy, USA, Eastern Europe, Turkey, and Greece. He has worked with leading opera directors, such as David Pountney, Jürgen Flimm, Giorgio Strehler, Hans Neuenfels et.al. Since 2009, he directs operas as well. He serves as juror for international dance competitions. Danza & Danza magazine named him the “Best Italian choreographer abroad” (1995) and awarded him the prize for the “Best artistic director” (2001). In Austria, he received the “Jakob Prandtauer-Preis” in St. Pölten and the “Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art” by the Republic of Austria. In 2012, Austria’s Federal Ministry of Education, Art and Culture gave him the title of the professor (2012). He was appointed Director of the Greek National Opera's Ballet from 2011-2015. In NGO he has choreographed the ballets The Nutcracker, Everybody waltzes [Alles Walzer] (2011), Romeo and Juliet (2012), Journey to eternity [Taxidi stin aeoniotita] (2013), Swan lake (2014). He has also directed the operas Faust (2012) and The Sicilian Vespers [I vespri siciliani] (2013). Many of his choreographies have been recorded on DVD. // Last update of the biography: November 2015.