Currently the Artistic Director of Rambert, Benoit Swan Pouffer is an internationally renowned dance artist, choreographer and company leader with substantial experience at some of the world’s most prestigious contemporary dance and ballet institutions. Born in Paris and having trained at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique et de Danse, Benoit went on to spend seven years as a principle with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York. He then transitioned into a leadership role as the Artistic Director of Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet. Over the course of the proceeding ten years he gained widespread recognition as a creative pioneer, introducing a new generation of international choreographers to US audiences and commissioning works from artists such as Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Hofesh Shechter, Crystal Pite and Alexander Ekman. Aside from choreographing for companies such as Ailey2 and Rambert2, Benoit has worked extensively on feature films, music videos, Broadway shows, live concerts – such as Ellie Goulding AMEX Unstaged directed by Scarlett Johansson – and in television, including So You Think You Can Dance. Building on his reputation in skillfully blending captivating artistry with commercially popular content, most recently he directed and choreographed Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby for Rambert, which premiered in the summer of 2022.