PetterJacobsson ThomasCaley
Born in Stockholm, Petter Jacobsson began dancing at the age of three. He continued his studies at the Royal Swedish Ballet School and later the American Ballet School, NYC with Stanley Williams. In 1982 Petter graduated from the Vaganova Academy in St. Petersburg.
Between 1982 and 1984, Petter Jacobsson danced with the Royal Swedish Ballet in Stockholm, the English National Ballet, and was appointed Principal Dancer with the Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet in London. During his ballet career he danced all the leading roles in classical repertoire (Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Romeo and Juliet...) in choreographies by Sir Peter Wright, Sir Kenneth McMillan, Sir Frederic Ashton, Sir David Bintley, as well as also taking part in a varied and dynamic contemporary repertoire. He performed worldwide with Sadler's Wells (200 shows per year), and as well during this period, guested with other international companies. The Financial Times journalist Clement Crisp once referred to him as "the best dancer in the country."
In 1993, he moved to New York where he began a career as an independent dancer, working and creating works with Twyla Tharp and her company, notably, he was part of the filming of her "In the Upper Room" for PBS and Canal+ channels. He created new works with Irene Hultman and became a member of the Merce Cunningham Repertory Understudy Group, and finally collaborated with Deborah Hay.
In the mid-90s, Petter and Thomas Caley began working together as a creative team, creating pieces for Martha@Mother, the Joyce Soho in New York, and the Royal Opera in Stockholm, "Staden," as part of Stockholm, European Capital of Culture, in 1998.
In 1999, Petter was appointed artistic director of the Royal Swedish Ballet in Stockholm, a company of 90 dancers. A move back to Europe marked a new chapter as Artitistic Director, free lance choreographer and continued artistic collaboration with Thomas. A highlight of their work and curating for the Royal Swedish Ballet, was the creation of two immense happenings, "In nooks and crannies," in 2000 and 2001. The project was a collaboration involving the Royal Ballet, the Opera, and the Orchestra, as well as independent artists, who where asked to use all those unusual, unseen, closed or forgotten spaces of this stately royal institution, as performance venues. While artistic director, Petter choreographed the operas, Rigoletto, The Magic Flute, Clara, Orlando, and Die Fledermaus.
During his tenure, Petter Jacobsson offered a diverse programming including classics from the 19th century repertoire, contemporary works and new commissions. He incorporated the company's history but ensured that the majority of the programming consisted of works never before presented by the company. He was the first artistic director to offer contemporary technique classes to the company, while also maintaining the performances of an 18th-century repertoire specifically created for the Drottningholm Palace Theater. He also produced for the BBC and SVT (Swedish television) the recording of Swan Lake.
His relentless push to modernize the ballet resulted in him being the first to propose to Mathilde Monnier to create for a classical company, while also inviting independent Swedish choreographers. He also conceived the evening "Unreal Estate," which featured the Swedish death metal band Entombed live, in an evening composed of pieces by Carina Reich and Bogdan Szyber, Angelin Preljocaj, Frederic Ashton, as well as a recreation of the piece Mjaskovski Vals, from the Stalinist "Moscow Hollywood" period. To further reach a diverse audience he established the Balettsoppa lunches, which consisted of public lunchtime gatherings and rehearsals.
Petter was named Choreographer of the Year 2002 by the Swedish Society of Choreographers for his work in modernizing the Royal Swedish Ballet.
After years of collaboration, Petter and Thomas established an independent dance company in 2005 – their works include Nightlife, Unknown partner, Flux, No man's land - no lands man, The nearest nearness – in 2002, they received a "Goldmask" for Best Choreography for the musical Chess with Björn Ulveus and Benny Andersson (ABBA).
From 2011 until 2025, Petter was the General and Artistic director of the CCN – Ballet de Lorraine in Nancy, France. Together with Thomas Caley, they created for the company: Untitled Partner #3, Performing Performing, Relâche, Armide, Discofoot, L’Envers, Record of Ancient Things, Happening Birthday, For Four Walls, Air-Condition, and Mesdames et Messieurs.
The CCN – Ballet de Lorraine was named best French dance company of 2021 by the national guild of critics.