Lou spoke to Annabelle while she was at Jacob’s Pillow, in June 2022. They spoke about where Annabelle’s passion for working across genres comes from, the detail of how she prepares and what she asks of her dancers in the studio, and how she and her dramaturg and long time collaborator Nancy Meckler work together. 

Annabelle also talked about what she thinks a female choreographer can bring to female roles, and what changes she’d like to see in the programming of major companies – one of which she plans to lead one day!

Colombian-Belgian, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa is an award-winning choreographer that has created around 100 works for 71 dance companies around the world. A versatile choreographer, she creates regularly within the dance field but also for theatre, opera, and musical theatre. 

Her wide-ranging body of work includes short conceptual pieces, full-length narratives and dance films. She  completed her dance education at the Royal Ballet School of Antwerp and  after a 12-year long career in a number of European dance companies, Annabelle decided in 2003 to focus solely on choreography.