Hubert Petit-Phar

Hubert Petit-Phar started his choreographic studies at the Joseph Russillo School in Paris, alongside Régina Rils and Alvin McDuffie. These encounters later on lead him to Mudra International, where he majored in Interdisciplinary Studies, under the supervision of Maurice Béjart—from 1983 to 1986. Between 1985 and 1988, Petit-Phar danced at Mudra Junior (with director Jan Nuts). He also danced in many companies in the Netherlands (Black Vibration) and collaborated with several groups in Belgium.

De passage en Hollande, il fera une rencontre déterminante en la personne de Félix White, chorégraphe américain (Cie Katherine Dunham)Alongside him, Petit-Phar manages to explore a new aesthetical process.

Between 1988 and 1992, he worked his way through different choreographic movements—Balanchine, Billy Wilson, Jérôme Robbins, Geoffrey Holden, Robert North, while dancing for the director Arthur Michell at the Dance Theater of Harlem.

He performed as a guest artist in “Porgy and Bess” at the Metropolitan Opera,

and refined his choreographic writing style with Bessie Schoenberg during his years in New York. Petit-Phar also performed at the Vermont Ballet and the Contemporary Ballet under the direction of J. Brown.

Back to France, Hubert Petit-Phar taught in many training centers, while continuing his journey as a dancer with the In Vivo Company, Calabash, etc.

He choreographs for many companies and training centers in France and in Europe: For Nuts Company, Ballet School of Zurich, Dance Academy of Tilburg, Lullaby Company, etc.

He also started a research project about Jazz Culture and its relationship to the Contemporary World,

obtained his French State Diploma in Dance and his Dance Certificate of Competence.

Hubert taught for the ERD students (regular training for dancers program) at the CND - National Centre for Dance. He was a professor for the French State Diploma in Dance at the PESMD - Top Music And Dance Bordeaux Aquitaine in Bordeaux, Poitiers, and at the CEFEDEM - Training Center for Music and Dance Professors of Nantes.

In 2007, Petit-Phar creates La Mangrove Company with Delphine Cammal, and work to create gateways between Guadeloupe and Seine-Saint-Denis, through project creation and territory projects.

He gets his inspiration from literary works such as the corpus of Maryse Condé or Edouard Glissant.

Besides his choreographic work, Petit-Phar teaches for the Regional Council of Guadeloupe’s professional training programs.

Hubert Petit-Phar est chevalier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres depuis décembre 2023.