Jean-Christophe Maillot studied dance at the Conservatory of Tours and then at the Rosella Hightower International Dance Centre in Cannes. After winning the Prix de Lausanne in 1977, he was hired by John Neumeier at the Hamburg Ballet as a soloist. In 1983, he was appointed choreographer and director of the Ballet of the Grand Théâtre de Tours, where he created nearly twenty ballets and founded the Le Chorégraphique Dance Festival in 1985.
In 1993, he was appointed choreographer-director of the Ballets de Monte-Carlo by H.R.H. the Princess of Hanover. His arrival marked a new era for the company of 50 dancers. There, he created over 45 ballets, some of which, such as Vers un pays sage (1995), Romeo and Juliet (1996), Cinderella (1999), La Belle (2001), Le Songe (2005), Faust (2007), Lac (2011), and Coppél-i.A. (2019), have earned the Ballets de Monte-Carlo international renown and are included in the repertoires of major international companies (Royal Swedish Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Béjart Ballet Lausanne, etc.).
In 2014, he created The Taming of the Shrew for the Bolshoi Theatre Ballet, which won three Golden Mask Awards. In 2000, he founded the Monaco Dance Forum. This multifaceted dance festival, together with the Ballets de Monte-Carlo and the Princess Grace Academy, forms the current identity of the Ballets de Monte-Carlo, presided over by H.R.H. the Princess of Hanover and directed by Jean-Christophe Maillot.
