Sthan Kabar-Louët

Director, Choreographer & Dance Educator

Recipient of the Medal of Honour for Commitment to France’s Overseas Territories

(Awarded by the French Secretary of State for Overseas Territories) 🇫🇷

“Each individual has their own style, each culture the majesty of its own movement. Yet movement belongs to all humanity. Through dance, we are all brothers and sisters.”

— Maurice Béjart —

Crédit photo : Clotilde Richalet Szuch

Sthan KABAR-LOUET

Choreographer, Artistic Director and Dance Educator

Born in New Caledonia, Sthan KABAR-LOUET belongs to the fifth generation of his family born on the island. He began dancing in 1991 under the guidance of his first teacher, his mother, Sylvia Louët.

At the age of 13, he moved to France to pursue professional dance training at the National Conservatory of Dance in Avignon. In 1998, he was awarded the South Province Artistic Encouragement Prize and was accepted into the prestigious Rudra Béjart School in Lausanne, Switzerland.

In 1999, he joined the world-renowned Béjart Ballet Lausanne, where he worked closely with legendary choreographer Maurice Béjart. During his years with the company, he performed in major works including Boléro, The Rite of Spring, The Firebird and Heliogabalus, while touring extensively throughout Europe, Asia and beyond. He also had the opportunity to perform alongside some of the world's leading dance artists, including Sylvie Guillem.

Returning to New Caledonia in 2005, Sthan founded the Karbal Nouméa Ballet, the territory's first permanent professional dance company. Under his artistic direction, the company developed a repertoire of original productions presented throughout the Pacific region, including Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti and American Samoa.

Alongside his choreographic work, Sthan has played a significant role in the development of dance education in New Caledonia. Commissioned by the Government of New Caledonia and the Conservatory of Music and Dance, he led the study that paved the way for the establishment of public dance education in the territory. In 2012, he was invited to create and coordinate the dance department of the Conservatory of Music and Dance of New Caledonia.

In 2013, he was awarded the prestigious Certificat d'Aptitude (CA) in Classical Dance Teaching by the French Ministry of Culture, the highest pedagogical qualification in dance education in France.

As a choreographer and artistic director, Sthan has created numerous productions combining classical ballet, contemporary dance and intercultural influences. His work has been presented in New Caledonia, France, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Tahiti and across the Pacific region.

In 2016, he founded L'Avant-Scène Centre de Danse, now one of New Caledonia's leading dance institutions. Through ambitious productions such as Swan Lake, La Bayadère, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Marco Polo and the Silk Road, and the internationally acclaimed Night of the Choreographers, he has welcomed guest artists from some of the world's most prestigious companies, including the Paris Opera Ballet, The Australian Ballet, Staatsballett Berlin, the Royal Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet, the Bavarian State Ballet, the National Ballet of Ukraine and many others.

Today, Sthan continues to develop large-scale artistic projects that bridge cultures and generations. In 2026, he founded the KABAR-LOUET Dance Theater, a contemporary dance collective bringing together dancers trained through L'Avant-Scène and dedicated to creating meaningful works that resonate both locally and internationally.

Its first major production, The Silent Cry of the Flowers, will be presented internationally at the Thomas Dixon Centre in Brisbane, home of Queensland Ballet, in August 2026.

"Each culture has the majesty of its own movement, yet movement belongs to humanity. Through dance, we are all brothers and sisters."
— Maurice Béjart