From an early age, Johan Struyve spent hours improvising at the keyboard. A native of Belgium, he began his piano training at the Ostend Conservatory, then went on to win prizes in composition at the Antwerp Conservatory and a Master’s degree in Music at the Lemmens Institute in Leuven.
He continued his travels in France, Germany and the Netherlands, taking interpretation courses, before settling in Paris in 1998 to perfect his skills at the Ecole Normale de Musique.
Always passionate about music, dance and theater, he nurtured his work through encounters with musicians, choreographers and stage directors. Since then, he has worked as a ballet accompanist at various conservatories in the Paris region, and takes an active part in classes, galas and exams, adapting repertoire, improvising, composing, singing and editing soundtracks.
In 2012, he moved to the North of France, where he gave a series of solo concerts performing a choice repertoire of Romanticism, followed by various piano-voice creations around French songs, including a show in tribute to Jacques Brel. He returned to teaching piano at the Maubeuge Conservatory, coordinating the instrumental classes for the entire dance show. At the same time, he works at the Ecole Supérieure de Musique et de Danse de Lille, this time at the professional level, teaching courses and certification exams for future dance teachers.
In 2019, he chose Quebec as his new destination, joining the École Supérieure de Ballet de Montréal, Collège Jean Eudes and, more recently, the École de Danse Contemporaine de Montréal. He is a regular contributor to Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal and Les Studios des Grands Ballets Canadiens.
Photo: Miriam Eyr
