Janek Schergen is from Göteborg, Sweden. He studied ballet with Richard Ellis and Christine Du Boulay of the Sadler’s Wells Ballet, and continued his training at the American Ballet Center and the Harkness House for Ballet Arts in New York. He joined the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in 1971 and the Pennsylvania Ballet the following year, where he danced for 12 years. In 1978, he began teaching at the School of the Pennsylvania Ballet. In addition to dancing and teaching, he also began staging the works of Benjamin Harkarvy for the Pennsylvania Ballet and other companies. In 1981, he was invited by Mary Day, Director of The Washington Ballet, and Choo-San Goh, the company’s Resident Choreographer, to join the company full-time as ballet master and teacher, touring the Far East, Europe, South America, and the United States.

In 1988, he was invited to be the ballet master and Company teacher for the Royal Swedish Ballet in Stockholm, rehearsing full-length classics and works by Sir Frederick Ashton and Sir Kenneth MacMillan. In 1991, he completed his studies in Benesh Movement Notation in London, receiving certification in the written notation of dance, and later became a ballet master for the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. He has staged The Sleeping Beauty for Ballet Met, The Milwaukee Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Pennsylvania Ballet, and the Norwegian National Ballet.

As Artistic Director and Board Member of the Choo-San Goh & H. Robert Magee Foundation, he has staged over 150 productions of Choo-San Goh’s works worldwide. He also serves as Chairman of the Awards Committee for the Choo-San Goh Awards for Choreography. Over the past 33 years, 72 awards have been granted to support the creation of new choreographic works.

Since the establishment of Singapore Ballet (SDT), he has staged 11 of Choo-San Goh’s works for the company. At SDT’s request, he authored a monograph on Choo-San Goh’s career and ballets, published in Singapore in September 1997.

From 2002 to 2006, he was the ballet master and staff teacher of the Norwegian National Ballet (NNB) in Oslo. His production of Tornerose (Sleeping Beauty) for NNB was broadcasted on NRK television in December 2006.

In 2007, Janek was appointed Assistant Artistic Director of SB and was later appointed as
its Artistic Director in 2008. He introduced the monthly One @ the Ballet open rehearsals, launched the Ballet Associates Course, and added the pre-professional Scholars’ Programme. He later established the annual Made in Singapore Choreographic Workshop. Over the past years, he has been part of several National Arts Council panels and committees, and frequently judges international ballet competitions. Under his leadership, the company continues to soar to new heights, achieving success both internationally and locally. His stagings include Swan Lake, Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, Romeo & Juliet, The Nutcracker, Paquita, Coppélia, and Cinderella. He also created the five-part children’s ballet series, Peter & Blue.

Janek was honoured with the “Award for Culture” by Singapore Tatler at the 2015
Leadership Awards and received the “Public Service Medal (PBM)” from the President of Singapore in 2017 as part of the National Day Awards. In recognition of his impact, he was named “Swede of the Year 2019” by the Swedish Chamber of Commerce Singapore. His influential role in shaping Singapore’s ballet scene was also highlighted on CNA’s Singaporean at Heart, which showcased his significant contributions, including bringing world-class productions to local audiences and strengthening the nation’s performing arts landscape.