Steen Bjarke, has worked for much of his career for The Royal Theatre in Copenhagen (1973 – 2001), where he was in charge of lighting many operas and ballets, and worked on major stages throughout the world. He was one of the first lighting designers to use the latest technology in motion-controlled lights, using the lights to create entire set pieces, and interacting closely with the dancers. For the last couple of years Bjarke has also designed sets for his productions so light and set can be joined in a perfect synthesis. His ability to use light to create moods and changes that closely follows the musical score, has helped to renew many of the old classical Danish Bournonville ballets. Parallel with his work for the Royal Theatre, since 2001 he has enjoyed a freelance career working for international choreographers, including Peter Schaufuss, John Neumeyer, Maurice Béjart, Kevin McKenzie, Aleksey Fedichev. He has worked on various stagings of ballets by John Cranko, starting with Onegin (Copenhagen, 1989; Reid Andersen; sets Jürgen Rose). In 1991 he received the Order of Merit for his lighting design.