Biography
Born at the Hague, Joop Caboort was engaged as an electrician by the Nederlands Dans Theater in 1965. Only five years later he became
technical director there. While holding this post until 1995, Joop Caboort became primarily responsible lighting designer for the NDT and planned the lighting for about 350 choreographies, including
ballets by Hans van Manen, Jiri Kylian, Nacho Duato, Jennifer Muller, Louis Falco, Glen Tetley, Maurice Bejart and Nils Christe.
He has collaborated with many set designers, including Jean-Paul Vroom, Keso Dekker, William Katz, Walter Nobbe, Nadine Baylis, John F. Macfarlane, Michael Simon.
As a free-lance lighting designer he worked among others for Birgit Cullberg and was responsible for the lighting of plays and operas at various theatres. Companies such as the Royal Ballet, the
ballet of Paris Opera, the Royal Danish Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet or the Royal Winnipeg Ballet engaged him and he also did guest work at opera houses such as Covent Garden, the Vienna State Opera,
the Metropolitan in New York and many others.
Together with Carel Birnie, Joop Caboort developed technical systems for theatres which take the special needs of dance productions into account; he was responsible for planning and installing the
entire stage lighting plant and technical system for the Lucent Dance Theatre in the Hague designed by Rem Koolhaas in 1987.
He opened a consulting office for lighting design and technical installation in theatres in 1995 and has since been regularly advising theatres in Australia, Brazil, Israel and the USA. At the same
time he passes on his knowledge as teacher to aspiring members of the medial and theatrical profession at the renowned Graphic Lyceum of Rotterdam.
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