Ivan Estegneev (b. 27 May 1980, Novorossiysk, Russia) is a choreographer, curator, and physical theatre director working internationally across dance, theatre, and opera.
After completing his studies at Kuban State University (1997–2002) and the St. Petersburg University of the Humanities and Social Sciences (2000–2004), he became co-founder and artistic director of the Dialogue Dance School and Company in Kostroma in 2002, together with Evgeny Kulagin. Under their leadership, the company developed into one of the key centres for contemporary dance in Russia, receiving three Golden Mask National Theatre Awards and collaborating with leading artists and companies across Europe, the USA, and South Africa.
From 2009 to 2022, Estegneev served as Artistic Director of the International Contemporary Dance Duets Festival Diversia and co-founded the independent cultural venue STANTSIA. In 2014, he graduated from the School for Theatre Leaders in Moscow and subsequently became resident choreographer at the Gogol Center (2014–2022), working closely with Kirill Serebrennikov and Evgeny Kulagin.
Since 2016, he has collaborated regularly with Polish director Grzegorz Jarzyna in international theatre productions. He has also worked as a teacher and curator of stage movement at the Moscow Film School (2015–2022) and founded the physical theatre laboratory DialogLab in 2019, later expanding it to Germany.
Between 2022 and 2024, Estegneev served as curator of the International Festival CONTEXT. Diana Vishneva and was Choreographer in Residence at Thalia Theater Hamburg (2022–2025).
His extensive artistic work spans major productions in drama, opera, and ballet across Europe and Asia, including collaborations with institutions such as Komische Oper Berlin, Staatsballett Berlin, Salzburg Festival, Thalia Theater, and Ruhrtriennale. His choreographic practice is characterised by a strong integration of physical theatre and contemporary performance, developed through long-term collaborations with leading directors and artists internationally.