Born in Stuttgart, he studied at the Académie de Monte-Carlo, where he received the John Gilpin Scholarship. He has won several international competitions and awards, including the Prix de Lausanne, the gold medal at the Prix de Luxembourg and at Eurocity in Italy (1997), and the Jackson Competition (1998). In September 1998 he joined the Stuttgart Ballet, where he became a soloist in 2002, the highest rank within the company. In the same year he won the Erik Bruhn Prize in Toronto, Canada. He was named Dancer of the Year by the critics of TANZ magazine (2010 and 2019) and Best Male Dancer by Danza&Danza in 2011. His repertoire includes major roles in the classical canon as well as works by choreographers ranging from Cranko to Balanchine, and from Robbins to Kylián, up to Neumeier, Forsythe, and McGregor. He is frequently invited as a guest artist by prestigious companies such as the Mariinsky Ballet in St Petersburg, the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, La Scala in Milan, English National Ballet, National Ballet of China, Tokyo and Hong Kong Ballet, Ballets de Santiago de Chile, Finnish National Ballet, Staatsballett Berlin and Bayerisches Staatsballett, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Royal Swedish Ballet, the ballet of the Vienna State Opera, Korean National Ballet, and Béjart Ballet Lausanne. In September 2015 he was awarded the title of Kammertänzer. In 2016 he received the Prix MAYA. In October 2020 he was awarded the German Dance Prize for Best Performance. In 2021 he was chosen as the ambassador for International Dance Day to write the official message for the International Theatre Institute, under the patronage of UNESCO.