[citation needed] He started his dancing career in Stockholm's Cullberg Ballet[5] and later joined Nederlands Dans Theater,[6] under artistic director Jiří Kylián; he remained with the company for ten years.

In 1983, he choreographed Jardí tancat (Catalan: 'Shut garden') to music composed by Maria del Mar Bonet.

In 2016, Michael Mueller, Mayor of Berlin, announced that the city would not extend Duato's contract with the company when it expired in 2019.

Sasha Waltz and Johannes Ohman succeeded him as joint artistic directors of the Berlin State Ballet.

[8] Duato returned to his previous post in Saint Petersburg as artistic director of the Mikhailovsky ballet company.