Following his studies at the Brussels’ Academy of the Arts, Kees Tjebbes has worked with several theatre and dance groups such as Toneelgroep Theater, Introdans, Scapino Ballet Rotterdam and the Netherlands Dance Theater. For Introdans and Scapino Ballet Rotterdam, Tjebbes began to design lighting plots for choreographers Ed Wubbe, Nils Christe and Itzik Galili, among others.

In 2000, Jiří Kylián asked him to create the lighting for Click-Pause-Silence, and since that time he has collaborated with Kylián on almost all of his dance productions: 27’52” (NDT II/ 2002), Claude Pascal (NDT I/ 2002), When Time Takes Time (NDT III/ 2002), Far too close (NDT III/ 2003), Last Touch (NDT I/ 2003), Sleepless (NDT II/ 2004), Toss of a Dice (NDT I/ 2005), Chapeau (NDT II/2006), Tar and Feathers (NDT I/ 2006) and Vanishing Twin (NDT I/ 2008). In 2004, Tjebbes did the lighting for Il Faut q’une Porte for the Paris Opera Ballet.

Additionally, Tjebbes has supervised, adapted or re-created the technical and lighting plots for all Kylián productions being staged or re-staged everywhere. Tjebbes’ lighting for Overgrown Path is his first to enter American Ballet Theatre’s repertoire.