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36 minutes ago, OnePigeon said:

 I find the the small, jerky movements and body popping too frantic from what I’ve seen of Goecke’s work: the dancer will hit a beautiful line and then be back to looking like they’re having a fit.  

 

I have always seen the beautiful lines in his works as the ideal, the beauty he is trying to see and to find in a very dark world of distorted movements. And of course the beauty looks like ballet, clear and soft and rounded. That's why he is working with ballet dancers.

 

Why oh why does it seem impossible to some people to like DQ as much as Goecke? You can like Rembrandt and Dali, Bach and rock music, why not classical ballet and modern ballet?

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Gauthier Dance just announced they will not show a short dance film by Marco Goecke at their premiere on March 1st.

The cooperation with Goecke as Artist in Residence will end, as planned from the beginning, in July 2023.

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@Angelaamen to what you said. I think part of the explanation is that in classical ballet, there is always a story to be told. People tend to ask "what does it mean", I am no exception. However, I have learned to let the question drop when music and choreography capture me, and when I can admire a dancer "just" for their artistry, musicality, flexibility, dedication etc. I also think that in contemporary dance, the atmosphere of a piece really needs the live experience in a theatre, rather watching it on a small screen. At least this is what I feel. E.g. watching Sharon Eyal's pieces LIVE is sooo much more impressive, they literally suck you in, even when the movements look monotone/repetitive. They are, but the darkness in the theatre, the music, light, movement onstage, this is something which adds indispensable to the entire experience. A Black Swan PDD on the contrary works always by its sheer bravado, even when extracted for a gala. 

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The fact that Goecke is a choreographer does not mean that his actions were not criminal.

In the UK, he would be charged with Common Assault by beating which would have the aggravating factors of it being a revenge attack and a public humiliation of his victim.

He would probably receive a Community Order with compensation to pay, although imprisonment (suspended or not) would also be a possibility.

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1 hour ago, The Sitter In said:

The fact that Goecke is a choreographer does not mean that his actions were not criminal.

 

Actually, choreographers can commit any crime in Germany without being sued, on stage and off stage. Remember when William Forsythe deconstructed the lines of classical ballet? 😱 Or John Neumeier adapted high literature in a complicated dramaturgy that just overstrained some American audiences? 😵 We let them do as they please - we accept, suffer, wonder and turn aversion into love. 💗

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13 minutes ago, Angela said:

 

Or John Neumeier adapted high literature in a complicated dramaturgy that just overstrained some American audiences?

 

😂  I have to admit that his adaptation of some beloved high Russian literature ovestrained my tolerance 😂

He does much better with French (especially with the one that was so difficult to that audience 😍)  and American works, IMO 🙂

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@annamicroGoecke overstrained my tolerance with his twitchy Nutcracker, LOL!

 

Goecke used the ”goods” of his often-seen dog, Gustav…pictured in this article:

https://www.standard.co.uk/insider/marco-goecke-german-ballet-director-rubs-dog-poo-on-critics-face-b1060265.html

 

Now the ballet world’s most famous pooch?

 

 

 

 

 

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On 17/02/2023 at 09:37, NiniGabriel said:

@Emeralds

 

Marco Goecke's style of choreography is probably not immediately and easily accessible when looking at dance from the perspective of the very leg-oriented classical ballet. Because in his choreographies the arms and hands and the upper body and the face play a main role, they move quickly in a multitude of small and sometimes broken gestures and postures and facial expressions, so that the mind practically cannot keep up with intellectually processing them. If you allow yourself to feel the dance moves more like a flow of "moving thoughts", like human reactions to the emotions inherent in the music, then they can hit you deep in non-verbal awareness. This is how I see (or rather feel) and appreciate Marco Goecke's pieces.

 

And yes, it takes outstanding virtuosity to dance Goecke's pieces. During his time as resident choreographer in Stuttgart, he often chose dancers for a new creation who had never worked with him before, and there were differences to be seen in the extent to which the dancers were able to implement the requirements of the choreography. But nothing changed for me in the genius of his work.

I agree with you that his work is in many ways vastly different to classical ballet where the discipline is often to hold the arms and back still and controlled, while the legs achieve most of the technical demands - not all the time of course, but a lot of the time. Goecke’s work is the opposite (in many ways it reminds me of street dance with the quick and often jerky upper body movement, which requires virtuosity of a different kind). What I found interesting also was that it was hard to separate the performances being successful because we were thrilled to see Vogel and Rademaker and would have been happy to see them perform literally anything at all, even just running around the stage, or whether it was because of the choreography. It was useful to have had his works among the various different choreographers’ pieces chosen for that evening-from Cranko to Neumeier to Spuck etc etc. - it was a good variety of different styles. 

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If you want to visit the annual Nijinsky Gala at Hamburg Ballet in July 2023, advance booking starts today at 10.00 CET via the website.  Please don't ask me how it works, it's getting even more complicated every year, it seems. This year, there is also a benefit gala for the John Neumeier Foundation.

https://www.hamburgballett.de/en/index.php

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Casting for the guest performances of “The Glass Menagerie” by John Neumeier after Tennessee Williams, Hamburg Ballet at the Harris Theatre in Chicago from today on:

 

Laura Rose Wingfield - Alina Cojocaru

Amanda Wingfield - Patricia Friza

Tom Wingfield - Félix Paquet

Jim O’Connor - Christopher Evans

Tennessee - Edvin Revazov

The Unicorn - David Rodriguez

Malvolio - Lennard Giesenberg.

 

After these performances, Hamburg Ballet will travel to Tokyo and show "The World of John Neumeier" and "Sylvia": 

https://www.nbs.or.jp/english/news/hamburg-ballet-2023-japan-tour.html

 

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The Bayerische Staatsballett opens the 2023-24 season on 23 September with Blickwechsel as part of the UniCredit Septemberfest. The two-part evening includes the Grand Pas Classiquefrom Paquita, juxtaposed with a contemporary work from the Sphären.01 series. 
 

At the end of November 2023, the curtain will rise on the first premiere of the season: French choreographer Angelin Preljocaj will bring an evening-length work to the Munich National Theatre with Le Parc to the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Ballet director Laurent Hilaire opens the Ballet Festival Week in April 2024 with a new modern three-part work combining works by Nacho Duato, Sharon Eyal and a new creation by Canadian Andrew Skeels. A programmatic counterpoint to the dance languages usually seen on the stage of the National Theatre will be presented by the Belgian dance theatre ensemble Peeping Tom with the three-part programme Tryptich: The missing door, The lost room and The hidden floor as part of the Ballet Festival Week 2024. The festival season in July will bring a second work by Angelin Preljocaj, who will curate the young choreographers' programme of the same name at the Cuvilliés Theatre in the summer of 2024 as part of Sphären.02.

 

Christopher Wheeldon's Alice in Wonderland and the classic Onegin by John Cranko will be revived in the coming season. Also in the repertoire are Romeo and Juliet, Tchaikovsky Overtures, Schmetterling, La Bayadère and the children's dance theatre piece How the Fish Found the Sea. In the Ballet extra series you can again look forward to numerous interesting insights behind the scenes. 

 

In the coming season, the Staatsballett will also be travelling again: In December 2023, the Comapgnie will be seen for the first time at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden. In keeping with the Christmas season, there will be four fairytale performances of Christopher Wheeldon's Cinderella. In summer, the company will travel to Spain: five performances of La Bayadère will be staged at the Teatro Real Madrid.

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15 hours ago, Don Q Fan said:

 

Really looking forward to a trip to see Onegin next year!  Just back from seeing Jewels and it really is such a beautiful theatre they have in Munich and lovely dancers too.

Happy to read that you enjoyed Jewels, I love this ballet. Which cast have you seen?

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Interested in casting for Onegin in Munich… who will be Tatiana? I can’t remember who is still there that has performed it.   Maybe Lauretta Summerscales?   Osiel Gouneo has performed the title role in Munich and Oslo.

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Definitely Laurretta @FionaE!

 

@Sabine0308 I saw the 2nd cast I think?  Here is a photo of the cast for the evening

Image

 

I love Jewels.  I thought this was well danced, with beautiful set and costumes. I think Emeralds was probably the best  of all 3 for me, I felt Gouneo was not quite there in Rubies this time, last time I saw him he was on fire!  In Diamonds some of the corps de ballet work looked a little off line/untidy, BUT that could be because I am used to viewing Balanchine from above and for this performance I was seated in the Balcony right below the royal box.  The Diamonds principals, Baronova and MacKay, were making their debuts as well which was nice and they were very well received at the end. I have to say it was a treat to see Casalinho and the petite Margarita Fernandes in the Emeralds PD3 after having seen them at the Ballet Icons and Fernades also danced in Rubies.  She must be going places!  I really enjoyed the show and will definitely be going back to Munich in the future. Some curtian call photos:-

 

Emeralds - Zeisel and Zhang

FqjyDx3WYAAjrew?format=jpg&name=360x360

Emeralds - M C Bono, A Cassalinho and M Fernandes

Image

 

Rubies: Ibraimova/Gouneo/Skoblikova

Image

 

Diamonds: MacKay/Baranova

Image

Diamonds: Baranova and MacKay 

Image

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@Don Q Fan ah thanks for the cast sheet. I love Madison Young and also Maria Baranova (a beautiful Julia, btw) for their artistry. And my favorite Rubies couple is Carollina Bastos and Shale Wagman, Shale is such a red Blitz onstage. 

I was curious about the debut Baranova/Mckay. 

Very glad that you enjoyed the evening.

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Staatsballett Berlin goes with Marco Goecke's "Petroushka" as planned onstage in June 2023. After a meeting with the dancers (and certainly in agreement with Christian Spuck), this decision was published today. Rehearsals will be done with Goecke's assistant, as it had been planned before. I cannot find the press release, but will post the link as soon as it's published.

I support(ed) this decision, based on artistic reasons. It's good that they did not follow the media hype and blind cancel culture. Well done.

Of course they stated that Mr. Goecke will not be present during rehearsals and that they condemn what happened in Hanover and do not tolerate it.

 

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Yesterday, the Süddeutsche Zeitung published a longer article entitled "For the history books, both remain: dog shit and genius" about how the choreographer Marco Goecke and his work are currently being dealt with. There was also a report on exactly this decision by Berlin.

 

Unfortunately, the article is only available in German and can only be read with a subscription.

 

Here the link: https://www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/marco-goecke-hannover-ballett-kritikerin-1.5764380

 

In summary, it was a plea for separating action from art. The central message was that ballet would be tantamount to amputating itself if Goecke's pieces were locked away.

 

Finally, this conclusion is drawn:

Quote

The question of how to relate the two (i.e. dog shit and genius) may not have to concern the houses at all. It is easily forgotten, but the audience is also quite mature in such questions. In Hanover, for example, Goecke's choreographies are currently always sold out.

 

 

 

Edited by NiniGabriel
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Dresden Semperoper Ballet announced the next season:  Johan Inger will create a new interpretation of "Swan Lake", then a triple bill with "Serenade" by Balanchine, "Plot Point" by Crystal Pite and "In The Upper Room" by Twyla Tharp. A smaller creation will take place in Semper Zwei, the experimental venue: "The 35th of May, or Conrad's Ride to the South Seas", based on a childrens book by Erich Kästner, choreographed by former Principal Dancer Raphaël Coumes-Marquet and composed by Gordon Kampe. Find the other repertoire here (scroll down)

 

As announced already, Marcelo Gomes will direct the company for next season as Aaron Watkin is leaving for ENB. No new director for 24/25 has been announced yet.

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14 hours ago, Angela said:

No new director for 24/25 has been announced yet.

 

And here we go:

 

Kinsun Chan, new ballet director for the Semperoper Ballett starting with the 2024/25 season

 

Dresden, 22 March 2023. Kinsun Chan will become Artistic Director of the Semperoper Ballett at the start of the 2024/25 season. He succeeds Aaron S. Watkin, who will move to the English National Ballet at the beginning of the coming season after 17 years in Dresden. Kinsun Chan’s contract will initially run for four seasons until the 2027/28 season. In the 2023/24 season, Marcelo Gomes as Artistic Manager and Adi Luick as Company Manager will assume joint responsibility for the Semperoper Ballett.

 

Kinsun Chan, currently director of the dance company at Theater St. Gallen, is a diversely trained artist with an extensive interest in the Arts.His choreographic works have been performed by Basel Ballet, Zurich Ballet, Hanover State Opera Ballet, Gauthier Dance Company, Singapore Ball et, Hong Kong Ballet, John Cranko School, Ballet Stuttgart for the Noverre Society and as part of the Heinz Bosl Foundation performances, among others. Kinsun Chan was engaged for many years as a soloist with the Ballet Zurich ( Heinz Spoerli) and the Basel Ballet ( Richard Wherlock). He has danced in the classical repertoire as well as in works by Jiří Kylián, William Forsythe, Nacho Duato and Hans van Manen, among others. His artistic work also extends to the creation of costumes and sta ge sets. In addition, he has held numerous teaching positions and jury activities, e.g. at the Prix de Lausanne. Kinsun Chan is also active as a visual artist and graphic designer.

 

Kinsun Chan is aware of the challenge and potential of his new task: »Dres den is a city so rich and inspiring in history and culture. The Semperoper is a place of living traditions, artistic excellence and great creative opportunities. The Semperoper Ballett is one of the world's leading companies due to its artistic diversity, its extensive repertoire from classical to modern and its outstanding dancers. To strengthen on the already excellent reputation and further develop the high level that Aaron S. Watkin has established over years of outstanding work, and to continue a uniqu e artistic profile, is a wonderful task that I am very much looking forward to.«

 

Nora Schmid, designated General Director of the Semperoper Dresden from the 2024/25 season, looks forward to the collaboration: »With Kinsun Chan, we have gained an artist wi th an interdisciplinary interest for the ballet direction who, based on his extensive artistic experience, will further develop the Semperoper Ballett and lead it into an exciting promising future. His conceptual thinking, his reflected, level headed, comp rehensive perspective on the complex artistic processes have convinced me. I am very much looking forward to shaping the artistic profile of the Semperoper together with him as a partner from the 2024/25 season.«

 

Short Biography Kinsun Chan:

The Swiss Canadian choreographer and designer, Kinsun Chan, began his studies in Art and Graphic Design, entering the ballet world at a late age. He started his professional dance career in America and came to Europe when he was invited to join the Zürich Ballet and later the Basel Ballet. He performed many soloist roles from renown choreographers such as Kylián, Forsythe, Duato, Spoerli, Van Manen, Wherlock and Wubbe. His first choreography was created at the Zürich Ballet for the platform Young choreogra phers Soon after he was invited to choreograph for the Noverre Society at the Stuttgart Ballet. His choreographies have been performed internationally by the Basel Ballet, Singapore Ballet, Tiroler Landestheater, Luzerner Theater, Hong Kong Ballet, Han nover Ballet, Staatstheater Kassel, Royal Ballet School of Antwerp, John Cranko School, Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, as part of the programmes of Heinz Bosl Foundation and the Tanz Akademie Zü rich. His creation for the Hong Kong Ballet was invited to the Jacobs Pillow Festival ( and Festival des arts de Saint Sauveur (Qu ébec, Canada). As of the 2019/20 season, he became the director of the Tanzkompanie Theater St. Gallen. From 2024/25 onwards he will be the director of the Semperoper Ballett.

 

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Staatsballett Berlin next season:

 

Next season, we'll celebrate four premieres: «Bovary», a world premiere by Christian Spuck; «2 Chapters Love», a double bill with new creations by Sol León and Sharon Eyal; «William Forsythe», featuring three works by the choreographer; and «Overture», comprising a piece by Crystal Pite and a new creation by Marcos Morau who is also our artist-in-residence from next season on.

With «Next Generation», we give our dancers the opportunity to shine as choreographers; with a glamourous gala, we celebrate the company's 20th anniversary. Also part of the programme: «Half Life», feat. «LIB» by Alexander Ekman and «Half Life» by Sharon Eyal, «Messa da Requiem» by Christian Spuck, «Sleeping Beauty» by Marcia Haydée and «Giselle» by Patrice Bart.

 

Download the programme here:

https://www.staatsballett-berlin.de/en/blog/spielzeit-202324-ballett-weiter-denken/176

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Principals/Soloists who are out: Daniil Simkin, Alejandro Virelles, Marian Walter, Dino Tamazlacaru, Iana Balova, Arshak Ghalumyan, Evelina Godunova, Olaf Kollmannsperger, Johnny McMillan, Aya Okumura, Krasina Pavlova, Federico Spallitta.

 

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