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© Photos Florian Hetz
Re-thinking
Ballet and Dance
Dear audience, dear friends of the Staatsballett Berlin,
the faster the world spins, with a seemingly endless stream of information in its wake, the more important it is to pause and cultivate new ways of thinking.
Creative processes deal with topics that were unheard of only yesterday and seek solutions where none have yet been found. Dance, like ballet, is a vibrant art form that thrives on the here and now. Its inherent creativity is the source of enormous potential. But if there is no interconnectedness between creative people, art comes to a standstill. To think as an interconnected group also means acknowledging the quality of this process. To shape creativity, and for it to develop freely, a suitable space is needed. Together with my team, this is the vision I have been working on at the Staatsballett for the past year and a half. Our institution in Berlin, a unique city that stands for diversity, tolerance and openness, is to continue to be a space for interconnection, discussion and the shaping of creativity in the future.
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I wish to make the Staatsballett Berlin a creative company that provides inspiration and a springboard for new choreographic works, taking many steps into the unknown to rethink ballet and dance.
We are pleased to welcome the choreographer Marcos Morau as our artist-in-residence. His choreographies and theatre works are characterised by a unique visual language in which he blends various working methods and techniques. In the coming seasons, he will develop further productions with the ensemble.
My central concern is that the extensive repertoire of the Staatsballett Berlin continues to be cultivated in all its diversity. Patrice Bart’s Giselle and Marcia Haydée’s Sleeping Beauty, two beautiful, challenging ballet classics, will once again feature in the repertoire. I am pleased to present Sharon Eyal’s acclaimed dance piece Half Life again this season together with Alexander Ekman’s fascinating production LIB. In addition, my own production Messa da Requiem returns to the stage.
Our new Next Generation series enables dancers to find and develop their own choreographic signature. The dance education programme Tanz ist KLASSE! gives us a chance to grow in the coming season, offering an extensive range of visits to dance training sessions and schools, workshops and own performances.
Alongside ballet performances, we are looking forward to engaging in an open dialogue with the public in three very different discussion formats. On the occasion of the Staatsballett Berlin’s 20th anniversary, we invite you to a festive gala at the Deutsche Oper. Thus, a major Berlin institution will receive a fitting 20th-anniversary celebration, and we will look to its future too. I eagerly await a creative exchange between artists, staff and the wonderful orchestras of Berlin’s opera houses.
May you experience unforgettable moments with us in which we strive to deal with the here and now of the human condition and the world in which we live. Let yourself be moved and inspired.
Yours cordially,
Christian Spuck