Katja Schneider
Prof. Dr. Katja Schneider teaches dance studies at HfMDK Frankfurt. She received her PhD for an interdisciplinary thesis on play wright Christian KrĂŒger in 1996 and habilitated in 2013 with her work Tanz und Text. Figurationen von Sprache und Bewegung at the department for theatre studies at LMU Munich at which she also was affiliated as research assistant. From 1992 to 2012 she worked as a critic for the SĂŒddeutsche Zeitung as well as reporting for Deutschlandfunk radio. She was also editor at the journals tanzdrama, tanzjournal and tanz between 1992 and 2012, and has been working as a dramaturg for the Munich DANCE festival. She is a founding member of tanznetz.de, Access to Dance and Fokus Tanz/Tanz und Schule.
Martina RĂ€ther
 After studying to be a teacher at the Humbold University in Berlin and passing the 2nd state examination for the office of teacher in a professional subject, Martina RÀther has been the acting headmaster of the Berlin State Ballet and Artistic School sinceAugust 1, 2020.
Jan Linkens
Royal Conservatoire The Hague
Jan Linkens, born in Maastricht/Netherlands, received his dance education at the Dance Department of the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague/Netherlands. In 1977 he joined the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam to work there for almost 17 years as a dancer and later also as a choreographer and ballet master. He made his first choreography in 1979 und has created more than 60 ballets. From 1994 to 1999 Jan Linkens was Artistic Director and resident choreographer of the Tanztheater der Komischen Oper in Berlin/Germany, jointly together with Marc Jonkers. After 1999 he worked as a freelance guest choreographer and ballet teacher with many companies around the world. He became director of Royal Conservatoire Dance in 2014.
Ivan LiĆĄka
Ivan LiĆĄka was born in Prague on 8 November 1950 and received his ballet-training at the local conservatory. After graduating in 1969, he emigrated from his home country and joined the ballet company of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in DĂŒsseldorf. From 1974 to 1977, he was with the Bavarian State Opera Ballet before joining the Hamburg Ballet as principal soloist, where he danced and created the title roles in numerous works by John Neumeier. Ivan LiĆĄka directed the Bayerisches Staatsballett from 1998 to 2016. In spring 2007, he was honoured by the State Ministry for Federal and European Affairs with the »Medal for Special Services to Bavaria in a United Europe«. On 9 July 2009, Minister President Horst Seehofer presented him with the Bavarian Order of Merit. Following the death of Konstanze Vernon, he took over the management of the Heinz-Bosl-Stiftung and the Bayerisches Junior Ballett MĂŒnchen in April 2013.
Patrick Teschner
Born in Munich and a graduate of the Munich Ballet-Academy with honours. Winner of a sponsorship award from the City of Munich and the Free State of Bavaria.
Patrick Teschner danced as a first soloist with the Bayerisches Staatsballett in choreographies by John Cranko, William Forsythe, Jacopo Godani, JiĆĂ KyliĂĄn, Ohad Naharin, John Neumeier and Hans van Manen, among others.
As a freelance training director, he has worked with the Stuttgart Ballet, the Forsythe Company, the Ballet de l’Opera de Lyon, the Compania Nacional de Danza, the NiedersĂ€chsisches Staatsballett and the Staatsballett Berlin.
In 2007 he joined the Staatstheater am GĂ€rtnerplatz as training director and assistant. Here he was responsible as an assistant for choreographies by William Forsythe, Christian Spuck and Marco Goecke, among others. Since 2012, he has worked with Edward Clug, Marco Goecke, Jo Stromgren, Christopher Roman, Lucas Timulac, Jeroen Verbruggen, Andonis Foniadakis and Eyal Dadon. Patrick Teschner was responsible for the re-staging of William Forsythe’s ONE FLAT THING REPRODUCED and Marco Goecke’s LA STRADA.
Karl Alfred Schreiner
Karl Alfred Schreiner received his dance-education at the ballet school of the Vienna State Opera, and his first engagements took him to the Graz Opera and the Vienna State Opera. He then danced for Introdans and the ABC Dancecompany St. Pölten.
Karl Alfred Schreiner has been working as a choreographer since 1999 and was assistant of Ismael Ivo, the artistic director of the Venice Biennaleâs dance department, from 2008-2011.
Karl Alfred Schreiner has been ballet director of the Staatstheater am GĂ€rtnerplatz since the 2012/2013 season and has choreographed ballets such as Sleeping Beauty, memento mori, Berlin 1920, Chicago 1930, Jean and AntonĂn, The Nutcracker, Undine â Ein Traumballett, Giselle and Peer Gynt.
Dora Meyer
Dora Meyer is the performance nutritionist at the Ballet Academy of the University of Music and Theatre Munich. She holds a MSc. in public health, a MSc. in nutrition and biomedicine, and a PhD in nutrition. In addition to teaching at the ballet academy, Dr. Meyer is a postdoctoral researcher in nutritional medicine at the Technical University in Munich. Her role at the ballet academy is to teach students the knowledge and skills to be able to make food choices that support their health, wellbeing, growth and performance. Dora Meyer offers nutrition workshops and cooking classes throughout the academic year and meets regularly with the students to develop and optimize personalized nutrition plans.
Krzysztof Zawadzki
Ballet Academy, HMTM
Krzysztof Zawadzki was born in Poland and received his dance education at the State Ballet School in Lodz. This was followed by engagements as a soloist at the State Theatre in Lodz, the State Theatre in Augsburg, the State Theatre on GĂ€rtnerplatz in Munich and the Bayerisches Staatsballett. Zawadzki received his diploma as a ballet teacher at the Munich University of Music and Theatre under Prof. Alex Ursuliak. He received further training at the Waganowa Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Classical Training
In my classes, it is crucial for me to instill in the students not only a deep passion for ballet but also essential aspects such as precise technique, conscious coordination, endurance, and strength. Discipline and perseverance naturally play a vital role.
David Valencia
Ballett des Staatstheaters am GĂ€rtnerplatz
David Valencia received his training at the Incolballet in Santiago de Cali in Colombia. While still a student, he was awarded second prize at the International Ballet Festival âLa Habanaâ. After his studies, he continued his training in modern dance, ethnic dances, tango, singing and acting. After his first engagements in Lausanne, Chemnitz and Munich, he danced in the Gauthier Dance Company at the Theaterhaus Stuttgart and at the Anhaltisches Theater in Dessau. Since the 2015/2016 season he has been a member of the ballet of the Staatstheater am GĂ€rtnerplatz and has also created several of his own choreographies, including: in the Munich art area.
Contemporary Training
The main goal of the training/workshop is to introduce different movement qualities and physicalities in demand by contemporary choreographers. Starting with the alignment of the bone structure and identifying the force of gravity on our body and consciousness, followed by the introduction of a specific awareness to the respiratory system, and how this natural action has a big impact on our body and movements. Finally, we will intensify the muscular engagement, differentiate muscle tones and their function in movement. In around 12 exercises we will insert these three experiences in floor elements and rhythmical patterns that help the dynamic of the training.
Isaac Spencer
Hochschule fĂŒr Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt
Isaac Spencer is interim professor for ballet techniques in the BA dance department of the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts since September 2021. He worked as a professional dancer with Cullberg Ballet, Gothenburg Opera Dance Company, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Since 2011, he has been active in the free scene throughout Germany and Sweden as dancer, choreographer, rehearsal director, and mentor. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Juilliard School in 2004 and was recipient of the Princess Grace Award. Since 2013 he serves on the board of directors for Milvus Artistic Research Center (MARC) in Sweden.
Ballet Techniques
Students will learn tools and practice skills in order to change habitual movement patterns, opening up the potential for other coordinations, musicality, and flow. Areas of particular focus include placement, anatomical function, identification of directions in space and movement pathways in the body. Emphasis on musicality throughout the class serves to promote varying rhythmical activity, pumping blood throughout the body to ensure flexibility and strength, and also to invite interpretation and expression while moving.
