Persons

French Senegalese dancer and choreographer Germaine Acogny has developed a certified Modern African Dance technique. She is universally regarded as the mother of contemporary African dance. 

In 1977 she was artistic director of Mudra Afrique (Maurice Béjart and LS Senghor) in Dakar. Since then, she has become an emissary of African dance and culture, dancing, choreographing and teaching all over the world. 

Together with Helmut Vogt, she is the founder of Ecole des Sables, the International Center for Traditional and Contemporary African Dances. Awards : Chevalier de l’Ordre du Mérite, Officier and Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres, Chevalier and Officier de l’Ordre de la Légion d’Honneur (France), Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Lion, Officier and Commandeur des Arts et Lettres (Senegal); Prix d’Excellence de la CEDEAO, category Arts et Lettres (2019); Lion d’Or de la Biennale de Venise (2021); Grand Prix de la SACD France (Droits d’auteurs) (2022); Prix Joan Myers Brown »Keeper of the Flame« Legacy Award from the International Association of Blacks in Dance (2023), Grand Prix de l’Académie des Beaux-Arts en Chorégraphie (2023).

Paolo Amerio is a Professor of Contemporary Dance and Improvisation at the Akademie des Tanzes, Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Mannheim. Graduated at the MTD – AHK in Amsterdam, he later joined the Dance Company Nanine Linning / Theater und Orchester Heidelberg as dancer and choreographic assistant and took part as dancer at two productions of Costa Compagnie touring in Germany and USA. To this day, he has choreographed several pieces for the ADT which have been featured at the 7. BIENNALE TANZAUSBILDUNG 2020 HAMBURG and at the DUBAI WORLD EXPO 2020.

Contemporary Training
The aim of the class is to reach a sensitive, honest, organic and free way of moving while triggering a new sense of awareness and listening towards the individual, the others and the space within and around. Through various technical exercises based on floor work, release, flying low and soft acrobatic technique, the participants will be asked to channel their concentration into the movement’s path, from its origin to its extreme end, exploring and mobilising the pelvic area while acquiring a renewed physical & mental availability and generosity.

Tamás Bakó received his dance-education at the Budapest Ballet School in 1995. He has been a member of various foreign and Hungarian ensembles led by Ismael Ivo, Marco Santi, Adrienn Hód, Gábor Goda, and others. He has participated in numerous independent productions and projects as a dancer or co-creator. Since 2009, he has been teaching contemporary dance and Contact Improvisation at the Budapest Contemporary Dance Academy. From 2022, he’s coordinating the BA course at Budapest Circus Arts and Contemporary Dance College. Tamás Bakó has also worked as a guest teacher at other professional contemporary dance schools such as SEAD (Salzburg) and La Manufacture HES-SO (Lausanne).

Contemporary Training

Every movement counts’. The material of the class comes from different fields of dance and movement like contemporary dance, release, or contact improvisation. The class is designed to emphasize functionality and accessibility of the body’s architecture by investigating and utilising organic pathways of the body. By practicing set movement phrases and tasks, we will explore alignment, gravity, and momentum in both challenging and embracing ways. The rolling, walking, and skipping-hopping sequences will be used as vehicles to express these ideas through space, acting them in all possible directions.

Barandun has a degree in theatre studies and coaching. She works throughout Germany as a consultant for sustainable organisational development in cultural enterprises with a focus on collaborative leadership culture, meaningful communication structures and constructive conflict resolution. Her motto: „So that our cultural organisations become inspired, nourishing places of mutual enrichment – on and behind the stage!”. She is the author of the books Erste Hilfe für die Künstlerseele. Stress management, communication and conflict resolution in the cultural sector and Dynamic Safe Spaces – the protected space.

Sophie Charlotte Becker completed her training as a stage dancer at Iwanson International in Munich and studied theatre and performance studies at LMU Munich and Stockholm University. As a freelancer, she works with the kollektiv anderer tanz, Emese Nagy, Johannes Härtl and Joanne Leighton, among others, accepts commissions, f.ex. for the state theatre Ingolstadt or the Kulturbühne Spagat and realises her own projects. Sophie teaches contemporary dance at the August Everding Theatre Academy and Iwanson International. Her last production Hyperreality premiered in Munich in November 2022. 

Anna Beke (M.A. Theatre Studies / Dipl. Stage Dance) is a lecturer at the Ballet Academy of the HMTM; here she curated the symposium “Tanzausbildung im Wandel” and the Biennale Dance Eudcation 2024 Munich. She teaches at the Institute for Theatre Studies at LMU and is responsible for the publication “Erinnern und Bewahren. The Bauhaus in its time” (kopaed 2024) as editor. As a dance journalist, she writes for tanznetz.de, Münchner Merkur and Dance for You magazine. As a former long-time employee in the field of dramaturgy and education, she is now close to the Bayerisches Staatsballett as a character dancer.

From Baltimore, Maryland, USA, Elisabeth Bell began dance at an early age receiving scholarships at The Dance Theatre of Harlem and Alvin Ailey American Dance Center in New York before completing her B.F.A. at Butler University in Indiana, USA Cum Laude. She went on to dance professionally at the Dayton Ballet and Philadelphia Dance Company (Philadanco!). Before completing a Masters of Law and Business at Bucerius Law School in Hamburg, her engagements included Staatstheater Cottbus, The Lion King (Hamburg) and the international tour of CATS. Elisabeth has been working as Assistant to the Managing Coordinator of The School of the Hamburg Ballet since 2022 and coordinator of school outreach projects since 2023.

DIS-TANZ-START/Dachverband Tanz Deutschland e.V.

is project manager of the DIS-TANZ-START funding programme at Dachverband Tanz Deutschland (German Dance Association), which is coming to an end, and manages its implementation and execution. This primarily includes the funding of additional positions for young dancers in German ballet and dance ensembles, measures for placement and qualification as well as evaluation. He previously worked at various municipal and state theatres in Germany, most recently as a dance dramaturge and manager. He studied cultural management as well as theatre and musicology with a focus on music and dance theatre.

DIS-TANZ-START/Dachverband Tanz Deutschland e.V.

coordinates the qualification programme for starting a career in dance as part of DIS-TANZ START. She studied theatre-/dance science and adult education with a focus on programme planning and educational counselling in science and culture. For many years, Dany Beyer has supported institutions in the conception and implementation of educational programmes, especially for emerging artists and scientists in biographical transitions. She has been part of the team at Dachverband Tanz Deutschland since 2021. Previously, she worked for various Berlin universities (FU, HU, UdK).

Peter Boragno is a graduate in business administration and has worked in cultural management since 1995. His clients include the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, the Federal Cultural Foundation, the Federal Ministry of Culture and Media, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the Goehte Institute. From 2010 onwards he accompanied the Ausbildungskonferenz Tanz and headed the office for the Biennale Tanzausbildng. Since January 2020, he has taken over the management of the Europäische Theaterakademie GmbH “Konrad Ekhof” Hamburg and is in charge of the Bundeswettbewerb deutschsprachiger Schauspielstudierender and the Bundeswettbewerb Biennale Tanzausbildung.

Professor of Contemporary Dance at the Folkwang University of the Arts Essen. Dancer, choreographer, dance teacher and dance scholar. Studied dance at the Folkwang University, theatre, film and television studies, German studies and sociology at the University of Cologne and additional studies in dance pedagogy at the Folkwang University. Dancer at the Folkwang Dance Studio and the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch. Own choreographies and international teaching activities for contemporary dance. Doctorate in movement studies at the University of Hamburg. Topic: Forms of memory in dance. Publication: Remembering movement. Forms of memory in dance (2013). Head of the Institute for Contemporary Dance at Folkwang University of the Arts since 2018.

Jan Broeckx studied at the Stedelijk Instituut voor Ballet in Antwerp, Belgium. He won the Prix de Lausanne in 1979. He was a soloist at the Royal Ballett van Vlaanderen, first soloist at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Bayerisches Staatsballett, Danseur Etoile at the Ballet National de Marseille Roland Petit and guest performer at many galas and in numerous companies. He later became Roland Petit’s choreographic assistant. 

Since June 2010, he has been director of the Ballet Academy at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich.

Matteo Carvone is a choreographer and dancer based in Munich since 2012. His work blends physical, stenographic, and technological elements and they have been showcased at the Venice Biennale twice among Munich’s renowned venues like Gasteig, Bavarian State Opera, Schwere Reiter and more.

Matteo danced at the Gärtnerplatz Theatre, but also at the Jo Strømgren Company in Oslo, and in Alexander Ekman production “KUCKEL” in Stockholm.

He crafted five full-length performances and various shorter pieces. Notable collaborations include with Karl Alfred Schreiner in two R.Wagner operas, directed by Keith Warner: “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg” at Vienna State Opera and “Tannhäuser” at Nikkai Opera in Tokyo.

Anna Chwialkowska is a dance scholar and dramaturge based in Berlin. She is a research associate and lecturer at the Center for Contemporary Dance (CCD), University for Music and Dance Cologne. 

Anna completed her BA in Social and Cultural Anthropology and Spanish at the Free University of Berlin and her MA in Cultural Studies at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder). She is currently doing her PhD on the topic of knowledge production in contemporary dance.

She works as a production manager and dramaturgical consultant for Sergiu Matis and is co-director of the project Touching Margins together with Sasha Portyannikova and Nitsan Margaliot.

Australian born choreographer Craig Davidson trained at the New Zealand School of Dance. Throughout his career he performed with the Finnish National Ballet, Royal Ballet of Flanders, Tanz Luzerner Theater and the Semperoper Ballett. He was awarded a Critic’s Choice Award by Dance Europe for ‘Most Outstanding Performance by a Male Dancer’ for his performance in Impressing the Czar by William Forsythe with Royal Ballet of Flanders. Craig has performed soloist roles in numerous productions and has worked with highly acclaimed choreographers such as William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, Mats Ek, Wayne McGregor, Jacopo Godani and Alexander Ekman.

Craig created his first ballet in 2006 at Royal Ballet of Flanders and since then has worked with Ballett Zürich, Ballett Dortmund, Slovakian National Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Ballet Idaho, West Australian Ballet, and Queensland Ballet.

Additionally, Craig has attended Dancelines, the Choreographic Initiative at the Royal Opera House and the New York Choreographic Institute, an affiliate of New York City Ballet.

Marta Diminich completed her ballet training at the Scuola di Danza Classica Citta`di Trieste, the Studio Internazionale Danza in Florence and the Academie de Danse Princesse Grace in Montecarlo. From 1986 to 2000 she was a soloist at the Teatro Comunale di Trieste, the Balletto di Roma, Teatro Sistina, RAI and Friedrichstadt Palast Berlin.

Diminich has been a lecturer for classical dance and repertoire at the Staatliche Ballettschule Berlin since 2000 and received the »Certified Classical Dance Teacher« certificate at Tanzloft Berlin in 2010. From 2012 to 2015, she also worked as a lecturer at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin.

Parallel to her high school graduation, Anna Esser completed her Bachelor of Arts degree at the Ballet-Academy the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich. After that she danced with Alberta Ballet II. She graduated from the Heinrich-Heine-University in Düsseldorf with a Master of Science in Psychology. She is currently completing her further training as a psychological psychotherapist and works as a psychologist at the LVR hospital in Essen. On a self-employed basis, she teaches the Gyrotonic® method at the Ballett am Rhein, among other places. Since 2021, she has been part of the pedagogical concept of the Munich Ballet Academy in psychological workshops for dance students. In 2013, she received a scholarship from the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (German National Academic Foundation) through the artist promotion and has since been supported on her further educational path. From December 2022 she will be researching stress factors and psychological interventions in dance cohorts as a research associate at the University of Duisburg Essen.

Ballet Academy, HMTM

Chantal J. Fink started her dance training at the University of Music and Theatre Munich and graduated from the John Cranko School Stuttgart. She then danced as a member of the Stuttgart Ballet, Semperoper Ballet Dresden, the Bayerisches Staatsballett and as a soloist with Ballet Dortmund. In 2021, Chantal J. Fink received the Master Dance Teacher degree from the Palucca University of Dance Dresden and started teaching at the Ballet Academy of the University of Music and Theatre Munich the same year.

Classical Training

With the base of the Vaganova method the focus of the class is the understanding of the body as a whole, working on movement quality, dynamics as well as physical presence in classical motion.

Dachverband Tanz Deutschland e.V.

Michael Freundt studied theatre science, philosophy and dance science at the theatre academy Hans Otto and the university of Leipzig. He worked as a freelance journalist and critic, among others for zitty, Wochenpost, Theater der Zeit and Berliner Zeitung. He belonged to the directors‘ team of numerous independent theatre projects and worked for euro-scene Leipzig from 1997 till 2002. After his collaboration on productions in the genres of theatre, dance and ancient music Michael Freundt became deputy managing director of Internationales Theater Institut (ITI) – Zentrum Deutschland at the beginning of 2003. Since 2004, Michael Freundt has been involved in the meetings of Ständige Konferenz Tanz (Steady Conference Dance, SK Tanz), he coordinated its development into a registered association, and in March 2006 was named managing/excecutive director of SK Tanz, now called Dachverband Tanz Deutschland (German Dance Association).

Philipp Gehmacher studied Contemporary Dance and Choreography (London Contemporary Dance School, Trinity Laban) in London in the 1990s and Fine Arts (Sculpture and Space class, University of Applied Arts) in Vienna in the 2010s. He has been Professor of Contemporary Dance and Choreography and Head of the BA Dance Context Choreography programme at the HZT Berlin since October 2022. Gehmacher’s artistic works use body and language as forms of expression, alone or in interaction and potential togetherness.

Ballet Academy, HMTM

Marc Geifeswas trained at the Munich Ballet-Academy from 1988 to 1992. After graduating, he danced for six years under Konstanze Vernon and then for six years under Ivan Liška at the Bavarian State Ballet. During this time, he danced solo and character roles in both the classical and modern repertoire in ballets by, among others, Frederic Ashton, Ray Barra, John Cranko, Mats EK, William Forsythe, Jacopo Godani, Jiří Kylian, John Neumeier, Saburo Teshigawara and Hans van Manen. After his dance career, he studied physiotherapy in Amsterdam and graduated with a Bachelor of Health in 2007. From 2007 to 2010 he worked as a physiotherapist in Arnhem, where he cared for the dance company Introdans and the students of the Artez School of Dance, among others. From 2010 to 2020 he looked after the dancers of the Bavarian State Ballet and the Bavarian State Orchestra.
Since 2020, Marc Geifes has been teaching dance medicine at the HMTM Ballet Academy. 

Warm-up and Check-in
We explore the body at the beginning of a dance day to prepare it for what lies ahead. We listen, feel, and investigate our musculoskeletal system. How am I feeling today, and how do I transition into the movement mode required for today? A fundamental warm-up where we gently mobilize and activate ourselves.

Cool-down and Check-out
Ideally concluding our dance day with a cool-down to initiate optimal recovery for the next day. We learn breathing, massage, and stretching techniques. Through individual and teamwork, we explore how to guide both body and mind into relaxation, concluding this day and being ready for the next.

Simone Geiger teaches since 2010 at the ballet academy at the University of music and performing arts in Munich. Also here she studied 8 years of classical ballet. She worked as a demi soloist at the ballet at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf and at the Bavarian State Ballet in Munich. From 2000 till 2006 she was a member of the Nederlands Dans Theater in the Netherlands. Simone teaches classical ballet, pointework, repertoire (classical and contemporary), pilates and works as a choreographic assistant and balletmaster.

Born in Matanzas (Cuba) in 1990, Osiel Gouneo began his training in 2005 at the National Ballet School Cuba in Havana. He joined the Cuban National Ballet in 2008 and was appointed Principal just three years later. Osiel Gouneo was then engaged by the Norwegian National Ballet for three years and has been dancing as Principal with the Bayerisches Staatsballett since 2016/2017. While his career he has already been a guest at major international houses, including the London Coliseum, Bolshoi Theatre Moscow, Lincoln Center in New York, Paris Opera and the National Theatre Japan in Tokyo. In June 2021, he danced Romeo in Romeo and Juliet by Rudolf Nureyev at the Paris Opera Ballet. He has mastered a large repertoire of classical pieces and has made his debut with the Bayerisches Staatsballett in numerous roles, such as the soloist in Symphony in C or in the title role of Spartacus. Osiel Gouneo is also the winner of various awards, such as the gold medal at the international ballet competition in Beijing, a silver medal at the international ballet competition in Varna or as the winner of the Cuban Dance Grand Prix. In addition, the dancer was honoured as a newcomer to the international dance scene at the annual Positano Prize. On 14 March, Osiel Gouneo’s biography Black Romeo. My path in the white world of ballet.

Nik Haffner (Prof.) is dancer and artistic director of HZT Berlin – Inter-University Centre for Dance that is supported by the UdK Berlin and the HfS Ernst Busch, in cooperation with TanzRaumBerlin, a network of the professional Berlin dance scene. Besides a BA and two MA study programmes the Einstein Strategic Professorship in »Choreography, Dance and Disability Arts«, held by Claire Cunningham, has been established since 2023 at HZT. 

Nik Haffner danced in William Forsythe’ company 1994 until 2000, he co-developed the media-publication Improvisation Technologies and has collaborated as freelance dance-artist with a.o. Jonathan Burrows and Christina Ciupke. As a guest he has taught a.o. for P.A.R.T.S. Brussels, TEAK Helsinki and Trinity Laban London. 

Ballett des Staatstheaters am Gärtnerplatz

The US-American, graduated from the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing artists in his home state of Minnesota, and continued his education receiving his BFA from the Juilliard School in New York City. He has performed off Broadway with Austin McCormick’s Company XIV, was a Principal artist with Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, Benjamin Millepied’s Los Angeles Dance Project, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Les 7 Doigts de la main, and Cirque du Soleil (“Vitori”). He has worked with choreographers Anabelle Lopez Ochoa, Itzik Galili, Cayetano Soto, Mauro Bigonzetti, Alexander Ekman, Marco Goecke, Ina Christel Johannesen, Aszure Barton, Ioannis Mandafounis, Roy Assaf, Rui Horta, Thomas Hauert, Roy Assaf, and Benjamin Millepied. During his career he has had the desire and privilege to develop his own choreographic work, most notably with a commission from Minnesota Dance Theater with the cooperation of the Leonard Bernstein trust, fashion week in Montreal for Charlie Le Mindu, and most recently touring his work in Spain, as a result of his success in the prestigious competition “El Certamen Burgos & Nueva York”. He is also assistant, and rehearsal director for his friend and mentor Andonis Foniadakis, having set works and assisted creations for him around the world. He has been a member of the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz since September 2020.

Contemporary Training
Physical freedom: a study on anatomical principles and serious fun. This class will aim to liberate the artist psychologically through understanding physical limitations we place on ourselves. Through this contemporary workshop, with an anatomical approach, we will focus on our bodies in relation to gravity, and identifying the most effective ways to move with efficiency. This training aims to aid each dancer in injury prevention, resulting in greater freedom and confidence to perform their best. Additionally, we aim to identify which barriers we place on our personal growth, how we might start to identify them, and make a plan to move forward with a new sense of self awareness, and confidence. 

Henrietta Horn is a choreographer, dancer and teacher. From 1999-2008 she was – together with Pina Bausch – artistic director of the Folkwang Tanzstudio. Since then she has worked as a freelance choreographer, solo dancer and teacher worldwide, including London, Damascus, Yaoundé, La Paz and Taipei. 

She has received several awards for her reconstructions of Mary Wigman’s works. In 2021, Henrietta Horn was appointed Professor of Contemporary Dance at the Folkwang University of the Arts Essen.

has been the editor of tanznetz.de, an internet community for artistic stage dance in German-speaking countries, since 1996. From 2010-2023 she was the artistic director of the Biennale DANCE, the international festival for contemporary dance in Munich. She is also active in various dance contexts and networks as a lecturer, curator and juror. Nina Hümpel is a member of the Access to Dance – Tanzplan München initiative, which is committed to improving access to contemporary dance in the city through a wide-ranging network. 

As a founding member of Tanz.Media, she is increasingly committed to the future of dance journalism and dance archives in the digital space. Her work as a board member of the Dachverband Tanz Deutschland focuses on dance journalism, the independent scene and dance companies at municipal theatres.

Gigi Hyatt received her training in Berlin, with Tatiana Gsovsky and in Munich with Konstanze Vernon. In 1982, Gigi Hyatt won Gold in the Junior Division of The Jackson International Ballet Competition and in the same year joined The Hamburg Ballet John Neumeier. In 1984 she was honored with the Wilhelm Oberdörffer Award and in 1985 was named »Best Young Dancer« by Ballett International. In Hamburg Gigi Hyatt was fortunate to dance in many ballets choreographed by John Neumeier and created numerous roles. In 1997, ending her career on stage, she moved to the USA, where she was teacher, ballet mistress and then Artistic Director at the Georgia Ballet. Gigi Hyatt returned to Hamburg in 2013 as Deputy Director of The School of The Hamburg Ballet.

Eisa Jocson is a contemporary choreographer and dancer from the Philippines, trained as a visual artist, with a background in ballet. With her work she exposes body politics in the service and entertainment industry as seen through the unique socioeconomic lens of the Philippines. She studies how the body moves and what conditions make it move – be it social mobility or movement out of Philippines through migrant work. In her creations capital is the driving force of movement pushing the indentured body into spatial geographies. Jocson has toured extensively in major contemporary festivals with her solo triptych: Death of the Pole Dancer (2011), Macho Dancer (2013) and Host (2015) and with the HAPPYLAND series, produced by Mousonturm: Princess (2017), Your Highness (2017), Manila Zoo (2021). The Filipino Superwoman Band (2019), a work on the affective labor of Overseas Filipino Musicians was commissioned by Sharjah Biennale. She is a recipient of the 2018 Cultural Centre of the Philippines 13 Artists Award, the winner of Hugo Boss Asia Art Award in 2019 and received the 2021 SeMa-HANA Award for the work TFSB2020: Superwoman, Empire Of Care at the Seoul MediaCity Biennale.

completed his education as a dancer at the Royal Ballet School, London and Trinity College London; he also gained a BTEC National Award in Arts Management.

In 2006, Klein was engaged by the Ballett am Rhein Düsseldorf Duisburg and danced at the Bayerisches Staatsballett from 2008 – 21. There he appeared in solo roles in works by Christian Spuck, Jiří Kylián, John Neumeier, William Forsythe, Christopher Wheeldon, Richard Siegal, Pina Bausch and Russell Maliphant, among others. 

In 2012, he created his first choreography “Myopic Bounds” at the Landsberger Stadttheater and has since created works for numerous companies and festivals, including the Bavarian State Ballet, Salzburg Festival, Opéra du Dijon in France, Bühnen Bern, National Theatre in Prague, Stanislavski Theatre in Moscow, J.K. Tyl Theatre in the Czech Republic and from 2017 – 2022 for the Origen Festival Cultural in Switzerland. In addition to numerous awards for his work, he received the Culture Promotion Prize and the Ellinor Holland Art Prize 2015 in Landsberg am Lech, the Audience Award of the 34th Bavarian Theatre Days 2016 in Regensburg and the Production Prize of the 33rd International Choreographic Competition 2019 in Hanover. In January 2024, Dustin Klein created the choreography “RE-Movement” for the Oldenburg State Theatre Ballet as part of the ballet evening “Recycling II”, and for the production “Real Victory” he is guest choreographer at the Münster Theatre for the first time.

Prima ballerina Lucia Lacarra was born in San Sebastián (Spain). She received her ballet training with Víctor Ullate in Madrid, in whose company she also received her first engagement. In 1994 she became a dancer with the Ballet National de Marseille, in 1997 first soloist with the San Francisco Ballet and finally prima ballerina with the Bavarian State Ballet. In the course of her career, she has been honoured with numerous international awards, including the Nijinsky Award 2002, Prix Benois 2003, Münchner Merkur-Theaterpreis 2004 and 2005, Premio Nacional de Danza 2005. Lucia Lacarra is an honorary citizen of her home town of San Sebastián. In 2008, she was awarded the title of “Bavarian Chamber Dancer”. She has been a permanent guest soloist at Ballett Dortmund since 2016. Together with Matthew Golding she founded GOLDENLAC Productions. In September 2020 they premiered their first show called FORDLANDIA. In October 2021 they premiered together their second show IN THE STILL OF THE NIGHT. She Won the Max Award as best female dancer for it. In October 2023 Lucia Lacarra premiered the first production of her new Company “Lucia Lacarra Ballet” called LOST LETTERS.

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 Liška 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 Düsseldorf. 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 Liška 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 München in April 2013.

Bayerisches Staatsballett

At the age of eleven, Julian MacKay left his native Montana (USA) to dance at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. Upon graduation, he became the first American to receive a full Russian diploma. While in school, he won medals at five international ballet competitions, including the Prix de Lausanne, IBC Istanbul, YAGP, Sochi Young Ballet of the World and Beijing International Ballet Competition. At the age of 17, the dancer made his professional debut as Siegfried in „Swan Lake“ with the Russian State Ballet and joined the Royal Ballet in London. A little later he accepted Mikhail Messerer’s personal invitation to the Mikhailovsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. At the age of 19, Julian MacKay was promoted to First Soloist of the company after a rousing performance in „Flames of Paris“ and celebrated worldwide as a guest artist. In 2020, Julian MacKay continued his international career at San Francisco Ballet. Parallel to his dancing career, Julian MacKay completed a Bachelor’s degree as a teacher, ballet master and choreographer at the renowned GITIS University in Moscow. As successful model, he has appeared on the covers of numerous glossy magazines such as Teen Vogue and Harpers Bazaar. MacKay is also CEO of MACKAY PRODUCTIONS, an international arts production company he co-founded with his brother Nicholas MacKay. Julian MacKay has been dancing as First Soloist with the Bavarian State Ballet since the 2022/23 season.

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. 

Gesine Moog received her Bachelor of Arts 1997 at University of Music and Performing Arts Frankfurt/ Germany and started her professional carrier as a dancer in different theaters in Germany. 2007 she toured the production Kamuyot by Ohad Naharin in Sweden and 2008 she became a member of the Cullbergbaletten. During her employment at Cullbergbaletten, she got to work with Mats Ek, Alexander Ekman, Deborah Hay and Jefta Van Dinther to name view. In addition to her employment, she also received special commissions by Edouard Lock and other choreographers. Since 2020 she continued as a freelance dancer internationally and worked with choreographers as such as Jan Martens and Christos Papadopoulos and is a member of the Dance On Ensemble Berlin.

William Moore’s journey in the world of ballet began at the Royal Ballet School, where he graduated in 2005. His talent and dedication led him to the Stuttgart Ballet, where he danced for seven years and was promoted to Principal at just 24. Following his success in Stuttgart, he joined Ballet Zurich, where he was the leading dancer of the company for a decade before leaving in July 2022.

William is now perusing his dream of acting, landing a small role in a film by Swiss film director Stefan Haupt. He’s now set to make his debut as a dancer/actor in the Amazon Prime TV series „Étoile.”Moore’s career is marked by his versatility and commitment to his craft. From the stage to the screen, he continues to captivate audiences with his talent and passion, leaving a lasting impact on the world of dance and theater.

Canada’s National Ballet School

A graduate of Canada‘s National Ballet School (NBS), Keith’s professional dance career was principally based in Europe, dancing with NDT II, Ramon Oller in Spain, and in a variety of other dance projects. He also explored choreography for dance, theatre and opera, as well as teaching in different European companies and conservatories. This included the Professional Dance Conservatory of Barcelona (EESA/CPD), where he ultimately served as Artistic Director from 2009 – 2017. Keith became a certified Gaga teacher in 2020, and is currently a full time member of the artistic staff at NBS in Toronto.

Gaga / dancers
Gaga is the movement language developed by Ohad Naharin throughout many years, parallel to his work as a world-renowned choreographer. Gaga classes are predicated on a deep activation of the body and physical sensations. We provide a framework for discovering and strengthening the body and adding flexibility, stamina, agility, and skills including coordination and efficiency while stimulating the senses and the imagination. Participants awaken numb areas, increase their awareness of habits, and improve their efficiency of movement inside multilayered tasks, and they are encouraged to connect to pleasure inside moments of effort. The research of Gaga is in a continual process of evolution, and the classes vary and develop accordingly.

Contemporary Training
Keith Morino offers an opportunity to explore movement quality and interpretation through clear form and musicality. Agency and choice are priorities while developing a clear perception of our physicality and interpretational talents. Influenced by his ballet training, professional dance experience and his training as a Gaga instructor, his classes follow modern dance principles such as use of space, gravity, and oppositional forces. The class is structured by a short warm up, followed by one or two technique exercises and a short performative variation.

Prof. Agnès Nolteniuswas born in Freiburg im Breisgau and has a German and French nationality. She trained for eight years at the Paris Opera Ballet School before beginning her career as a dancer with the Ballet du Rhin in Strasbourg, where she interpreted the great roles of the classical repertoire as first soloist and performed alongside dance legends such as Rudolf Nureyev and Maia Plissetskaia. After meeting William Forsythe, she joined the ensemble of the Ballett Frankfurt in 1989, to which she remained loyal for over 13 years. Holder of the French State Diploma in Dance Pedagogy, Noltenius is regularly invited as a guest teacher of classical ballet, repertoire and expert in William Forsythe’s Improvisation Technologies at universities and companies worldwide. She has been William Forsythe‘s choreographic assistant for several years and has been given responsibility for the realisation of some of his most significant pieces – in 2003 she published DETAIL-FORSYTHE. Since October 2019, she has been director and professor of dance at the State University of Music and Performing Arts in Mannheim.

Classical Training
The classical training is suitable for all levels and for students with different backgrounds. The focus is on the relationship to space, work and coordination of the torso and arms.

Anne do Paço is a dramaturg working in the fields of dance, music theatre and concert. Her activities focus on production dramaturgy, curating, promotion, education and outreach. After studying musicology, history of art and German literature at the Freie Universität Berlin, her first engagement took her to the Staatstheater Mainz. From 2009 to 2020, she was a member of Martin Schläpfer’s team at the Ballett am Rhein, since 2020 she has been Chief Dramaturg of the Vienna State Ballet. She is a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts and on the advisory board of the Deutsches Tanzarchiv Köln.

 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 Räther has been the acting headmaster of the Berlin State Ballet and Artistic School sinceAugust 1, 2020.

Alexei Ratmansky (1968 St. Petersburg) received his ballet training at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow and danced as a first soloist with the Ukrainian National Ballet, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and the Royal Danish Ballet. He began his career as a choreographer while still an active dancer and has since worked for the most important ballet companies in the world, including the Mariinsky Theatre Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Royal Ballet in London, Royal Danish Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, the San Francisco Ballet or the Balletto dell Teatro alla Scala. From 2004 to 2008, Ratmansky was Artistic Director of the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow. From 2009, he was associated with the American Ballet Theatre in New York as Artist in Residence. His choreographic work has been honoured with many prestigous awards, including the Golden Mask for Dreams of Japan(1998), which he was subsequently awarded three more times (2004, 2007 and 2010), the Prix Benois de la Danse in 2005 for Anna Karenina and the Dmitry Shostakovich Prize in 2006. In 2011, he was awarded the Order of the Dannebrog by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. After 13 years with the American Ballet Theatre, Alexei Ratmansky joined the New York City Ballet as artist in residence in 2023.

Emmanuelle Rizzo, an Italian dancer, achieved semi-finalist status at the Gdanski Festival Tanca ‘Solo Dance Contest’ in 2020. She has collaborated with Sebastan Eilers’ SEtanztheater and currently works with DieTanzKompanie and Susanna Curtis & Co, with whom she was selected for the Kaija Festival in Korea in August 2024. Emmanuelle portrayed the role of Gazelle in the opera “Die Frau ohne Schatten” at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden. She also continues her collaboration with Dustin Klein at the Munich State Opera and the Nuremberg State Theatre. Additionally, Emmanuelle has been engaged for a new production of ‘Elektra’ at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden.

David Russo is a dancer, choreographer and dance teacher. Trained at the John Cranko School in Stuttgart, he was a solo dancer in Saarbrücken and Munich. He has been regularly choreographing pieces since 2004, organising transdisciplinary performances in the Munich independent scene and has been a lecturer at the HMTM Ballet Academy since 2010. In 2019, he founded the TanzQuelle initiative for Munich dance professionals. He is currently the 1st spokesperson for the Tanz AK|T training conference, he is a member of the ethics commission of the Dachverband Tanz Deutschland e.V. and has co-curated various dance events and symposia.

Colette Sadler is a Scottish dancer, choreographer and multi-disciplinary artist.

Trained firstly in Classical Ballet she later graduated from the Laban Centre London. Sadler’s work has been shown in numerous International dance contexts and in the visual arts, including, Tanz Im August Berlin, South Bank Centre London, Performatik Festival Kaai Theatre Brussels, Les Latitudes Contemporaines France & Tokyo Festival. In 2024 she will premiere a new work The Violet Hour at Hebbel Am Ufer theatre Berlin and in 2025 Sadler will collaborate with Alexander Schubert on a new work for Berlin Philharmoniker. 

Vera Sander is Professor of Contemporary Dance at the ZZT/HfMT Cologne and has played a key role in its development as director, teacher, editor and organizer. Choreographer, dancer or lecturer at Tanzforum Köln, Dansgroep Krisztina de Chatel, Itzik Galili, Semperoper Dresden, DV8, Adventures in Motion Pictures, verasanderartconnects, a.o.. Director and/or choreographer of the 5th Biennale Tanzausbildung, the Atlas-Workshops (DAAD project to promote cultural dialog with the Islamic world), in Signifying Ghosts (German Federal Cultural Foundation in TURN – Fund for Cooperation between Germany and African countries), the DAAD-funded Erasmus+ project RELAY. Current artistic works Presence through Absence deal with the phenomenon of absence.

Simone Sandroni has been dedicated to the performing arts over three decades: He worked as a choreographer, director, scriptwriter, producer and has been involved in planning and directing theater and festival programs. In 1987 he co-founded the company Ultima Vez, Belgium. In 1997 Sandroni started as a dancer, director and choreographer and founded the company Déjà Donné, presenting performances in over 30 countries worldwide. Over the years he has continued to push his script writing skills for small to medium sized plays. Created and directed choreography and opera for major houses such as the Bavarian State Ballet, Lucerne Stages, Prague National Theatre, Frankfurt Opera and Bolzano City Theatre, among others. From 2015 to 2022 he held the position of director / chief choreographer of the dance department at the Stadttheater Bielefeld. Initiating unique projects like 4×4, a cooperation of theaters in Germany. Receiving funding from the Fonds Doppelpass/Kulturstiftung des Bundes, Tanzfonds Erbe/Kulturstiftung des Bundes and the NRW KULTURsekretariat for the three-year digital project D3. Simone Sandroni developed collaborative projects with the departments such as music, opera and theater, and worked with the KunstHalle in Bielefeld and the Akademie der Künste in Berlin. In 2023, he staged the multimedia event Ready! at the Palazzo del Cinema in Venice and served as a consultant and speaker for Timisoara 23, the European Capital of Culture.

Dr. Constanze Schellow is Juniorprofessor for Cultures of Knowledge and Transmission at the Centre for Contemporary Dance at the University for Music and Dance Cologne. She enjoys working in interdisciplinary formats dealing with their*stories of body-based and -related cultures and economies of knowledges and practices – dance being one of them. Constanze is interested in the networks of relations between dance and other social activities.In 2016 her work has been awarded with the Dance Studies Award NRW. Recently her research project funded by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung focused on concepts and practices of ‘theory’ in contemporary dance educations in Western Europe. As a dramaturge Constanze collaborated with e.g. Eva Meyer-Keller, Simone Aughterlony and Doris Uhlich. 

Prof. Dr. Katja Schneider teaches dance studies at HfMDK Frankfurt. She received her PhD for an interdisciplinary thesis on play wright Christian Krüger 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 Süddeutsche 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.

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 Biennale‘s dance department, from 2008-2011.

Karl Alfred Schreiner has been ballet director of the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz since the 2012/2013 season and has choreographed ballets such as Sleeping Beauty, memento mori, Berlin 1920, Chicago 1930, Jean and Antonín, The Nutcracker, Undine – Ein Traumballett, Giselle and Peer Gynt.

born in Wattenscheid, studied fine art at the Düsseldorf/Münster Art Academy. As a visual artist, he has been an artistic collaborator, set designer and actor in Raimund Hoghe‘s plays since 1992.

After his sudden death in 2021, he and dancers from the Raimund Hoghe company developed the homage An Evening with Raimund, which was shown at DANCE Munich last year. Another production in the spirit of a living artistic archive is being prepared for 2025 together with Ornella Balestra, Emmanuel Eggermont and Takashi Ueno.

Isabelle Severs (M.A. Dance Pedagogy / Dipl. Stage Dancer) has been a lecturer for classical dance, pointe, repertoire and PBT® at the HMTM Ballet Academy since September 2015. She completed her training as a professional ballet dancer at the John Cranko School. After her first experiences with the Stuttgart Ballet, she was engaged by the Bavarian State Ballet. This was followed by 3 seasons at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin before she returned to Munich in 1999. She has worked with numerous choreographers and has danced both classical and neoclassical works as well as contemporary pieces.

Julie Shanahan was born in Adelaide Australia in 1962. In 1981 she graduated from the Centre for the Performance Arts. 1981-1984 she performed with the One extra Dance Company in Sydney. 1984 she joined Rheinhild Hoffmann’s Bremen Dance Theatre till 1986 and moved with the company in 1986-1988 to the Schauspielhaus Bochum. In 1988 she joined Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch as a dancer and remains to the present day as a dancer and rehearsal director. She also works as a restager of Pina Bausch’s Repertoire for the Pina Bausch Foundation. She has also made creations in recent years with Tim Etchells, Alan Lucien Øyen and Rainer Behr. In 2021 she worked as an actor for Robert Wilson in his piece „I was sitting on my patio this guy appeared I thought I was hallucinating“. In 2022 Julie Shanahan performed „L’Etang“ directed by Giséle Vienne. 

Ami Shulman has worn many hats in the realms of the Performing Arts. As a movement artist, she is a performer; choreographer; rehearsal director; educator; Feldenkrais Practitioner and writer. 

Ami has taught throughout Europe, Canada and the USA including for the Netherlands Dans Theater; the Goteborgs Operans Danskompani; the Venice Biennale; Cirque Du Soleil; Juilliard School; BANFF Centre for the Arts; National Theatre School of Canada; CODARTS; b12; Hollins University; Jacob’s Pillow amongst many others and she is an Artistic Associate of the Springboard Project Montreal/New York. 

Ami choreographed for the National Theatre of London, UK; the Shakespeare Theatre Company, Washington DC and has co-created works with the Cirque Du Soleil; the National Ballet of Canada and Ballet British Columbia. Ami was an associate choreographer to Maxine Doyle of Punchdrunk; has staged the works of Johannes Wieland internationally and has been a Rehearsal Director at the GoteborgOperans Danskompani in Sweden.

Ami has an invested interest in the healing arts, she is a Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner and is trained in Ericksonian Hypnotherapy. She has presented her work at conferences internationally and has written articles on enactive cognition and the phenomenology of movement, having her work published in the Feldenkrais Journal and in Dance magazine. She co-authored for the anthology Back to the Dance Itself with Dr Hillel Braude. 

Ballet Academy, HMTM

Born in Russia, Natalia Hoffmann-Sitnikova studied at Perm Ballet Academy. She graduated in 1985 and joined Perm Ballet Theater (Russia). There she was promoted to soloist in 1987. In 1992 she moved to Germany and joined Bonn Opera and Ballet Theater. Between 1997 and 2012 she was a soloist with Dutch National Ballet. She performed leading roles in several productions and collaborated with renowned choreographers. While still working as a dancer Natalia Hoffmann-Sitnikova was also teaching, coaching and assisting in diverse new choreographic works at Het National Ballet and abroad. Since 2012 Hoffmann is teacher at Ballet Academy at University of Music and Performing Art Munich.

Classical Training

This training begins by introducing a vocabulary of steps and sequences during the barre work, which is subsequently integrated into center exercises. There is a strong emphasis on creating step combinations and musical phrasing to train dancers in fast coordination and flawless technique, all while providing space for their artistic development.

Ballet Academy, HMTM / Ballett des Staatstheaters am Gärtnerplatz

Rita Barão Soares trained at the Dance Academy in Setubal (Portugal) and joined the contemporary dance company there in 1997. This was followed by engagements with the Portuguese Contemporary Dance Company, the Karlsruhe Ballet and from 2003-2019 with the ballet company of the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz. As a dancer, she has worked with choreographers such as Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, Christian Spuck, Jiří Kylián, Itzik Galili, Jo Strømgren, Marco Goecke and Christopher Roman. After various freelance engagements as a choreographic assistant, she has been working as a choreographic assistant and rehearsal director at the Gärtnerplatztheater since 2019 and has been a teacher for modern dance at the HMTM Ballet Academy since 2021.

Classical Training for Contemporary Dancers

I developed this ballet class expressly to address the needs of the everyday routine of professional contemporary dancers. It centers on musicality, coordination, and the simple pleasure of movement found in ballet. The class is informed by the various experiences, methods, and teachers I have encountered during many years active in the dance field, integrating elements of modern dance and release techniques. Participants are encouraged to cultivate confidence while emphasizing suspensions and focusing on gaining momentum through conscious breath and musical phrasing.

Hochschule für 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.

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, Jiří Kylián, 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 Niedersächsisches Staatsballett and the Staatsballett Berlin.

In 2007 he joined the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz 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.

Susanne Triebel is coordinator of the internationally oriented MA Contemporary Dance Education (MA CoDE) and lecturer at BAtanz at HMDK Frankfurt. Before completing her MA in Contemporary Dance Education in 2009, she danced for several years at city and state theaters and in the freelance scene. Since 2012, she has supervised teaching projects and teaching rehearsals in MA CoDE. In the expert commission Body and Movement she is responsible for content of the offers of THE ARTIST’S BODY and advocates for the implementation of movement in artistic education. She was on the curatorial team of the 8th Biennale Tanzausbildung Stuttgart in 2022.

Jakub Truszkowski began his dance training in 1987 at the State Ballet School in Gdansk, where he graduated in 1996 and performed several pieces at the Gdansk Opera House. In 1996 he was accepted into Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s P.A.R.T.S. school. In 1999 he joined the Rosas company. Here he danced in Drumming, Mozart/Concert Arias, Mikrokosmos and participated in the creation of In Real Time, Rain, April Me, Repertory Evening, Bitches Brew, Kassandra and The six Brandenburg Concertos. In 2008, he joined the ensemble Les Ballets C de la B, danced in Import Export and participated in the creation of Ashes. Between 2013 and 2015, he was programme coordinator at P.A.R.T.S. As a teacher, he worked with P.A.R.T.S., De Theaterschool Amsterdam, the Folkwang University of the Arts and the Oslo National Academy of the Arts, among others, and Jakub Truszkowski rehearsed works for Rosas, the Opéra de Lyon, P.A.R.T.S., the Opéra de Paris and the Companhia Nacional de Bailado. In 2019, he choreographed the Broadway musical West Side Story by Ivo van Hove. His own creations include: Solo For The Projector, Bodyscapes, Memory Reset, White Noise, Dzisiaj Wszystko, TotoTo and Vibration of a Single String.

Freelance dancer Ming-Yuan Tsai is currently an adjunct assistant professor at the National Taipei University of the Arts and a modern dance teacher at Cloud Gate Dance Theatre. He graduated from the Dance Department of the National Academy of Arts. In 1999, he joined Cloud Gate Dance Theater 2 as a founding member. In the same year, he served there as a rehearsal assistant. In 2001, he became a member of Cloud Gate Dance Theater, and served as Rehearsal Assistant in 2007 and then as Rehearsal Director in 2015. 2019 Cloud Gate Theater × Tao Dance Theater provides rehearsal guidance for Tao Ye’s work 12. In Tsai’s 21-year career from 1999 to 2020, he has performed more than 1,300 performances worldwide. 

Ballett des Staatstheaters am Gärtnerplatz

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 “La Habana”. 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 Gärtnerplatz 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.

Ballet Academy, HMTM / Bayerisches Junior Ballett München

Olivier Vercoutère graduated at the John Cranko School and was engaged as a member of the Stuttgart Ballet, the Ballet Company of the Deutsche Oper Berlin and as soloist of the Bavarian State Ballet. He completed a degree in dance pedagogy at the university of Music and Performing Arts Munich. Since September 2013, Olivier Vercoutère is Professor for Classical Dance at the HMTM in Munich and rehearsal director/ballet master of the Bavarian Junior Ballet Munich. Olivier is regularly invited as a guest teacher in academies and summer courses and as a jury member in various competitions.

Klassisches Training 

In einer positiven und unterstützenden Arbeitsatmosphäre werden die angehenden Tänzer*innen ermutigt, ihre technischen und künstlerischen Fähigkeiten weiterzuentwickeln. Besonderes Augenmerk wird auf die korrekte Ausrichtung des Körpers und die harmonische Ausführung der Bewegung gelegt.

Bavarian State Ballet

The dancer Bianca Teixeira comes from Brazil and is a soloist in the ensemble of the Bavarian State Ballet. Her awards include the silver medal at the final of the Youth America Grand Prix and the honour as »best classical dancer« at the Festival de Dança de Joinville in Brazil in 2014. She completed her formal dance training at the Ballet-Academy of the University of Music and Theatre Munich in 2016. She danced her first season with the Bavarian Junior Ballet and already took on solo roles there before moving to Warsaw to join the Polish National Ballet – here she rose to demi-soloist within the company. In 2019, Bianca Teixeira moved to San Francisco Ballet, where she performed in numerous productions such as The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Etudes, Sandpaper Ballet, Cinderella and Blake Works. At the beginning of the 2021/2022 season, she was engaged as a soloist at the Bavarian State Ballet, where she has since made many other role debuts, including Clementine in Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella and Helena in John Neumeier’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

First Soloist, Stuttgarter Ballett, Kammertänzer

Friedmann Vogel was born in Stuttgart. He first completed his ballet training at the John Cranko School in Stuttgart and then at the Académie de Danse Classique Princesse Grace in Monte Carlo. His special talent was recognised with numerous prizes at international ballet competitions, including the Prix de Lausanne and the Erik Bruhn Prize for young dancers in Toronto. He joined the corps de ballet of the Stuttgart Ballet at the beginning of the 1998/99 season. He was appointed first soloist in June 2002. In 2015, Friedemann Vogel was awarded the title of Chamber Dancer at the Stuttgart State Theatre by the state of Baden-Württemberg. Friedemann Vogel regularly receives invitations from prestigious companies all over the world. 

At the Stuttgart Ballet, Friedemann Vogel has danced numerous leading roles in full-length ballets by famous choreographers. Many choreographers created roles especially for him in their ballets.

Bettina Wagner-Bergelt studied German, Romance languages and literature as well as theater and film studies in Cologne and Berlin. She was co-director of the Bayerisches Staatsballett until 2016, then artistic director of the 100 Years of Bauhaus festival in Berlin and artistic director of the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch from 2018 to the end of 2022. She received the French Order of Merit of Arts and Letters and numerous other awards for her educational projects, founded festivals and works in cultural policy for dance. Bettina Wagner-Bergelt is active in various advisory bodies, including for the KSB, the Palucca University, the Tel Aviv Dance Academy and cultural committees, as well as for refugee aid. Today she works for European projects and as a curator and author.

Michaela Weinhauser completed her Bachelor’s degree in Piano and Elementary Music and Movement Pedagogy at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich, and her Master’s degree in Dance: Research, Pedagogy, Artistic Practice at the Sports University in Cologne. She is a state-certified choir and ensemble conductor and Orff-Schulwerk Instructor Level 3. Michaela teaches at the Institute for Music Education at the LMU, at the International Piano and Violin School Munich and holds the position of artistic director at Tanzprojekt München. Since February 2023 she has taken over the organizational management for the Wettbewerb Biennale Tanzausbildung.

State Ballet School Berlin

Doreen Windolf trained as a classical stage dancer at the State Ballet School Berlin. She danced with the Leipzig Ballet and the State Ballet Berlin, among others. In 2008, she trained as a dance teacher and has been working as a ballet teacher at the State Ballet School Berlin since 2014 and as a lecturer at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts since 2022. In February 2021, Doreen Windolf was commissioned to take over the Direction (interim) at the Dance Department at the State Ballet School Berlin. Her primary goal is to reconcile the performance requirements of ballet training with the protection of health.

Britta Wirthmüller is achoreographer and dancer. In her work she attends to that which usually remains invisible, e.g. bodies lacking social visibility, the forgotten dances of Jean Weidt (“Physical Encounters”) or the hidden layers of a city’s history in “The Silent Walk“. She holds a position for artistic research and teaching at the HZT Berlin.

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 Gärtnerplatz 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.