Sasha Waltz
Encyclopedia
Sasha Alexandra Waltz (born 8 March 1963, Karlsruhe
) is a German choreographer, dancer and leader of the dance company Sasha Waltz and Guests.
. From 1983 until 1986, Waltz studied at the School For New Dance Development in Amsterdam
.
Between 1986 and 1987 she did further training in New York
. During that period she was a dancer for Pooh Kaye, Yoshiko Chuma
& School of Hard Knocks and Lisa Kraus. After that she collaborated intensely with choreographers, visual artists and musicians such as Tristan Honsinger
, Frans Poelstra, Mark Tompkins, David Zambrano.
From 1992 onwards she was artist in residence in Künstlerhaus Bethanien. There she developed a series of "dialogues" in interdisciplinary projects with dancers, musicians and visual artists (Nasser Martin-Gousset, Takako Suzuki, Charlotte Zerbey, Akos Hargitai). A year later in 1993, she founded her company "Sasha Waltz and Guests" with Jochen Sandig. Over the next 3 years they developed the Travelogue-Trilogy.
Together with Jochen Sandig, they founded the Sophiensæle in central Berlin, as a center for the development of free theatre and dance. Here they developed Allee der Kosmonauten (1996), Zweiland (1997) and Na Zemlje (1998), as well as the project Dialoge `99/I.
In 1999 she took over as Artistic Director at Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz in Berlin alongside Thomas Ostermeier, Jens Hillje and Jochen Sandig. She opened the Schaubühne under new direction with the debut of Körper (2000). This was followed by S (2000), noBody (2002), insideout (2003) , Impromptus (2004) and Gezeiten (2005).
Once her 5 year period with the Schaubühne finished she reactivitated Sasha Waltz and Guests as an independent company again, with a base in Berlin. It was established as an international project with 25 permanent and 40 associate collaborators.
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
) is a German choreographer, dancer and leader of the dance company Sasha Waltz and Guests.
Biography
Waltz is the daughter of an architect and a curator. At five years old she had her first dance lesson in Karlsruhe with Waltraud Kornhass, a student of Mary WigmanMary Wigman
Mary Wigman was a German dancer, choreographer, and dance instructor.A pioneer of expressionist dance, her work was hailed for bringing the deepest of existential experiences to the stage...
. From 1983 until 1986, Waltz studied at the School For New Dance Development in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
.
Between 1986 and 1987 she did further training in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. During that period she was a dancer for Pooh Kaye, Yoshiko Chuma
Yoshiko Chuma
is a dancer, a choreographer and the director of the Bessie Award winning performance art group The School of Hard Knocks. Described in 2007 by Bloomberg as "a fixture on New York's downtown scene for over a quarter- century", her work spans from early "absurdist gaiety" to more recent serious...
& School of Hard Knocks and Lisa Kraus. After that she collaborated intensely with choreographers, visual artists and musicians such as Tristan Honsinger
Tristan Honsinger
Tristan Honsinger is a cello player active in free jazz and free improvisation. He is perhaps best known for his long-running collaboration with free jazz pianist Cecil Taylor and guitarist Derek Bailey....
, Frans Poelstra, Mark Tompkins, David Zambrano.
From 1992 onwards she was artist in residence in Künstlerhaus Bethanien. There she developed a series of "dialogues" in interdisciplinary projects with dancers, musicians and visual artists (Nasser Martin-Gousset, Takako Suzuki, Charlotte Zerbey, Akos Hargitai). A year later in 1993, she founded her company "Sasha Waltz and Guests" with Jochen Sandig. Over the next 3 years they developed the Travelogue-Trilogy.
Together with Jochen Sandig, they founded the Sophiensæle in central Berlin, as a center for the development of free theatre and dance. Here they developed Allee der Kosmonauten (1996), Zweiland (1997) and Na Zemlje (1998), as well as the project Dialoge `99/I.
In 1999 she took over as Artistic Director at Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz in Berlin alongside Thomas Ostermeier, Jens Hillje and Jochen Sandig. She opened the Schaubühne under new direction with the debut of Körper (2000). This was followed by S (2000), noBody (2002), insideout (2003) , Impromptus (2004) and Gezeiten (2005).
Once her 5 year period with the Schaubühne finished she reactivitated Sasha Waltz and Guests as an independent company again, with a base in Berlin. It was established as an international project with 25 permanent and 40 associate collaborators.
Selected works
Year and location of world premieres by Sasha Waltz:- 1993 Travelogue I - Twenty To Eight, Grand Theatre Groningen
- 1994 Travelogue II - Tears Break Fast, Podewil Berlin
- 1995 Travelogue III - All Ways Six Steps, Theater am Halleschen Ufer Berlin
- 1996 Allee der Kosmonauten, Sophiensaele Berlin
- 1997 Zweiland, Sophiensaele Berlin - 48th Berliner FestspieleBerliner FestspieleThe Berliner Festspiele arts center brings together a variety of arts and culture events under one roof each year in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1951. Throughout the year, festivals, program series, and individual events enrich the cultural scene of the city...
- 1998 Na Zemlje ("On Earth"), Sophiensaele Berlin
- 1998 Film adaption of Allee der Kosmonauten in cooperation with television channels ArteArteArte is a Franco-German TV network. It is a European culture channel and aims to promote quality programming especially in areas of culture and the arts...
/ZDFZDFZweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...
directed by Sasha Waltz - 1999 Dialoge ‘99/I, Sophiensaele Berlin
- 1999 Dialoge ‘99/II, Jewish Museum BerlinJewish Museum BerlinThe Jewish Museum Berlin , in Berlin, Germany, covers two millennia of German Jewish history. It consists of two buildings. One is the old Kollegienhaus, a former courthouse, built in the 18th century. The other, a new addition specifically built for the museum, designed by world-renowned architect...
- 2000 Körper, Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz Berlin
- 2001 S, Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz Berlin
- 2001 17-25/4 - Dialoge 2001, Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz Berlin
- 2002 noBody, in coproduction with Festival d'AvignonFestival d'AvignonThe Festival d'Avignon, or Avignon Festival, is an annual arts festival held in the French city of Avignon. Founded in 1947 by Jean Vilar, it is the oldest extant festival in France and one of the world's greatest...
, Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz Berlin - 2002 Adaption of noBody for the Cour d'honneur of the Palais des PapesPalais des PapesThe Palais des Papes is a historical palace in Avignon, southern France, one of the largest and most important medieval Gothic buildings in Europe....
in AvignonAvignonAvignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the... - 2003 insideout, Helmust-List-Halle GrazGrazThe more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
- 2004 Impromptus, Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz Berlin
- 2005 Dido and Aeneas, opera according to the composition by Henry PurcellHenry PurcellHenry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...
, Berlin State OperaBerlin State OperaThe Staatsoper Unter den Linden is a German opera company. Its permanent home is the opera house on the Unter den Linden boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, which also hosts the Staatskapelle Berlin orchestra.-Early years:... - 2005 Gezeiten, Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz Berlin
- 2006 Solo für Vladimir Malakhov, House of World Cultures Berlin
- 2006 Dialoge 06 - Radiale Systeme, Radialsystem Berlin
- 2007 Medea, based on the opera "medeamaterial" by Pascal DusapinPascal DusapinPascal Dusapin , is a French composer born in Nancy. He is one of France's best-known living composers; his works have been performed worldwide....
(music) / Heiner MüllerHeiner MüllerHeiner Müller was a German dramatist, poet, writer, essayist and theatre director. Described as "the theatre's greatest living poet" since Samuel Beckett, Müller is arguably the most important German dramatist of the 20th century after Bertolt Brecht...
(text), Grand Théâtre de la Ville de LuxembourgGrand Théâtre de LuxembourgThe Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg, inaugurated in 1964 as the Théâtre Municipal de la Ville de Luxembourg, underwent renovation work in 2002–2003 resulting in substantial improvements to the stage technology, acoustics and lighting facilities... - 2007 Roméo et Juliette, based on the symphony by Hector BerliozHector BerliozHector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...
, Paris OperaParis OperaThe Paris Opera is the primary opera company of Paris, France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and renamed the Académie Royale de Musique... - 2008 Jagden und Formen with music by Wolfgang RihmWolfgang RihmWolfgang Rihm is a German composer.Rihm is Head of the Institute of Modern Music at the Karlsruhe Conservatory of Music and has been composer in residence at the Lucerne Festival and the Salzburg Festival...
, Schauspiel Frankfurt - 2009 Dialoge 09 - Neues Museum, Neues MuseumNeues MuseumThe ' is a museum in Berlin, Germany, located to the north of the Altes Museum on Museum Island.It was built between 1843 and 1855 according to plans by Friedrich August Stüler, a student of Karl Friedrich Schinkel. The museum was closed at the beginning of World War II in 1939, and was heavily...
Berlin - 2009 Dialoge 09 – MAXXI, MAXXI National Museum of the 21st Century Arts Rome
- 2010 Continu, Schiffbauhalle Zurich
- 2010 Passion, based on the composition by Pascal Dusapin, Théâtre des Champs-ÉlyséesThéâtre des Champs-ÉlyséesThe Théâtre des Champs-Élysées is a theatre at 15 avenue Montaigne. Despite its name, the theatre is not on the Champs-Élysées but nearby in another part of the 8th arrondissement of Paris....
Paris
Awards
- 1994: Choreography Prize at the International Choreographer's Competition Groningen (NL) for Travelogue I - Twenty to Eight
- 1997: Invitation of Allee der Kosmonauten to the 34th "Berliner Theatertreffen", an annual event of the Berliner FestspieleBerliner FestspieleThe Berliner Festspiele arts center brings together a variety of arts and culture events under one roof each year in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1951. Throughout the year, festivals, program series, and individual events enrich the cultural scene of the city...
that invites the 10 most remarkable German theatre productions of the season to be presented in Berlin - 2000: Adolf Grimme Award for the film adaption of Allee der Kosmonauten
- 2000: Invitation of Körper to the 37th "Berliner Theatertreffen"
- 2007: "Choreographer of the Year", by ballettanz, German dance magazine
- 2009: 1st prize of the Critique's Survey of Die Deutsche Bühne, Germany's eldest theatre magazine
- 2009: Order of Arts and LettersOrdre des Arts et des LettresThe Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is an Order of France, established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture, and confirmed as part of the Ordre national du Mérite by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963...
- 2010: Friederike Caroline NeuberFriederike Caroline NeuberFriederike Caroline Neuber, also called Die Neuberin, , was a German actor and theatre director. She is one of the most famous artists in the history of the German theater....
Prize of the City of LeipzigLeipzigLeipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, Germany
Furthur reading
- Sasha Waltz: Gezeiten. Berlin, Henschel Verlag 2006, ISBN 3-89487-548-8
- Sasha Waltz: Cluster. Berlin, Henschel Verlag 2007, ISBN 978-3-89487-572-5
- Karl Stocker, Nadia Cusimano, Katia Schurl: Insideout. Wien, New York, Springer Verlag 2003, ISBN 978-3-21140-782-0
External links
- Sasha Waltz & Guests Homepage
- „Medeas Metamorphosen“, Tagesspiegel, 3. Dezember 2006, Interview
- „Geniale Zweiflerin“, Die ZeitDie ZeitDie Zeit is a German nationwide weekly newspaper that is highly respected for its quality journalism.With a circulation of 488,036 and an estimated readership of slightly above 2 million, it is the most widely read German weekly newspaper...
, 17. Mai 2007, Nr. 21
Reviews
- „Ausweidung der Kampfzone“, Die Zeit, 24. November 2005
- „Die Geilheit unter der Puderperücke“, Berliner ZeitungBerliner ZeitungThe Berliner Zeitung, founded in 1945, is a German center-left daily newspaper based in Berlin, published by Berliner Verlag. It is the only East German paper to achieve national prominence since unification. In 2003, the Berliner was Berlin's largest subscription newspaper—the weekend...
, 1. März 2006 - „Das Pathos der Trauer“, NetzeitungNetzeitungNetzeitung was a German online newspaper produced in Berlin until 2009. On 4th January 2010 netzeitung.de had been converted into an automated portal displaying contents from nachrichten.de ....
, 19. September 2007 - „Unter Todeskieseln“, Die WeltDie WeltDie Welt is a German national daily newspaper published by the Axel Springer AG company.It was founded in Hamburg in 1946 by the British occupying forces, aiming to provide a "quality newspaper" modelled on The Times...
, 8. Oktober 2007 - "Sasha Waltz & Guests, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York", The Financial Times about "Gezeiten" (Tides), November 9, 2010.