Beethoven 7
Sasha Waltz & Guests
About the event
In ‘Beethoven 7’, Sasha Waltz and an ensemble of 14 dancers dedicate themselves to the complete ‘Symphony No. 7 in A major (op. 92)’ by Ludwig van Beethoven. This special piece of music, composed in 1812 at the end of the composer’s life when he was already deaf, resonates with questions of his time that still play a role for us today: The failure of a revolution, the (forced) return to old traditions, the friction between the desire for social transformation and restoration and the accompanying loss of freedom and future prospects.
To the live electronic sounds of the Chilean composer Diego Noguera Berger entitled ‘Freiheit/Extasis’, which were commissioned during the creation process, Sasha Waltz takes up these themes at the beginning of the evening and reinterprets them from a contemporary perspective: How do personal freedom and social constraints relate to each other?
Duration: ca. 1 h 50 min, with an intermission
Without language
*Please note: Due to construction and a limited number of parking spaces on site, we kindly ask you to use public transport until 30 May. Our tickets are valid from 4 hours before the start of the event until 4 a.m. on the following day on all local public transport within the VVO network (except special transport).
In the first part of “Beethoven 7”, strobe light effects and fog are used. Increased volume is also to be expected. Bass sounds in a low frequency range can lead to physically noticeable vibrations. Individual hearing protection will be provided at the entrance.
Sasha Waltz is a choreographer, dancer and director. She studied dance and choreography in Amsterdam and New York. Together with Jochen Sandig she founded the company Sasha Waltz & Guests in 1993 and was co-founder of the Sophiensæle (1996) and the Radialsystem (2006), two spaces for performing arts in Berlin. From 1999 to 2004 she was a member of the artistic direction of the Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz. The development of innovative, interdisciplinary forms of performance and creation is an important focus of her artistic work, which ranges from internationally renowned dance pieces such as the »Travelogue« trilogy (1993/1995) or »Körper« (2000) to choreographic operas (»Dido & Aeneas«, 2005) and exploratory dialogue projects (»Dialoge 09 – Neues Museum«). In her current choreographic work Waltz concentrates on the For further information please contact presse@sashawaltz.de condensation of collaborative processes, such as the fusion of choreography and music (»SYMPHONIE MMXX«, 2022 or »Beethoven 7«, 2023). To mark the 300th anniversary of its world premiere, Sasha Waltz staged Johann Sebastian Bach’s »St. John Passion« (BWV 245) as a timeless tale about the human search for truth and justice beyond its original religious implications (2024). At the same time Sasha Waltz is committed to the transfer of dance knowledge and dance as a medium of social and socio-political understanding. In 2021, Sasha Waltz created the choreography »In C« based on Terry Riley’s revolutionary and open score of the same name, which has since not only been successfully performed nationally and internationally, but has also developed into its own system with a growing community. In 2011, Sasha Waltz was awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz am Bande for her special servicesto the cultural field. Since 2013, she is a member of the Akademie der Künste Berlin. In 2021, Sasha Waltz was appointed »Commandeur des Arts et Lettres« by the French Ministry of Culture, and in 2024 she received the German Dance Award.
The dance company Sasha Waltz & Guests was founded by Sasha Waltz and Jochen Sandig in Berlin in 1993 and in 2023 celebrated its 30th anniversary. To date, numerous artists and ensembles from the fields of architecture, visual arts, choreography, film, design, literature, fashion and music from more than 60 countries have collaborated as »Guests« on over 100 productions, »Dialoge« projects and films. Sasha Waltz & Guests works in a constantly evolving international and national network of production and guest performance partners, and since its foundation in 1993 has performed at over 300 venues and festivals in more than 50 countries and 180 cities. Today, the company is showing its current repertoire of 12 active pieces in about 80 performances each year. In Berlin, the company cooperates with a wide range of municipal theatres, opera houses and museums and has contributed to establishing new cultural institutions, such as Sophiensæle (1996), St. Elisabeth-Kirche (2004) and Radialsystem (2006). In 2013, the company was named »European Cultural Ambassador« by the European Union. In 2014, Sasha Waltz & Guests was awarded the »Tabori Ehrenpreis« by the Fonds Darstellende Künste. Apart from Berlin stagings, national and international guest performances and the continual work on the repertoire, Sasha Waltz & Guests has been increasingly committed to educational and social projects. In 2007, the »Kindertanzcompany« (Children’s Dance Company) was founded and since 2016 the interdisciplinary and open exchange platform titled »ZUHÖREN« has served as a »third space for art and politics«. Alongside these initiatives, the company continues to propose diverse offers in the field of knowledge transfer. With the work »In C«, based on Terry Riley’s open composition of the same name, a system with an internationally growing community has been developing since spring 2021: the choreographic material was recorded in video tutorials to enable the easy transfer of knowledge. As a result, participatory, diverse, international and sustainable »In C« projects, workshop formats and ever-new structures have emerged worldwide. Sasha Waltz & Guests is funded by the Senate Department for Social Cohesion.
Cast – BEETHOVEN 7 in Hellerau
Choreography & Concept: Sasha Waltz
Music: Ludwig van Beethoven, Diego Noguera
Costume: Bernd Skodzig, Federico Polucci
Light design: Martin Hauk, Jörg Bittner
Dramaturgy: Jochen Sandig
Dance & Choreography: Rosa Dicuonzo, Edivaldo Ernesto, Yuya Fujinami, Tian Gao, Eva Georgitsopoulou, Hwanhee Hwang, Agnieszka Jachym, Sara Koluchová, Lorena Justribó Manion, Jaan Männima, Sean Nederlof, Virgis Puodziunas, Sasa Queliz, Orlando Rodriguez
Repetition: Jirí Bartovanec
Team Sasha Waltz & Guests
Assistant Director & Production: Francisco Martinez
Technical Production Mangement: Moritz Hauptvogel
Light: Martin Hauk
Light Assistant: Olaf Danilsen
Sound: Carlo Grippa
Costume Management Assistant: Nadja Herklotz
Wardrobe: Manja Beneke
Haar and Make-Up: Kati Heimann
Guest Performance Management: Karsten Liske
Artistic Direction and Management: Sasha Waltz, Jochen Sandig
Operations Management: Bärbel Kern
Deputy Operations Management & Technical Management: Reinhard Wizisla
Commercial Management: Stephan E. Schmidt
A production by Sasha Waltz & Guests. Made in Radialsystem Berlin
Sasha Waltz & Guests is supported by the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion
Music-Credits
Rights are obtained by the organiser and credit is checked and named accordingly – example attached:
»7. Sinfonie in A Dur, Op. 92«
Ludwig van Beethoven
Recording:
»Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92«
Teodor Currentzis
(P) 2021 Sony Music Entertainment
Tip: Sasha Waltz & Guests on 26 April at the ‘Long Night of Dresden Theatres’
Sasha Waltz & Guests will be performing again as part of the ‘Long Night of Dresden Theatres’ on 26 April, with short excerpts from their dance production ‘In C’ and workshops.
More information and tickets at: lange-nacht-der-dresdner-theater.de
