Forsythe / Hauert
Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company
The DFDC ensemble dedicates itself to the creative improvisation techniques of two guest choreographers.
Civil Society : Undertainment
Newest Creation by William Forsythe
This work marks a return to his roots. William Forsythe is rightly considered one of the most important choreographers of the late 20th century. His innovative approach to the tradition of ballet has opened up new directions for dance that would otherwise have been difficult to imagine. From 1984 to 2004, Forsythe directed the Ballett Frankfurt and from 2005 to 2015 The Forsythe Company. Later, this was renamed the Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company. Now, Forsythe returns to the place of his many years of creativity and is developing a new work for the company for the first time.
Using an improvisational toolbox, he creates a structural order that offers aesthetic pleasure in and of itself rather than standing for something else. Like in a kaleidoscope, patterns emerge that are always unpredictable and surprising within a clear framework. The dancers explore the system of movement they themselves form to its limits. The audience is invited to follow this exploration and experience the work as a living, breathing system.
Playing with Sergei, Martha and the Others
Newest creation by Thomas Hauert
Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto is considered a particular challenge for pianists. Beyond the technical virtuosity, which certainly contributes to its appeal, the music is characterised by an extraordinary emotional complexity. Thomas Hauert, in his work for the DFDC, brings the concerto, in the 1982 recording with Martha Argerich, to the stage. The ensemble immerses itself in the music and enters into a playful dialogue with it. The dancers interpret the music from their subjective perception with their bodies and interact with the rhythm, dynamics and emotional contrasts. At the same time, they respond to each other in a complex mesh.
From his work with his own company ZOO, Hauert brings with him principles and rules for improvisation that he has developed over more than 25 years, which rely less on control than on the collective intelligence of all. This approach is in interesting and sometimes tense contrast to Rachmaninoff. While the composer is an exemplary creator, hovering above it all, so to speak, and authoritatively dictating to the musicians, including the soloist, Hauert’s practice is distinguished by a radically collaborative creative process in contrast to such an inflated concept of genius. The dance does not perceive the music as a command, but uses it as a stimulus, as a playground, even as a counterpart in a constantly new and surprising dialogue.
Duration: ca. 1 h 40 min, with intermission
Without dialogue
*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).
Accompanying Program
Premiere party on 23.05.2025
After the performance, we warmly invite you to the premiere party.
Audience Discussion on 24.05.2025
Find out more about the background to the production and the artists involved.
William Forsythe has been active as a choreographer for over 50 years. His works are known for liberating the practice of ballet from its identification with the classical repertoire and transforming it into a dynamic art form of the 21st century. He danced with the Joffrey Ballet and later with the Stuttgart Ballet, of which he became house choreographer in 1976. His 20-year tenure as director of the Frankfurt Ballet began in 1984. Forsythe then formed a new ensemble, The Forsythe Company, which he directed from 2005 to 2015. Forsythe’s profound interest in the basic organisational principles of choreography has led him to realise a wide range of projects in the fields of installation, film and web-based knowledge development. While his stage works occupy a central place in the repertoire of ballet companies worldwide, his installations are represented internationally in both museums and collections. Forsythe has received numerous awards, including the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale, the theatre prize DER FAUST and the Kyoto Prize, all three for his life’s work.
Thomas Hauert founded his company ZOO in Brussels in 1998. ‘Cows in Space’ was his first piece, which was immediately honoured at the Rencontres de Seine-Saint-Denis/Bagnolet. Since then, the company has developed more than 21 pieces. In addition to his work for ZOO, Hauert has been a guest choreographer for the Zurich Ballet, Toronto Dance Theatre, Candoco Dance Company, Ballet Junior de Genève and the Ballet de Lorraine, among others. Based on his choreographic work, Hauert developed an internationally recognised teaching method based on his movement research with ZOO. Since 2013, he has been the artistic director of the bachelor’s programme in contemporary dance at La Manufacture, the Lausanne School of Performing Arts.
The Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company is a contemporary dance ensemble under the artistic direction of Ioannis Mandafounis. It develops, presents and teaches dance with the desire to bring people together, inspire them and get them excited about dance. The Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company unites contemporary thinking and dance tradition by experimenting and rethinking and developing traditional ideas of choreography. A central foundation of the company’s work is the methodology developed by Ioannis Mandafounis. This enables the dancers to create a new choreography live on stage from their bodies, movements and actions in every performance and every moment. This creates a collaborative process that strengthens the individual artists and opens up to the audience.
Civil Society : Undertainment
Choreography: William Forsythe
Dance: Dancers of the Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company
Choreography Assistant: Cyril Baldy
Rehearsal Management: Pauline Huguet
Light: Tanja Rühl
Costume: Dorothee Merg
Playing with Sergei, Martha and the Others
Choreography: Thomas Hauert
Dance: Dancers of the Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company
Choreography Assistant: Pauline Huguet
Dramaturgy: Philipp Scholtysik
Costume: Thomas Hauert, Dorothee Merg
The Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company is supported by the City of Dresden and the Free State of Saxony, the City of Frankfurt am Main and the State of Hesse. Company-in-Residence at HELLERAU – European Centre for the Arts Dresden and at Bockenheimer Depot in Frankfurt am Main. In co-production with DE SINGEL – International Arts Centre and the Romaeuropa Festival. Supported by Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels.
