In Bed With a Stadttheater

I was asked to write a piece, a “plea” as it was put to me, for more alliances between independent choreographers and Stadttheater* of the German-speaking world. As my career began with dancing in companies, then developed into presenting my choreographic work in independent theatres, and now my output is straddled between the independent realm and company commissions, the prospect of a productive bridge between these two contexts strikes at the heart of how I have insisted on being a choreographer.

This question has become ever more pertinent at a mid-career stage, and in particular given the historical and structural conditions of being a choreographer in Berlin. Right now, I look around the landscape of the German dance field and ask: Where are the independent choreographers who have ...