Author Archives: Esther

Reply Project (Working title)

Noa Eshkol / Noé Soulier & Dance On Ensemble

Artistic Direction: Ty Boomershine
Choreography: Noa Eshkol, Noé Soulier (Choreographer and Director of Cndc Angers)
Staging: Mor Bashan (Noa Eshkol Foundation)
Performance: Alba Barral Fernández, Anna Herrmann, Dominic Santia, Marco Volta, Lia Witjes Poole

As part of the Reply projects, the Dance On Ensemble invites contemporary artists to respond to masterpieces of the 20th century from their own artistic perspectives. The point of departure is works that were both classical and radical in their time, challenging the conventions of their era. The performances open up a vibrant dialogue – between dance heritage and contemporary artistic practice, as well as between artists of different generations and traditions.

In this Reply performance, the Dance On Ensemble turns its attention to the work of Israeli choreographer Noa Eshkol (1924–2007). Her precise dance compositions and the movement notation system she developed are not reconstructed, but rather approached as an open system to be questioned and re-read. In response, French dancer and choreographer Noé Soulier develops a new choreographic work of his own. His practice, which interweaves dance, exhibition formats, and theoretical reflection, extends the dialogue with Eshkol’s thinking, offering a contemporary translation and a continuation of movement.

Premiere: April 30, 2026, Sophiensæle Berlin

Production: DANCE ON / Bureau Ritter
In collaboration with Cndc Angers.

Funded by the Kulturstiftung des Bundes (German Federal Cultural Foundation). Funded by the Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien (Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media).

Part of DanceMap, funded by Horizon Europe, the European Union’s funding programme for research and innovation.

DANCE ON is a project by BUREAU RITTER, funded by the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.

Milla Koistinen

The Berlin- and Helsinki-based Finnish choreographer Milla Koistinen holds an MA in Dance from the Theatre Academy in Helsinki and an MA in Choreography from HZT Berlin. Koistinen’s works have been presented at venues and festivals such as Radialsystem, Dance House Helsinki, Tanzhaus NRW, & Espoo, Szene Salzburg, Fabriktheater Zürich, Dampfzentrale Bern, Tanz im August, SPRING Performing Arts Festival, Moving in November and Faerderbiennalen.

Koistinen has collaborated with musicians and theatre directors including Solistenensemble Kaleidoskop, Jochen Arbeit and Michael Rauter, as well as with directors at the Finnish National Theatre. In the summer of 2010, she was awarded a danceWEB scholarship at Impulstanz Vienna.

In addition to her artistic work, Koistinen teaches contemporary technique, composition, and choreography in various companies, institutions, and educational programs. She has been a guest teacher at institutions such as the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance (SEAD), the Iceland Academy of the Arts, Tanzhaus NRW, Sasha Waltz & Guests, the Theatre Academy of Helsinki, Carte Blanche, Unusual Symptoms and HZT Berlin. In the spring of 2019, she was invited to lecture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki.

In 2020–2024 Milla Koistinen’s work was supported by apap – FEMINIST FUTURES – a project co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.

In 2025–2027 Koistinen is working with the support of Arts Promotion Centre Finland.

 

 

SWEAT (anthem)

Milla Koistinen & Dance On Ensemble

Concept, choreography and direction: Milla Koistinen
Creation and performance: Ty Boomershine, Gesine Moog, Alba Barral Fernández, Javier Arozena, Tim Persent (Dance On Ensemble) and Jin Lee, Emma Sofie Gautestad, Raul Aranha, Victor Aaron Bolzmann, Milla Koistinen
Sound design: Paul Valikoski and Grégoire Simon
Light design: Martin Beeretz
Dramaturgy: Synne Behrndt
Costumes: Jin Lee and Jihun Choi
Production Director: Anastasia Luck (Dance On Ensemble) and Jana Lüthje (M.i.C.A.)

SWEAT (anthem) moves through the terrains of resilience and endurance where determination and persistence become a quiet form of protest.

Endurance is not only stamina and sustained effort, it is also a radical gesture to stay alive, alert and hopeful amidst fatigue, fracture and exhaustion. Between tension, release and play, the performance celebrates the courage to keep dancing and turn exhaustion into a collective rhythm; an anthem of defiance and joy.

Following GRIT (for what it’s worth), the work continues to explore the languages of sport and dance and how resilience and the demands made on the body and performer intersect with culture and societal events.

SWEAT (anthem) highlights the tension between vulnerability and strength, singular ambition and collectivity, asking how to persevere, remain emphatic and keep moving in times of unrest.

Created with the Dance On Ensemble and four emerging dancers, the performance celebrates the ensemble’s long and compelling careers and the combined strength of a multigenerational collective.

Premiere: December 18, 2025, Tanzfabrik Berlin BÜHNE in Uferstudios 14

Production: DANCE ON / Bureau Ritter
Co-Funded by the Europeans Union’s Horizon Europe programme for research and innovation in the frame of DanceMap.

Co-production: Milla Koistinen, SPRING Performing Arts Festival (The Netherlands), Tanzfabrik Berlin BÜHNE

Supported by Bora Bora Residency Centre, Arts Promotion Centre Finland, Finnland-Institut. With thanks to Dance House Helsinki and the Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux. 

DANCE ON is a project by BUREAU RITTER, funded by the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.