Author Archives: Esther

MUSIQUE – In the Spirit of Johann Strauss

Dance theatre by Mathilde Monnier & Dance On Ensemble

Choreography: Mathilde Monnier & Dance On Ensemble
Music: Johann Strauss & Judit Varga
Lighting Design: Eric Wurtz
Artistic Assistance: Stéphane Bouquet
Costume Design: Laurence Alquier
Dance On Ensemble: Javier Arozena, Ty Boomershine, Emma Lewis, Gesine Moog, Jone San Martin, Marco Volta

Co-production and cooperation partners: A work commissioned by Johann Strauss 2025 Vienna in co-operation with ImPulsTanz

In a very personal exploration, the renowned French choreographer Mathilde Monnier and the Dance On Ensemble delve into the era of Johann Strauss. Melodic refrains and glimpses of elegant attire amidst the darkness, silhouettes come to life, occasionally solitary or in harmony, creating a ghostly and ephemeral universe. From it, we are reached by lost and rediscovered dances, seduced into waltzing – set to compositions by Judit Varga, breathing new life into Johann Strauss’ music and its timeless melodies.

Premiere: 10 May 2025, Volkstheater Wien
Dates: 12 May 2025
Click here for the tickets

Company MM is supported by DRAC Occitanie.

NOW WE ARE EARTH / AN ORCHESTRA

Concept, Direction, Choreography: Nicole Beutler
Performers: Anna Herrmann (Dance On Ensemble), Lia Witjes Poole (Dance On Ensemble), Felix Schellekens, Timo Tembuyser, Margarida Constantino, Hillary Blake Firestone, C’Cesirhe Sedney, Abigail Vrede

Understudy: Seline Hauptmann, Estéban Obregon
Music: Gary Shepherd
Choral Compositions: Timo Tembuyser
Choir: Local city choir
Tour Choir Leader: Tristan Knelange
Head of dramaturgy: Justa ter Haar
Dramaturgy: Igor Dobričić
Dramaturgical Advice: Tom Swaak (OBV), Richard Kofi
Set Design: Lena Newton, Noa Helder
Lighting: Minna Tiikkainen
Light operator:Maarten van Dorp
Costumes: Jessica Helbach
Repetitor: Catarina Ferreira da Silva
Assistant Director (Stage): Kaya Korabiowska-Dean
Technical Coordinator: Durante van Kuijk
Project Management VONK: Lise Thomas
Production Management NBP: Raïssa Pater

Production: Nicole Beutler Projects / Opera Ballet Vlaanderen / VONK / DANCE ON / Bureau Ritter / Opera2Day
Coproduction: O. Festival for Opera. Music. Theatre

Residence: Grand Theater Groningen
Special thanks to International Theater Amsterdam, Maarten Boussery, Kris Adem, Magne van den Berg 

NOW WE ARE EARTH is a grand future vision of choreographer and theater maker Nicole Beutler. Music, dance, choir, and audience unite in this eco-futuristic symphony, creating a sense of greater harmony. With 8 dancers and singers, accompanied by a city choir of 45 voices, this 100-minute piece becomes a vibrant convergence of sound and movement, offering a glimpse into a dream of a possible future.

The piece explores the theme of interconnectedness, seeking balance across five realms: animals, humans, plants, fungi, and technology.

NOW WE ARE EARTH promises to be a total artwork, a dance opera featuring a local city choir, with a key role for the audience. Drawing inspiration from the intricate, interconnected threads of a mycelium, the performers weave a multi-layered, resonating tapestry of colors and sounds, unfolding in endlessly branching and repeating patterns.

A co-production by Nicole Beutler Projects with Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Dance On Ensemble, and Opera2Day, supported by Internationaal Theater Amsterdam.

Premiere: 25 April 2025, Opera Antwerpen
Dates: 26 & 27 April 2025
Click here for the tickets

Terminal Infinity

Part of the Biennale of the Berliner Philharmoniker 2025
Dance On Ensemble / Jugendtanzcompany von Sasha Waltz & Guests and the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg

Cast: Members of the Berliner Philharmoniker and of the Karajan-Akademie
Dance: Leah Marojević, Gyung Moo Kim
Dance On Ensemble: Ty Boomershine, Gesine Moog, Tim Persent, Lia Witjes Poole
Jugendtanzcompany von Sasha Waltz & Guests: Noomi Aldinger, Toni Lehnert, Leah Soltau, Nika Brovot, Jonathan Walker

Artistic direction, conception, composition and sound direction: Alexander Schubert
Concept, development of the piece and choreography: Colette Sadler
Scenography: Dominic Huber
Light design: Diego Muhr
Costume: Felina Levits
Assistant director: Ludmilla Mercier
Video mapping and lighting assistance: Candid Rütter
Music notation, instrumentation and composition assistance: Oscar Corpo

What does it mean to be human in a world that is increasingly characterised by technology? Terminal Infinity, an immersive, audiovisual installation, explores this transition and its impact on our identity and environment. Commissioned by the Berliner Philharmoniker as part of their Biennale 2025, it combines music and visual art to create a unique performance. Humans in transition take centre stage: a reflection on the end of the Anthropocene and the interplay between technology and nature. Immerse yourself in this fascinating and at the same time disturbing world.

Premiere: 23 February 2025, Radialsystem Berlin
Age recommendation: from 16 years
Click here for the tickets

Also as a school concert: 24 February 2025, 11 am
Registration required at https://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/education/kita-schule/biennale-projekt/

Production: Berliner Philharmoniker in collaboration with DANCE ON / Bureau Ritter, Jugendtanzcompany von Sasha Waltz & Guests and the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg

With the friendly support of

Meg Stuart

Meg Stuart is a choreographer, director and dancer who lives and works in Berlin and Brussels.

With her company, Damaged Goods, founded in 1994, she has created over thirty productions, ranging from solos and duets such as Blessed (2007) and Hunter (2014) to large-scale choreographies such as VIOLET (2011) and CASCADE (2021), video works, site-specific creations like Projecting [Space[ (2017-2019), and improvisation projects such as City Lights (2016).

Stuart’s work moves freely between the genres of dance, theater and visual arts, driven by an ongoing dialogue with artists from different disciplines. Through fictions and shifting narrative layers, she explores dance as a source of healing and a way to transform the social fabric. Improvisation is an important part of Stuart’s practice, as a strategy to move from physical and emotional states or the memory of them. She passes down her knowledge through regular workshops and master classes in- and outside of the studio.

Meg Stuart received several awards in recognition of her oeuvre, among which the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Biennale di Venezia in 2018.