CHRISTIAN SPUCK CREATES WORLD PREMIERE FOR
GAUTHIER DANCE:
POPPEA // POPPEA
A Theaterhaus Stuttgart production in co-production with Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg in co-operation with Theater Bonn, Schauburg Munich and Achtfeld GmbH Berlin
On Thursday, July 1, 2010, Gauthier Dance, Dance Company of the Theaterhaus Stuttgart, will present the world premiere of German choreographer Christian Spuck's POPPEA // POPPEA in the Theaterhaus Stuttgart. The new full length work has been commissioned by Gauthier Dance Artistic Director Eric Gauthier.
Inspired by Claudio Monteverdi's last opera The Coronation of Poppea, in which the Emperor Nero and the courtesan Poppaea Sabina conspire against Nero's wife Ottavia and the General Ottone in order to crown Poppea Empress, Spuck focuses on the subversive and explosive nature of passion and power, of desire and depravity. The interaction between the dancers and their shifting relationships according to emotional and political power, cause the border between reality and fiction to blur increasingly throughout the piece. More and more the dancers succumb to their individual characters, culminating in emotional upheaval and brutal moral choices; the game within the game turns to deadly earnest.
Set against a mix of Monteverdi's heavenly operatic score, specially composed music by Martin Donner as well as popular music, POPPEA // POPPEA also incorporates film and spoken text, providing the Gauthier Dance ensemble with an exciting and challenging range for their talents. Sets and costumes for the new production are by the British designer Emma Ryott whose previous fruitful collaborations with Spuck have resulted in an powerful esthetic symbiosis which leaves the viewer with indelible and haunting images. The film sequences are by the Berlin based studio Achtfeld GmbH. POPPEA // POPPEA is Spuck's second work for the Theaterhaus Stuttgart, following the highly successful Don Q starring Egon Madsen and Eric Gauthier in 2007. Since its world premiere, Don Q has toured to festivals in Seoul, Belgrad and Madrid as well as all over Europe.
Christian Spuck, who will become the Artistic Director of the Zurich Ballet in September 2012, trained at the John Cranko School in Stuttgart and joined the Stuttgart Ballet in 1995, after working with Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker and Jan Louwer's Need Company. He began choreographing in 1996 and was appointed Resident Choreographer of the Stuttgart Ballet in 2001. In Stuttgart he developed his unique style, first in one act pieces such as dos amores, The seventh blue and Le Grand Pas de Deux and then with his critically and popularly acclaimed full length works Lulu, a Monster-Tragedy, The Sandman (based on the short story by E.T.A. Hoffmann) and Orpheus and Euridyce, a co-production with the Stuttgart State Opera. In addition Spuck has created works for, among others, the Royal Ballet of Flanders, Aterballetto, the Norwegian National Ballet, the Royal Swedish Ballet and Hubbard Street Dance 2 Chicago.
Gauthier Dance, resident dance company of the Theaterhaus Stuttgart, was founded in 2007 and is directed by former Stuttgart Ballet Soloist Eric Gauthier, who also choreographs for the company. Gauthier Dance's first four productions SIX PACK, HIGH FIVE, FOUR PLAY and M.M. & MORE were highly successful allowing the company to move from the 400 seat T2 of the Theaterhaus into the 900 seat T1. In addition, Gauthier Dance has proven extremely attractive to presenters, providing them with sold out houses and enthusiastic audiences. During the 2009-2010 season Gauthier Dance performed in 16 different venues including the Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg, the Dance Salad Festival in Houston Texas, the Belgrad Dance Festival and numerous German, Swiss and Austrian theaters. Gauthier Dance's repertory is comprised of works by Mauro Bigonzetti, William Forsythe, Itzik Galili, Jiri Kylian, Paul Lightfoot/Sol Léon, Hans van Manen and Eric Gauthier.
The Theaterhaus Stuttgart is a unique cultural center with four stages which presents plays, cabaret, stand up comedy, concerts ranging from classical to jazz to country to heavy metal, puppet theater, readings and political discussions as well as housing its own resident theater company. The Theaterhaus Stuttgart celebrated its 25th Anniversary in March 2010.
POPPEA // POPPEA
Choreography: Christian Spuck
Musik: Martin Donner, Claudio Monteverdi and more
Set and Costumes: Emma Ryott
Lighting: Reinhard Traub
Dramaturgy: Dunja Funke
Set Design Assistant: David Fitzgerald
Ballet Master: Renato Arismendi
Choreographic Assistant: Alexandra Brenk
Film: Fabian Spuck
Dancers: Eric Gauthier, Maria Deller-Takemura, Marianne Illig, Garazi Perez-Oloriz, Isabelle Pollet-Villard, Armando braswell, Björn Helget, William Moragas, Giuseppe Spota
World Premiere: July 1, 2010, Theaterhaus Stuttgart
Further performances: July 2, 3, 4, 20, 21, 22, 2010 Theaterhaus Stuttgart
July 9, 2010, Theater Bonn / December 9, 2010 Forum Leverkusen / January 20, 2011, Burghof Lörrach / January 23, 2011, Stadthalle Aschaffenburg / May 7, 2011, Teo Otto Theater Remscheid / May 20, 2011, Grand Theatre de Luxembourg
Costumes courtesy of Stuttgart Ballet.
For more Information, interviews, photos and press tickets, please contact:
Nicola Steller, phone +49(0)7156-350616,
Touring Management: ecotopia dance productions
Gauthier Dance is supported by the Fashion- und Lifestylehouse Breuninger in Stuttgart, Germanwings GmbH, the John Cranko Society and the First Friends and Friends of Gauthier Dance.