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Staatsballett: Lab_Works Covid_19

The Staatsballett Berlin’s first new post-lockdown stage production will be created by choreographers from the ensemble: during times of self-isolation, dancers from the Staatsballett Berlin created choreographies for themselves and/or co-dancers residing in the same household. Under the title »LAB_WORKS COVID_19«, these creations will be performed live on stage at the earliest possible performance date with regulations suggested by the Robert-Koch-Institut not only applying in the auditorium but on stage as well. All nine world premieres, spanning from solos to pas de deux to a creation with six dancers whose physical distance is integral to the choreography, feature a wide spectrum of dance languages.

Capturing the creation process on film, from initial brainstorm at home to rehearsals in the studio and on stage, is part of the concept to unveil the dance profession’s emotional challenges during this pandemic to the audience.

The Staatsballett Berlin is Dancing Outside

by Frank | Pandemic, Theater, Videos

photo: Jubal Battisti.

At the end of August, the operas and theaters of Berlin will be able to reopen again after the lockdown. We are really happy about this but it’s not going to be the same with a lot of restrictions on stage and behind the scenes, as well as way fewer seats in the audience room. A lot of the new productions we were looking forward to were scrapped because they either didn’t comply with distance rules or could simply not be rehearsed due to the restrictions.

For a few months now the dancers of Staatsballett Berlin were not able to perform nor practice together. In an earlier stage of the lockdown, we already shared a really wonderful video initiated and edited by Principal Dancer Ksenia Ovsyanick that showed the dancers performing in their homes and gardens during self-isolation. Now, a few months later, the dancers were able to leave their houses and practice again, but still not together like they were used to. Following the big success of the first video, they now released two more videos that we want to share with you here.

The Dancers from the Staatsballett Berlin Dancing From Home

by Frank | Pandemic, Theater, Videos

As you probably know we’re big fans of the Staatsballett Berlin here at iHeartBerlin. So naturally, this new video really warmed our hearts when we first saw it: Initiated and edited by Principal Dancer Ksenia Ovsyanick, 45 of the dancers recorded themself at their homes or wherever they spent their quarantine giving a little performance that seamlessly blends over from one dancer to the next as if they all danced together in unison. The result is a cute little collage of all the dancers that give us some positive vibes and smiles in these strange times. Thank you guys for that, we can’t wait to see you back on stage, hopefully soon!

HALF LIFE – Staatsballett Berlin

by Frank | Performance

LIB
Piece by Alexander Ekman

Alexander Ekman is known for his fast-paced timing, witty humour and clever staging. Since 2006, he has devoted his time to creating choreographies all across the globe. Having been fascinated by the creations of hair artist Charlie Le Mindu, especially his Chewbacca costumes which completely wrap their wearers in long hair, Alexander Ekman worked with him for the first time in LIB. The piece (referring to ‹liberation›) would not be a work by Alexander Ekman, if it would not have a humorous note, the balleri¬na’s virtuosity meets bizarre obstacles.

HALF LIFE
Dance piece by Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar
Music by Ori Lichtik

Sharon Eyal’s choreographies can be described as vibrant experiments on the border between precision and supposed excess, which seem to strike a chord with audience and dancers alike. The uncompromising Israeli choreographer has long since developed a very personal, unmistakable artistic signa¬ture and has taken the European dance stages by storm. Her piece Half Life, in the repertoire of the Staatsballett Berlin since 2018, discovers the field of tension between man and machine, collective and individual, techno and contemporary ballet. The hypnotic effect of this work is connected to the music created by Ori Lichtik during the choreographic process.

photos: Frank Schröder & Anna Agliardi

Of Strength and Liberation: Ekman & Eyal with Staatsballett Berlin

by Frank | Theater

The latest double bill by Staatsballet Berlin brings together two exceptional and unconventional choreographers: Sharon Eyal and Alexander Ekman. Both have created brand new pieces for this show that premiered earlier this month at Staatsoper Unter den Linden. If you’re expecting to see some classical ballet you will be in for a surprise, because this is anything but! We had the chance to join one of the rehearsals and take a couple of photos and GIFs for you. Don’t miss this incredible double performance. The last show of the year is tonight, with more to come in March, May and June 2020.

Plateau Effect at Staatsballett Berlin – A Radical Decision Not to Dance at the Ballet

by Claudio | Theater

Now it’s finally here: the new creative leadership of Berlin choreographer Sasha Waltz at the Staatsballett – anticipated by some and criticized by others. And the season premiere of Plateau Effect by Jefta van Dinther could not have been a more daring choice for the first piece of this new era.

The Swedish choreographer van Dinther is well known in the contemporary dance scene and has been often invited to Tanz im August and to HAU theater. His pieces are known for an emotional radicalness and for not caring about the needs and expectations of the audience. Even if his work is acclaimed by critics and the dance and art world, it is not something you would take your granny or even your parents to watch. Many of his pieces are raw, sexual, rough and often accompanied by a soundtrack you would rather hear at Berghain than in an opera house.

A Puppetry of Dark Ballet at Staatballett Berlin

by Claudio | Theater

Behind the Scenes of Staatsballett Berlin

by Claudio | Theater

photo: Jule Müller

Every big master piece that goes on stage at one of the three opera houses in Berlin should not only be credited to the director, choreographer or main dancers and singers. Behind the scenes of these huge productions numerous people work day and night to create the temporary and therefore precious magic that only performative art on stage can bring to life. Before falling in love with contemporary dance, I was passionate about classical ballet. So being able to experience the process up close behind the creation of a ballet piece by a big company like Staatsballett is something really special on a personal level. Gladly, I can now share this experience with you readers in form of a little photographic journey inside the costume workshops of the Staatsballett and into the rehearsals of the production Jewels which premiered a couple of weeks ago.

Jewels is a three part choreography by one of the biggest Russian masters of choreography who brought neoclassical ballet to the States and made it famous all over the world. According to legend, it must have been a dark winter day in the late 1960s, on which George Balanchine was swept away by sparkling jewelry that he saw in a shop window on New York’s fancy 5th Avenue. And what did the successful choreographer do? Rather than simply buying the beautiful diamonds, rubies, and emeralds he took inspiration from their splendor and created a new ballet piece which he named “Jewels”.

The costumes I could examine up close definitely reflect this very romantic (and a slightly kitschy) story. If you want to see the jewels sparkle under the bright lights of the spotlights check out our raffle for 2×2 tickets and our photo after the jump.

Dance Against Terrorism – Herrumbre at Staatsballett Berlin

by Claudio | Art, Theater

photos: Yan Revazov

Can contemporary ballet express a clear political message? How to express clear opinions of the status quo with such an abstract art form as dance? It might be a crazy challenge, but I am very glad that the new director of the Staatsballet Berlin Nacho Duato is once again going on a creative journey with the dance company to create impact on society and culture with his new piece “Herrumbre”. With it, he tries to elaborate on his own experience of the 2004 terrorist attacks in Madrid. Nacho Duato lived only a few hundred meters away from one of the four bombing locations. 2004 was also the year in which photos of tortured prisoners from the US prison camp Guantanamo went around the world.

Under these impressions, Duato decided to create a new work based on his experience with terror. In his choreography he wants to show the pain caused by terrorism and the brutality of war. With disturbing images of brutal humiliation, he wants to make us explore the darkness of our times. At the same time, he also wants his production to be a call for the respect of human dignity. After the jump we show you intimate images of the rehearsals. We are also giving away tickets for the upcoming shows.

A Secret Look into the Rehearsals of Staatsballett Berlin

by Claudio | Theater

Dance is a very important cultural element in the creative landscape of Berlin. Even though I have a stronger intellectual response to contemporary dance and more abstract body performances than to classical ballet, I do appreciate the precision, body control and beauty of ballet dancers in a well-done choreography. For myself going to see a piece of Staatsballett Berlin is somehow a guilty pleasure of visual entertainment, I recommend to everybody in need of some artistic and emotional satisfaction.

Fear, vulnerability, passion – the dark extremes of human emotions are the source of inspiration for a new program from Staatsballett Berlin. In Duato | Kylian | Naharin three international choreography stars created a dancing work of incredible power. While “Castrati” by Nacho Duato revolves around the fear of an aspiring singer before castration, Jiří Kylián’s “Petite Mort” deals with the aggressive as well as the vulnerable sides of sexuality. “Secus” is an abstract work by Ohad Naharin, based on power, extremes and raw meat.

Photographer Yan Revazov had the chance to visit the rehearsals of this intense program and took some beautiful pictures. Take a look over these powerful impressions, check out the making of video and find out how to win tickets for the upcoming shows, after the jump.

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