Forsythe is a legendary choreographer, revered worldwide as one of the most creative innovators of the ballet tradition. Since the 1970s, he has revolutionised dance by intelligently developing academic ballet in a way that frees the human body from its predetermined corset and broadens choreographic expression in unprecedented ways. Many of William Forsythe’s virtuoso compositions have long become modern classics. In this homage, the Staatsballett will perform three groundbreaking pieces by the American choreographer. Approximate Sonata 2016 is a series of pas de deux, offering the performers the opportunity to mutually craft finely differentiated nuances within a choreographic structure whose forms are frequently difficult to sustain. The performers have a balanced agency in determining the dynamic outcome of these forms, striving to accommodate the choices the other is making in order to advance each other’s intentions. For all the hazardous torrent of dancers moving relentlessly around metal tables, One Flat Thing, reproduced (2000) is actually a purposeful chapter in ongoing research into the visual distribution of contrapuntal balletic structure. The work is set up as a linked ‹machinery› that is created through the interaction of three systems of organization: numerous individual movement themes, a dense system of distributed cueing and complex alignments of forms and/or movement flow. Although the dancer’s field of action is seriously delimited, the unyielding maze of tables also offers the unusual possibility of composing interrelated action on three levels. Blake Works I , staged for the Paris Opera Ballet in 2016, was the first work created in the classical idiom after a hiatus from ballet of more than 17 years. The work deploys a distinctly historical approach to the genre, versus the analytical approach used in a majority of the previous ballet oriented works. Blake Works I radiates an affection for the language of ballet, and even revives several iconic fragments from works of the genre’s great practitioners that had been deeply influential during formative years. The work’s vocabulary is grounded in the French school and makes use of several of the demanding intricacies of that particular style.

Artists/Collaborators: William Forsythe (Choreographie), William Forsythe (Choreographie), Thom Willems (Musik), William Forsythe (Bühne und Licht), Stephen Galloway (Kostüme), Stefanie Arndt (Einstudierung), Thierry Guiderdoni (Einstudierung), Tanja Rühl (Bühnen- und Lichteinrichtung), Niels Lanz (Toneinrichtung), Thom Willems (Musik), Niels Mudde (live aufgeführt von), William Forsythe (Bühne und Licht), Stephen Galloway (Kostüme), Thierry Guiderdoni (Einstudierung), Ayman Harper (Einstudierung), Tanja Rühl (Bühnen- und Lichteinrichtung), Niels Mudde (Toneinrichtung), William Forsythe (Choreographie), James Blake (Musik), William Forsythe (Bühne), Tanja Rühl (Licht), Dorothee Merg (Kostüme), William Forsythe (Kostüme), Stefanie Arndt (Einstudierung), Ayman Harper (Einstudierung), Yannick Sempey (Einstudierung), Tanja Rühl (Bühnen- und Lichteinrichtung), Niels Lanz (Toneinrichtung), Tänzer*innen des Staatsballetts Berlin, George Susman, Chloe Capulong, Erick Swolkin, N.N., Alizée Sicre, Cameron Hunter, Maria Boumpouli, Lewis Turner, Emma Antrobus, Achille De Groeve, Alexei Orlenco, Michelle Willems, Loïck Pireaux, Shaked Heller, Michelle Willems, Matthew Knight, Aurora Dickie, Jan Casier, Polina Semionova, Gregor Glocke, Weronika Frodyma

Runtime: Fri, 24/01/2025 to Fri, 25/04/2025

Alternative events

Swan Lake

Dance
Ballett

Tchaikovsky's wing-flapping birds with their feather-light, swaying costumes, breathtaking lace art and the exhilarating images of the corps de ballet: moreabout: Swan Lake

Next date:: Schwanensee - International Festival Ballet & Festival Orchestra
Date:: Friday, 24/January/2025 19:00
Venue:: Theater am Potsdamer Platz
Address:: Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 1, 10785 Berlin-Tiergarten
Price:: from €39.20

Order online

Hush

Dance

Hush oscillates between a dance performance and a pop concert: here, the dancers become musicians and the musicians become dancers. Delicate guitar spins drive the performers into each other’s arms while their bodies move to the rhythm of the music. The... moreabout: Hush

Date:: Friday, 24/January/2025 19:00 (1 more date)
Venue:: Uferstudios - Uferstudio 14
Address:: Uferstraße 23, 13357 Berlin-Wedding
Price:: from €13.00

Order online

©Andriy Bezuglov - stock.adobe.com

RAYNE&CEREMONY: For All Intents and Purposes... I’m Somebody, SOMEBODY!

Dance

A physical and metaphorical race against time: Three performers navigate a world that values productivity above all else. The tyranny of time becomes a force of constraint and urgency, amplifying the stakes of the performers’ pursuit of autonomy in a... moreabout: RAYNE&CEREMONY: For All Intents and Purposes... I’m Somebody, SOMEBODY!

Date:: Friday, 24/January/2025 19:00
Venue:: Sophiensaele - Kantine
Address:: Sophienstraße 18, 10178 Berlin-Mitte
Price:: from €15.00

Order online

Nulle part est un endroit / Nowhere is a place

Dance

With rousing enthusiasm, expressive images and infectious dance sequences, “Nowhere is a place” is a tribute to the dance style of krumping. Krump originated in the Afro-American community of Los Angeles in the early 1990s as a form of danced resistance... moreabout: Nulle part est un endroit / Nowhere is a place

Next date:: Nulle part est un endroit / Nirgendwo ist ein Ort
Date:: Friday, 24/January/2025 19:00 (1 more date)
Venue:: Hebbel am Ufer - HAU3
Address:: Tempelhofer Ufer 10, 10963 Berlin-Kreuzberg
Price:: from €17.00

Order online

RAUM · ZEIT

Dance

A constellation of white spheres rotates, hangs, rolls, expands and falls together. They float in space like a system of planets. In the dance of these elements, a body moves with restless purpose, searching for stillness and balance in a space that never... moreabout: RAUM · ZEIT