European Companies – Landgraf on Dance

5. August 202525. August 2025

The Art of Embarrassing Oneself

“Stravinsky in Paris” (“Farewell in Paris”/“Le Sacre du Printemps”)
State Ballet of the Gärtnerplatztheater, Munich
Forum Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg, Germany
July 30, 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

Since 1932, the city of Ludwigsburg in Baden-Württemberg has hosted an annual summer festival featuring various cultural genres. Many events are held at the Ludwigsburg Palace, a vast complex that served as the Duke of Württemberg’s residence after its completion in 1733. Munich’s State Ballet of the Gärtnerplatztheater, whose Stravinsky in Paris marked the festival’s final dance event, performed at the Ludwigsburg Forum near the palace. Last October, the Gärtnerplatztheater showed Troja (“Troy”) by the Greek-born Andonis Foniadakis on its tour to Ludwigsburg. Its display of sexist abuse was annoying. As the press praised Stravinsky in Paris as a “confetti rocket,” I was curious about its “sophisticated dance and music.”
Stravinsky in Paris, a co-production of the Gärtenerplatztheater and the Ludwigsburg Festival, recently premiered in Munich. The double bill combines Jeroen Verbruggen’s Farewell in Paris and Marco Goecke’s Le Sacre du Printemps.
The nonchalant steps of the straw-hatted men who opened Farewell to Paris seemed inspired by a blend of Broadway style and Parisian savoir vivre. In their pale pink of their blazers and pants, they seemed to belong in a little girl’s dream (costumes by Emmanuel Maria). Continue reading “The Art of Embarrassing Oneself”

27. July 20255. August 2025

Something Is Going On

“Twilight”/“Bronia”
Les Ballets de Monte Carlo
Salle Garnier Opéra de Monte-Carlo
Monte Carlo, Monaco
July 18, 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo closed the season with two new creations: Twilight by Lukáš Timulak and Bronia by Mattia Russo and Antonio de Rosa. So far, all productions I’ve seen in Monaco have been performed at the Grimaldi Forum, a modern glass and steel complex whose Salle des Princes lies below sea level. The new double bill was, however, presented at the Salle Garnier at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, which is next door to the famous casino. A miniature replica of the Paris Opera, the Salle Garnier is a red and gold Italian theater built in the Second Empire style. It was here that Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes took up residence in 1911. Until the First World War, Diaghilev’s company rehearsed, prepared new productions, and stored sets and props in Monte-Carlo. On April 9, 1911, the Ballets Russes gave its first performance, which featured Scheherazade and Giselle. On April 19th, Nijinsky and Karsavina gave their debut in Fokine’s Le Spectre de la Rose. This history was significant in the context of the recent premiere. Continue reading “Something Is Going On”

15. July 202522. July 2025

A Recap

“Malditos Benditos”
Ballet of the State Theater Nuremberg
State Theater
Nuremberg, Germany
July 10, 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

Malditos Benditos (“Damned Blessed Ones”) is Goyo Montero’s farewell piece to Nuremberg. After seventeen years as artistic director of the State Theater’s ballet company, the Spaniard will leave for the State Ballet Hanover this autumn to take up the reins Marco Goecke was forced to give up in 2023. Richard Siegal, director of the Cologne-based Ballet of Difference, will succeed Montero in Nuremberg and bring his dancers along. They will merge with their Nuremberg colleagues into the State Theater Nuremberg Ballet of Difference.
Malditos Benditos is the counterpart to Benditos Malditos, Montero’s first creation in Nuremberg in 2008. Many of the intervening twenty-five productions are reflected in Malditos Benditos. Applause blended into the medley of musical snippets and electronic noise as the black curtain rose. The black-suited dancers (costumes by Goyo Montero and Margaux Manns) bowed to the applause of an imaginary audience at the rear stage, framed by a bright red curtain. Continue reading “A Recap”

29. June 202515. July 2025

Too Bad

“Scheherazade”
Czech National Ballet
National Theatre
Prague, Czech Republic
June 21, 2025 (matinee)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

To be upfront, Mauro Bigonzetti’s new Scheherazade for the Czech National Ballet is no asset to its repertory. Its choreography is meager and the plot thin; the characters lack depth, and the digital set design is unconvincing.
Bigonzetti takes up the narrative thread where Fokine’s 1910 Scheherazade for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes ends. Zobeida, the favorite but unfaithful wife of Shahryar, the king of Persia, had died. Enraged about womanhood in general, Shahryar took revenge by killing every woman he slept with the morning after their first night together. Scheherazade, the clever daughter of his vizier, put a stop to the slaughter. The tales she narrated to the king each night (collected in the Middle Eastern folk tale, One Thousand and One Nights) softened him.
Bigonzetti portrayed the women in line for Shahryar, among them Scheherazade (Nana Nakagawa), who was ready to sacrifice herself. Continue reading “Too Bad”

26. June 202529. June 2025

Eerie

“Valerie and Her Week of Wonders”
Laterna magika
The New Stage
Prague, Czech Republic
June 20, 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

The Czech avant-garde author Vítězlav Nezval’s gothic novel, Valery and Her Week of Wonders, written in 1935 and published in 1945, has experienced a revival at home. It was first adapted for the stage in 1967, and a new production was shown in Prague only forty years later in 2008. In 2023, two Czech companies simultaneously presented stage versions of Valeria and Her Week of Wonders; the West Bohemian Theatre in Cheb (located between Karlovy Vary and the Czech/German border) and Laterna magika in Prague. I saw Laterna magika’s production.

The wonders that Nezval’s teenage heroine, Valerie, experiences during the span of one week are far from wonderful and are rather a sexually laden horror trip that torpedoes her into womanhood. Events unfold with a dream Valerie has on the night of her first menstruation. Only late in the novel does this dream verge into the realm of reality, which it soon forsakes for a Garden of Eden-like happy ending. Continue reading “Eerie”

14. June 202518. June 2025

Dancer Nominees for the Prix Benois 2025

Prix Benois de la Danse
Bolshoi Theatre (Historic Stage)
Moscow, Russia
June 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

As in 2024, the Prix Benois jury nominated thirteen dancers from eight companies for this season’s award. Of the six women and seven men, two dance in China, France, and South Africa; one dances in Kazakhstan; and six, Russia. Next Tuesday, the laureates will be announced at an award ceremony at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow.

Here’s a short overview of the nominees in alphabetical order by company name: Continue reading “Dancer Nominees for the Prix Benois 2025”

13. June 202514. June 2025

Choreographer Nominees for the Prix Benois 2025

Prix Benois de la Danse
Mukaram Avakhri, Wang Ge, Thomas Lebrun, Andrey Merkuriev, Mthuthuzeli November, Alexander Sergeev
Bolshoi Theatre (Historic Stage)
Moscow, Russia
June 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

On June 17th, the Bolshoi Theatre’s Historic Stage will host the annual Prix Benois charity gala and awards ceremony. Traditionally, laureates of previous years have performed in a gala concert on the following evening. Prizes will be awarded for the best choreographer, female dancer, and male dancer. This year’s festival will pay tribute to Yuri Grigorovich, who passed away on May 19th. Grigorovich founded the Prix Benois competition in 1991 and served as chairman of the jury, artistic director, and president.
Below is an overview of the six nominated choreographers. A report of the dancer nominees will follow. Continue reading “Choreographer Nominees for the Prix Benois 2025”

10. June 202513. June 2025

Quarrel in Hamburg

The Hamburg Ballet
Hamburg State Opera
Hamburg, Germany
June 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

After John Neumeier handed over the artistic reins of the Hamburg Ballet to Demis Volpi, a smooth transition process seemed underway. Volpi, whose career as a dancer and choreographer began in Stuttgart, was artistic director of the Ballett am Rhein when Neumeier’s successor came into question. A selection committee of eleven (including Ted Brandsen, Dutch National Ballet; Tamas Detrich, Stuttgart Ballet; Brigitte Lefèvre, Paris Opera Ballet; and Ashley Wheater, Joeffrey Ballet) recommended Volpi to the Hamburg State Opera board of directors. As it happens, he was Neumeier’s desired candidate. In 2022, the then thirty-seven-year-old Volpi was unanimously elected as Hamburg Ballet’s new artistic director as of August 2024. Continue reading “Quarrel in Hamburg”

14. April 202525. April 2025

A Farewell Triplet

“Pathétique” (“Divertimento No. 15”/“Summerspace”/“Pathétique”)
Vienna State Ballet
Vienna State Opera
Vienna, Austria
April 09, 2025 (live stream)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

Triple bills have become a trademark of the Vienna State Ballet since Martin Schläpfer took over as artistic director in 2020. The latest, Pathétique, is titled after Schläpfer’s newest and last creation. As on previous occasions, the program’s safe and well-tested base was a Balanchine followed by Cunningham’s Summerspace. Continue reading “A Farewell Triplet”

26. March 202514. April 2025

Much story, little dance

“Édith Piaf – La vie en rose”
Finnish National Ballet
Opera House
Helsinki, Finland
March 15, 2025 (video)

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

Two weeks after its world premiere, the Finnish National Ballet streamed its latest piece, Édith Piaf – La vie en rose, live on the online platform Stage 24. Sami Sykkö presented the live stream and conducted several interviews during the break. I was able to watch a recording a few days later.

Javier Torres, the company’s artistic director, assembled an entirely Finnish artistic team for Édith Piaf – La vie en rose. It is choreographer Reija Wäre’s (whose previous work stretches various genres, including opera and street dance, TV shows, and sports events) first full-length production. Composer Jukka Nykänen also has a reputation as a pianist. Jani Uljas designed the set; Erika Turunen, the costumes. Continue reading “Much story, little dance”

20. March 202526. March 2025

Family Feeling

“Dream Team” (“Jardi Tancat”/“The Blue Brides”/“Lickety-Split”/“High Moon”)
Gauthier Dance Juniors
Theaterhaus Stuttgart
Stuttgart, Germany
March 15, 2025

by Ilona Landgraf
Copyright © 2025 by Ilona Landgraf

Is it the laid-back, feel-good attitude of Eric Gauthier, director and choreographer of Gauthier Dance, that makes his company’s performances feel like family gatherings? A sense of family also unites his junior company, which was founded in 2022 and comprises six dancers (three men and three women) from Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, and Taiwan. Their latest mixed bill, Dream Team, premiered in January. It includes two podcasts that fill the breaks the performers take to change costumes. In them, Gauthier chats with his juniors and the choreographers. When talking about their group spirit, the young dancers call Gauthier their boss whereas Gauthier seems like a proud daddy.

The original title of the program (Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue—quoting a traditional English wedding rhyme that details what a bride should wear for good luck) referred to the selection of pieces. Continue reading “Family Feeling”

22. February 202512. March 2025

Human Striving

“Homage to Uwe Scholz”
Leipzig Ballet
Forum Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg, Germany
February 15, 2025

The Stuttgart-bred Uwe Scholz was in his early thirties when he became the Leipzig Ballet’s artistic director and chief choreographer in 1991. Scholz’s ballets were substantial and had depth, but the extent of his choreographic talent has been undiscovered due to his premature death in 2004. Last weekend, the Leipzig Ballet toured Homage to Uwe Scholz at the Forum Ludwigsburg. The double bill comprised two of Scholz’s symphonic pieces, Seventh Symphony, set to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 (1811-1812), and Second Symphony, set to Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 2 (1847).

For the first time, Leipzig Ballet isn’t led by a choreographer, but by artistic director Rémy Fichet. Fichet, who took the reins from Mario Schröder just this season, danced in Leipzig under Scholz and intends to keep his ballets in the repertory. However, he’s realistic. The company’s standard does not yet meet the requirements of every Scholz piece, he admitted, and the dancers will need time to hone their technique. Perhaps, Fichet can prevent Scholz’s work from sinking deeper into oblivion. Continue reading “Human Striving”

13. February 202522. February 2025

Effervescent

“The Merry Widow”
Hungarian National Ballet
Hungarian State Opera
Budapest, Hungary
February 8-9, 2025

The brisk beats that opened last Saturday’s revival of The Merry Widow at Budapest’s opera house promised a peppy performance, and the following two and a half hours delivered brio indeed. Franz Lehár composed the music in 1905 for his popular eponymous operetta, and John Launchbery and Allen Abbot were the first to edit it for the dance stage in 1974. Both worked on behalf of the British choreographer Ronald Hynd who in 1975 adapted the comic operetta into a three-act ballet for the Australian Ballet. Since then, many ballet companies have added it to their repertory. The Hungarian National Ballet premiered The Merry Widow in 2014 with new sets and costumes by the Brit Peter Docherty.

Docherty designed a long workbench stuffed with books and champagne (shadowed by a wall-sized replica of the national coat of arms) where the staff of the Pontevedrian embassy in Paris shuffled papers, boozed, and stood at attention as soon as the anthem sounded. The small Balkan state of Pontevedrian was bankrupt, but its geriatric ambassador, Baron Zeta, had a bailout plan. If his first secretary, Count Danilo Danilovitch, married the Pontevedrian millionaire’s widow, Hanna Glawari, her money would refill the state coffers. Continue reading “Effervescent”

1. February 202513. February 2025

As It Should Be

“Peter and the Wolf”
Jugendkompanie of the Ballet Academy of the Vienna State Opera
NEST (Künstlerhaus Vienna)
Vienna, Austria
January 26, 2025

Last December, the Vienna State Opera opened a new venue for its young audience in a side wing of the Künstlerhaus, around 550 yards from the Vienna State Opera. The venue was previously a home for the city’s independent companies but was rebuilt thanks to private funding and a grant from Austria’s Ministry of Education, Science, and Research. The theater’s steep auditorium ensures visibility of the stage for even the shortest audience members. Although I was told that its name, NEST, is an abbreviation of “New State Opera,” it reminded me of a bird’s nest.

Despite sunny early spring weather, last Sunday’s matinee was well attended by both children and grown-ups to see the premiere of Peter and the Wolf, Continue reading “As It Should Be”

30. January 20251. February 2025

Striking Similarities

“kaiserRequiem”
Vienna State Ballet & Volksoper Wien
Volksoper Wien
Vienna, Austria
January 25, 2025

kaiserRequiem, the Volksoper Wien’s latest premiere, is a joint production of the State Ballet Vienna and the singers, choir, and orchestra of the Volksoper. The piece intertwines the sixty-minute chamber opera Der Kaiser von Atlantis (The Emperor of Atlantis), composed by Viktor Ullmann in 1943/44, with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Requiem in D minor (K. 626). Both pieces feature death, which overtook both composers while working on them. Mozart died in December 1791 before finishing Requiem. Requiem had been commissioned, and when Mozart died, his wife, Constanze, assigned its completion to Franz Xaver Süßmayr, her husband’s former pupil. Being of Jewish parentage, Ullmann and his wife were deported to the Nazi concentration camp Theresienstadt (in today’s Czech Republic) in September 1942. It was a showpiece ghetto to promote the allegedly successful resettlement of Jews, so Theresienstadt had a department for so-called “leisure activities,” such as sports, theater, lectures, and reading. Ullmann worked there as a composer, music critic, and musical event organizer. The premiere of his opera The Emperor of Atlantis was scheduled for Theresienstadt’s stage but was canceled after the general rehearsal. Perhaps the piece’s highly political sarcasm, though subtle, did not slip the notice of the ruling powers, but that’s only speculation. Continue reading “Striking Similarities”