In the early 1990 s. Left new york for a newly unified burlesque since then has had one success after the other we set down with the energetic choreographer to talk about her rise from the french to major opera houses and her next job as courtis to director of the berlin state ballet. Performance was used to your company 25 years ago with your hands on could you ever have imagined the International Success youve had since. Nonce untied annoyances enough tonight in 93 after the fall of the berlin wall and shortly after unification the Central District of mr it was a place of seemingly endless opportunities. Opened a venue in this of 3 s. And 1996. Before that when. Well like nomads wandering from one industrial space to the next and each time we started up a nice change here as there is in fact i found and found from the outset we toured internationally we toured the u. S. And our 2nd of february we traveled to india and toured a lot in europe peeling off. So right from the start travelling was part of our identity it was our aspiration and our concept of those. Scenes up on our also said such that nestles as us that we wanted to build bridges with our art and take it to different audiences to countries and cultures that also inspire our work. For the year in so in that respect our life today isnt all that different than it was 25 years ago and its unseemly and gets. Us us. Was its our. Sophie and zillah emitter once hosted meetings of left wing revolutionaries later it was used by the nazis then it was a fear workshop with its dilapidated charm and checkered history it was the perfect setting for a stash of arts is breakthrough production. And offbeat provocative production part of a trilogy on the absurdities of domestic life the Company Research for months in communist era housing complexes. Initially of arts danced along with her ensemble but she was always striving for new forms of expression and cooperation with other artists for her dance alone was never enough. Its up last minute i know. 107. 00 i began downs lessons with one teacher i started taking classes from the age of 5 and the teacher i was with the age of 12 had studied under mary whitman so i have a very very deep connection to german expressionist stance kind i just got up but it didnt really influence my decision to start dancing professionally because at the time i wanted to pursue a career in the visual arts or perhaps it was only through my discovery of post modern dance and contact improvise ation and all of these a consciousness techniques that i developed an interest in studying dont. This and. Intricate studio in the life you generally dont produce strictly narrative pieces its not Dance Theatre which some critics hold against you they say your work is to associate ivar cereal. Are you bothered by such criticism that isnt the critic. Come it out on because acknowledged to be honest i cant remember reading such reviews normally i dont read reviews anyway. That i think of on their air ferial dimension that is accessed through association is very important to me and in our communication with the audience we call them bus i live in thats purely one dimensional where youre saying just one thing and everyone understands the same thing i find that boring. Through. It has to be something that speaks to each individual in a unique way. Eden the touch of something deep down in each person and the audience. But it has to be entirely free. Of us with dance highs thats when the work becomes profound as it does when it touches on the mystery inside you or that the money is gone and that doesnt happen if youre simply telling a linear story that money out of the system. That. Developed one of her most significant productions carper during her 5 year stint as co artistic director of berlins shall be in a theater its an exploration of anatomy that delves into every aspect of the human body. Time and again the company conjures images that sear themselves into the viewers memory like a nightmare. At the same time vult isnt afraid of venturing into more abstract territory in her piece and she takes dance back to its origins in ceremonial rituals. Early works well wild her later choreography still more crafted for crowd tour she transforms dancers into animalistic creatures and explore social issues like power and helplessness freedom and control. Your mother was a gallery astin your father an architect so you may have inherited your talent for strong visuals from the one side but space has also always played a key role in your work its very central. What do you look for in a space could you imagine staging a production for example at the building site of berlins new international airport. Solution. Youre outpost and sing to us all spawn daughter in the ass Building Size are certainly intriguing spaces and weve often rehearsed a building site which is the Jewish Museum had only just been completed it was still empty when the collection hadnt yet been installed and the boys had usually we perform at that intermediary moment before the space assumes the function it was designed for so before the exhibit moves in. An author lets get exciting because its really a moment that breathes life into a space its a real integration. By that i came really clear to me with our work for balance noir snoozy on the heart of their space had this Incredible Energy that had been abandoned for so long and then undergone 12 years of reconstruction. On the spot so it was intriguing for me to envision what it would become and to awaken afterlife with darts past as i know that one does tensors. Only as a must be for example we focused on the cult of the dead in a room that would display the past of queen efforts. The nice ones in house as a larger gyptian collection and thats why i did a lot of research on ancient egypt if. You want so it also says inspiration not just the building in the architecture such its the site in its entirety that shows me how to put a space and motion that all done in the walls at the me i am 2013 the company was invited to call carter then calcutta to cap year of Cultural Exchange between india and germany off the production was staged in the courtyard in wings of an old private palace dating from colonial times. Such abouts collaborated on a project with the indian choreographer apart miniature tour and her ensemble. I am. Sons that was out of the project in calcutta i was very unusual it was an old palace so naturally a different way of telling stories a marriage because the rooms had simply been sealed off and there was this life that had taken place previously as have time it stood still like a fairy tale when everyones fallen into a deep sleep and time goes on and the pictures on the malls fade to black and dust settles everywhere to papers and the bed it was really a very interesting experience. Having noise all across the uk without because weve coined a new genre the choreographic opera it incorporates elements of contemporary dance into operatic Stage Productions but it treats all parts as equals their music the dancers the singers in all immersing art form what appeals to you about working on the stages of major opera houses and institutions. First in your thoughts. And then. It was a great experience for me to be able to choreograph a body of people as a whole i and then of course in court. So its not about the dancers and a choir and some lists anymore but about the group. Becomes an entity and you cant really identify who is telling what all and i extended that idea and began working with orchestras so that they also start moving start dancing so that the orchestra would also become one body once you can achieve an amazing dynamic in a room where sound literally moves. Then clung cease. Fire. Many of the worlds major opera houses were now open to her parents tokyo and berlin. But. She would oversee the entire stage production managing to transform even the unwieldy medium of opera and give it her own signature. You said you often look for female protagonists in opera to medea was one of those how did you deal with her character. She is usually condemned as the barbaric child murderer. In. The production coincided with the case of a mother here in germany who was on trial for murdering her children what approach did you take for the piece medea. Its been this i think theres been a c. S. Bond think well i think shes a very interesting character but shes also very ambivalent i wanted to take time to think about her intensively without judging you but i will by now just imagine at one point as a woman capable of killing her children what extreme pain or despair do you have to experience to reach that point as a block so they think high point of hall. I found it very difficult to put myself in that position and direct the production. Alight and of course i had to imagine it and be part of it which at times was unbearable. Its a few and it was really hard to give myself over to us what. Sponges. Clients would be. Midair is one of the best known characters in greek mythology she famously helped jason in the argonauts retrieve the Golden Fleece jason binn married her only to later leave her for another woman the daughter of the king crayon medea took revenge by killing crayon his daughter and her own 2 children to eat. In this production the children of the archibald and her husband york in zandi were part of the cast further intensifying the emotions felt by their mother. For the kenosis and for the children it was like playing it was a great experience for them they learned all the songs and the wonderful thing about theatre is that it is a lot like playing we play day and then we all get up again. But again the no mark with your children more often with you during productions and while travelling or on tour and the dentures were with you to. Read up by it was like one big family for you and also for me if you sit down with a. Babysitter and the tourist i always had babysitters with me. But they did spend a lot of time with the dancers during rehearsals for. Intense and and when they were dancing too they were just part of the cast they didnt get any special supervision oil or and i always tried to have them with me. I never forced them to come so i always asked if thats what they wanted one but i just wouldnt see enough of the children otherwise because we spent a lot of time working and at the theaters and were often out in the evening. Out of obviously weve tried to strike a balance. But fortunately both the children love dancing and singing and going to the theater and playing theater. So it seems that passion has been passed on to them. Is that like shaft but harden you invested a lot of time in promoting young talent start you have the childrens dance company. Parent company youve also been involved in dance in schools how important is that to you. The this this is. Yeah this is. My interest in children stands i actually came with my 1st child last larry else it lasted all i got on a workshop at a school and it grew from there and thats what he loved and it helped i found it more and more interesting as i realised how important down to this particularly for children approaching puberty and then couple interacting with other peoples bodies with their own body and their own selfimage stuff because youre very much confronted with yourself unless process because youre working in a group lance if you learn a lot about Group Dynamics you get a new spatial awareness how do i move within a room how do i stand in relation to somebody else im at least likely a great help in everyday life its not that Everyone Needs to become a dancer its about learning to live in your own body to feel your body and to feel at home when your body. Is. The whole thing. If you ever let the. Last year you yourself dance to go. And here at the ready as is tim for the project to her and. Do you miss dancing would you like to do it more often again one of the fans. On the i love dancing on stage but i cant do both if im choreographing a big piece i cant be on stage myself as wow thats just the way it is but if i can dance for special projects now and then im happy. With a book its been. One of those special projects superman or listen it offers dancers and artists from various parts of the world scope to interact and explore current political and social issues through art an opportunity for the shovels to explore and improvise to. Get them is to get the word to them he said you know passing on a growing number of pieces to outside Companies Including some abroad where your dancers oversee the rehearsals and if there is this an opportunity to release the ensemble to work independently of you align our bad work and. Yes this is a new branch of my work you could say. I think its good for experienced dancers to pass on what i know and that these compositions continue to live on and the Younger Generation feel it inside but many dancers who pass on whats continue to dance themselves i think its good to give others the opportunity to be involved but it becomes like a whole new production if i think you just passing something on but thats not actually the case i think that its like an hour but this is our county. I usually do a workshop of the dancers where i go through the entire pin. As its intended with all the moves so that i know what its all about. These boys and it intends and thats not just that i cant do that a lot but its exciting to pass something on and watch it take on a new life and to remain in this done noyce league called. In the spring of this year the day after the live veal in lisbon performs national bounces piece to. The dancer spent 5 weeks rehearsing and thats about sven turned up to add the finishing touches. To of her experience dancers had overseen all the rehearsals. From israel. And cloudier show others from portugal. It was their job to help the dancers find their own style rather than just copying certain moves suddenly the 2 were working as equals alongside their longstanding boss i think its working relation of many years and the personal relation also you know so. Yeah. I think in that case gives a lot of trust like she gave her responsibility to hand over the piece and she gives a trust and also we have been working with them for 5 weeks so we can actually we know them better than her in this situation so its a its a good thing that we still stay. In communication with each other for certain things i mean then some things she comes and she wants to bring it from the outside more her own. On the sensations and smell and to put something on top of what we brought but its its a long time collaboration so we are communicating in a very natural way that clearly. My so i still see things differently sometimes and i pass on the specific details that are important to me. But i know that the dancers ive chosen are very precise and that i can trust them and so far its worked very well touch wood and theres been no problems its been i enjoy being able to let go and step back a bit and the piece takes on a life of a time and its not a fixed creation rose and moves away from that back. When we have. Lets talk about your new production exodus which you did for the 25th anniversary of your dance company. X. That was exodus from the greek both in the sense of departure and escape what led you to this idea. That had. I was big and it was this idea of fleeing from more escaping from something finding a way out that obviously we associated on the one hand with the bible and the exodus of the israel lights from egypt. But when youre in greece for example you see it written in every subway station many clubs and bars have adopted the name exodus. That fascinated me and thats often. On the one hand. You have this idea of a group thats running away their corporate fleet leaving one place and moving somewhere else or when. You see it on this and i other this process that takes place more in the mind. As often coupled with all step part of your body into another dimension and to this techno trance or ecstasy patient comes up in all that test no it just gets very much about a Group Experience it includes going to and past the point of exhaustion with the audience. And so thats like a journey to. A journey that last 2 and a half hours involving captivity then finding a way out and escaping it raises questions such as what were fleeing from and where to exodus is intense and heavy going and for now at least it will be the last production that sasha about stages with her company. She will remain the official director but she will leave the body as is damn it will continue as a production and performance venue for the company but she now has a new position shell become the 1st woman to head up the highly traditional berlin state ballet. Finals once in 2019 youll take over as artistic director of the berlin state ballet alongside your highness ermine are you excited maybe a bit apprehensive. Now theres no cause theyre also wrong to start taking on the state ballet as certainly a major challenge so ive been preparing for it for 2 and a half or nearly 3 years i think. Its a very long process and yes i want to actually start a job until 2019 common. There were initially huge protests over the decision to appoint a contemporary choreographer to codirector state ballet the traditional dancers were not happy with that of art had actually worked with the state ballet before writing a solo piece for its former artistic director of la to me a malakoff to great acclaim. These angry protests have now seen just. One thing is clear taking over the state ballet is a stash of oxes biggest breakthrough to date and a huge challenge. For them tons not qualify i think its a great opportunity for dance in general to explore these extreme positions classify let booklets books are on the one hand to really preserve classical ballet and the whole history and to stage classical productions that are very high level because one of the islands i dont they have a hand to have contemporary choreographies with a contemporary language with all that darius easy to shoot least in all the different ways of using the body. Again and so creation ensemble that is capable of working with both these extremists. Is extreme or its definitely a fascinating project. So this isnt into some act of. Written gather enough from id like to end by asking you what comes to mind when i say. Borders. Do you have also the challenges we face today yet you know your reality to be as free as children now again. Our brains. Tranquillity to learning so quickly i dont know 90 percent or 95 percent of the top class. Good. Good. Good. Good good. Good. Good. Good shape. Most people have a lot to look forward to. Thats when youre diagnosed with cancer everythings on hold. Dr carsten like good job talks to young people who are fighting back. And will learn about the latest developments in cancer treatment. Next on d w. One a delicate mission in the holy land. Wolfgang schmitz. Hes the provost the highest representative of germanys Protestant Church in jerusalem. What can you achieve in a region torn by conflict how does he cope with the pressures of his job. Provost in jerusalem. In 30 minutes on t w. Where i come from we have to fight for a free press i was born and raised in a military dictatorship but just want to shadow and if you newspapers when official information has attorneys i have work off the streets of many cameras and their problems are always the same forward to social inequality a lack of the freedom. The press and corruption we can afford to stay silent when it comes to the fans of the humans and see them why the folds who have decided to put their trust in us. My name is Jenny Harrison i work at. It. Hello and welcome to in good shape its summer time in berlin but todays show is not about ice cream its about cancer but dont be afraid. And always deadly life will. Be in good shape meats and so love and hockey