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| Sacha Waltz | |
|---|---|
| Name | Sacha Waltz |
| Birth date | 1971 |
| Birth place | Strasbourg, France |
| Nationality | German |
| Occupation | Choreographer, dancer, director |
| Years active | 1990s–present |
Sacha Waltz Sacha Waltz is a German choreographer, director and dancer known for contemporary dance, site-specific performance and opera direction. Trained in Strasbourg, Berlin and Paris, Waltz emerged through collaborations with leading institutions and artists across Europe and North America, developing an international reputation via festivals, theatres and biennales.
Born in Strasbourg, Waltz studied classical and contemporary dance in institutions associated with Strasbourg, Berlin, Paris, Munich, and Frankfurt am Main. Her formative training included programs linked to the Palais Garnier, Komische Oper Berlin, Staatsoper Berlin, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and conservatoires connected to Conservatoire de Paris and the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln. Early mentors and influences included faculty from the Folkwang University of the Arts, alumni of the Paris Opera Ballet, and guest teachers from the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance, the Merce Cunningham Trust, and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
Waltz founded a company in the 1990s that performed at venues such as the Volksbühne Berlin, Schaubühne, Berliner Ensemble, Theater am Neumarkt, Théâtre de la Ville, and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. She has held positions with the Staatsoper Stuttgart, the Komische Oper Berlin, the Bayerische Staatsoper, and worked on commissions for the Royal Opera House, Teatro alla Scala, Opéra National de Paris, De Nationale Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. Waltz directed productions presented at festivals including the Avignon Festival, Festival d'Automne à Paris, Salzburg Festival, Venice Biennale, Biennale di Venezia, and the Holland Festival.
Her repertoire encompasses stage pieces staged at the Schauspielhaus Zürich, the Hamburger Staatsoper, Théâtre du Châtelet, Komische Oper Berlin, and site-specific works for locations such as the Berliner Dom, Museum Island, Tate Modern, and the Pompidou Centre. Notable choreographies were created for companies including the Batsheva Dance Company, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Cie Marie Chouinard, Hofesh Shechter Company, Mikhailovsky Theatre, Stuttgart Ballet, and the Royal Danish Ballet. She also produced work for events like the Documenta exhibitions, the Berlin International Film Festival, and the Munich Biennale.
Waltz has collaborated with composers and musicians from institutions such as the Berlin Philharmonic, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. She worked with conductors including Daniel Barenboim, Simon Rattle, Riccardo Muti, Zubin Mehta, and Valery Gergiev and designers associated with Alexander McQueen, Issey Miyake, Yves Saint Laurent, and Vivienne Westwood. Collaborators across media include filmmakers from the Cannes Film Festival, visual artists from the Tate Modern, and architects linked to OMA, Herzog & de Meuron, and Zaha Hadid Architects.
Waltz received prizes and fellowships from the German Critics' Prize, the Bavarian Theatre Prize, the Thalia Theater Prize, the Kunstpreis Berlin, and European grants administered by the European Cultural Foundation and the Creative Europe program. Her productions were nominated for awards at the Laurence Olivier Awards, the Prix Benois de la Danse, the International Opera Awards, and honored at the Golden Mask festival and the International Theatre Institute recognitions.
Her aesthetic integrates approaches traceable to choreographers and institutions such as Pina Bausch, William Forsythe, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham, and Trisha Brown. The cross-disciplinary practice engages techniques from Butoh performers, site-specific traditions associated with Jan Fabre, and dramaturgy influenced by playwrights staged at the Théâtre du Rond-Point, Berliner Ensemble, and Schauspielhaus Zürich. Her staging often references scenography trends from Robert Wilson, lighting approaches linked to James F. Ingalls, and multimedia strategies seen in productions at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Lincoln Center.
Waltz maintains residences and studio practice in Berlin, Paris, and occasional bases in Rome and New York City. Her pedagogical activities include workshops and masterclasses at institutions like the Juilliard School, Juilliard, The Laban Centre, Codarts, Palace of Versailles educational programs, and guest professorships at the University of the Arts Berlin and Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln. Her legacy is visible in contemporary choreography curricula at conservatoires such as the Conservatoire de Paris, influence on emerging companies presented at the ImPulsTanz Vienna International Dance Festival, and the ongoing citation of her methods in journals associated with the International Theatre Institute and the Theatre Communications Group.
Category:German choreographers Category:Contemporary dancers