GAUTHIER DANCE gauthier dance (Germany)
28 sept (mon) 20:00, national opera and ballet

Gauthier Dance present a show of seven miniatures;

Pression is a fascinating game of contrasts. It brings together two completely different pieces of music – the first (Pression) is from the 60’s, written by Helmut Lachenmann, who, following his earlier involvement with pointillism and structuralism, has moved on to a determined analysis of the substantive quality of sound itself; the second (Death and the Maiden) is that famous, much loved piece brimming with emotional significance and feeling that has inspired so many choreographic interpretations. Against that background Mauro Bigonzetti – with his highly expressive, sculptural choreography – puts two men and two women on an empty stage in an an electrifying pas-de-quatre between the sexes.
18 min

Ballet 101 is Eric Gauthier’s humorous “crash course” in classical ballet. Using the basic five positions as his starting point, he creates 100 positions with tongue-in-cheek references to famous ballets and choreographers, leading up to the surprise ending.
solo, 8 min

Björk Duets. To the somewhat wild, bizarre and, at the same time, moving songs of the Icelandic singer Björk, Gauthier explores the subject of relationships.
9 min

PAUSE

Solo. Dutch choreographer Hans van Manen choreographed this sparkling gem for three male dancers to Johann Sebastian Bach’s lively partita for solo violin. Avoiding big jumps and spectacular turns, van Manen nonetheless challenges the dancers with hundreds of tiny, precise steps, a breathtaking pace and a sublime musicality which leaves the audience with the intoxicating feeling of having drunk a glass of good champagne.
8 min

Air Guitar is Eric Gauthier’s humorous homage to his favorite instrument. In 1996 18-year-old Gauthier came to Stuttgart, Germany, from Montreal to join the Stuttgart Ballet. He spoke no German and knew no one in the city. After his rehearsals in the theater, he spent his time with his guitar, practicing and writing songs. In 2001, parallel to his dancing career, he founded a band for which he writes the music and lyrics, sings and plays guitar. The band has released two CDs and has become a permanent fixture in the rock and pop scene in Stuttgart. About the world premiere of Air Guitar in 2007 for the Noverre Society’s “Young Choreographers” program, Tanznetz wrote: “Eric Gauthier is bound to go down in ballet history as the inventor of the cabaret-ballet… [his] ballet satires are a wonderful enrichment of this usually much too serious genre.”
8 min, solo

The Sofa is a short but hilarious excerpt from the evening-length work Through Nana’s Eyes by Israeli choreographer Itzik Galili. He creates a romp for two dancers,which takes one surprising turn after another. To Tom Waits raw, smoky voice, the dancers pull out all the stops and inevitably bring the house down.
6 min

Susto by Paul Lightfoot and Sol León reflects the current Dutch dance aesthetic, with a pinch of British humor (Lightfoot) and a shot of Spanish temperament (León). It‘s central theme is time: time which is running out, time which we can‘t stop, time as something precious and valuable. The piece is also a tongue-in-cheek commentary about the brevity of a dancer’s career – ironically meant in the case of the “senior” dancers for whom the work was created in 1994, but just as applicable for the young dancers in the 2006 revised version, who – like all dancers – are in a race against time and want to (and must) dance as much as possible in as short a time as possible. The impression of time running out – the inescapable fate which awaits us all – is enhanced by Beethoven’s frenetic, driving music.
12 min

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Gauthier Dance is a young and dynamic company of highly individual, versatile dancers, directed by the dancer, choreographer and musician Eric Gauthier. As the Resident Dance Company of the Theaterhaus Stuttgart, Gauthier Dance presents exciting contemporary dance by Gauthier and internationally acclaimed choreographers such as Mauro Bigonzetti, Itzik Galili, Paul Lightfoot/Sol Léon, Hans van Manen and Charles Moulton.
One of Mr. Gauthier’s primary goals is to present and create content-oriented dance, which will move, disturb, elate or inspire even audiences experiencing their first encounter with contemporary dance. (See for instance Eclipse – a Transformers-meets-House-of-Flying-Daggers action-ballet about two species which meet on a faraway planet.) Gauthier Dance Mobile is the next step in that direction – an extensive educational and community outreach program, which literally mobilizes dance, takes it out of the theater and brings it into new spaces and to new or disadvantaged audiences – schools, community centers, retirement homes, rehabilitation centers for people with physical or mental disabilities.

Eric Gauthier was born in Montreal, Canada. He received his initial ballet training at the school of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in his hometown and subsequently studied at the National Ballet School in Toronto, where he also received music and voice lessons. In 1995 he became an apprentice with the National Ballet of Canada under the artistic direction of Reid Anderson. When Reid Anderson was appointed Director of the Stuttgart Ballet in 1996, he invited Eric Gauthier to come to Stuttgart with him as a member of the corps de ballet. In 2000 Eric Gauthier was named demi-soloist, and in 2002 he was promoted to Soloist.
In Stuttgart Gauthier danced many classical and neo-classical roles, but it was his abilities as a contemporary dancer, which were instantly noted by every choreographer who worked with the Stuttgart Ballet between 1996 and 2006. For ten years, Eric Gauthier danced in almost every world or company premiere and worked with an impressive roster of internationally acclaimed choreographers. He especially made a name for himself as an outstanding interpreter of the works of William Forsythe, dancing five of his ballets and working often with the American choreographer both in Stuttgart and in Frankfurt.
During his time in Stuttgart, Gauthier also inspired a number of choreographers to create roles for him, most especially Christian Spuck, resident choreographer of the Stuttgart Ballet. Other choreographers who have created roles for Eri Gauthier include Mauro Bigonzetti, Itzik Galili, Kevin O’Day, Marguerite Donlon, Daniela Kurz, Dominique Dumais, Nicolo Fonte, Matjash Mrozewski, Douglas Lee, Marc Spradling, James Sutherland, Pascal Touzeau and Trey McIntyre.
In 2005 Gauthier made his debut as a choreographer in the famous “Young Choreographers” program of the Stuttgart-based Noverre Society. In 2006 he was invited back and created Ballet 101, which won the Critics as well as Audience Prizes at the 21-st International Choreographic Competition in Hannover, Germany.
Since October 2007, Eric Gauthier is director and choreographer of Gauthier Dance. The company premiered in January 2008 to unanimous critical praise and 18 sold out performances with two world premieres by Gauthier as well as works by Itzik Galili, Paul Lightfoot/Sol Léon and Charles Moulton.

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Gauthier Dance
Gauthier Dance
Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart
in co-production with Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg
in co-operation with Schauburg Munich

Pression
choreography: Mauro Bigonzetti
music: Helmut Lachenmann, Pression; Franz Schubert, excerpts from Der Tod und das Mädchen
costumes: Kristopher Millar & Lois Swandale

Ballet 101
choreography: Eric Gauthier
music: Jens Peter Abele
world premiere: 2006, Noverre-Gesellschaft Stuttgart

Björk Duets
choreography: Eric Gauthier
music: Björk
lighting: Mario Daszenies
costumes: Marianne Illig, Eric Gauthier

Solo
choreography: Hans van Manen
music: Johann Sebastian Bach, Partita Nr. 1 for Solo Violin
set and costumes: Keso Dekker

Air Guitar
choreography: Eric Gauthier
music: Jens-Peter Abele
costumes and lighting: Eric Gauthier

The Sofa
excerpt from Through Nana’s Eyes
choreography: Itzik Gallili
music: Tom Waits
costumes: Natasja Lansen
set: Janco van Barneveld

Susto
choreography: Paul Lightfoot/Sol León
music: Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony Nr. 5 in c-minor, Opus 67, First Movement
set and costumes: Paul Lightfoot/Sol León
lighting: Tom Bevoort
world premiere: Nederlands Dans Theater III, 1994
revised version : Introdans, 2006

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