On stage but icon to both thats just the way it is. But if i can dance the special projects now and that im happy. In the early 1990 s. Left new york for a newly reunified berlin 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 co. Artistic director of the berlin state ballet. Performance was used to your company 25 years ago with your hands andy could you ever have imagined the International Success youve had since africa. Nonce entire noises and after in 1903 after the fall of the berlin wall and shortly after unification the Central District of measure was a place of seemingly endless opportunities. We any opened of anyone this ophelia 3 years later in 1906. Before that we were like nomads wandering from one industrial space to the next and each time we started up a nice cheer as a reason for life and fun from the outset we toured internationally we toured the u. S. In our 2nd or 3rd year we traveled to india and toured a lot in europe peeling off. So right from the start traveling was part of our identity it was our aspiration and our concept. Of also says 1st then theres a little thing 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. Isnt the only one gets. Us us. Was it. Softens a limiter once hosted meetings of left wing revolutionaries later it was used by the nazis then it was a feeler workshop with its dilapidated charm and checkered history it was the perfect setting for such about this breakthrough production. An 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. Ask mine that i. Tense up 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 dance 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 kept as 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 Health System in the my family 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 serial. Are you bothered by such criticism i got isnt the critic then. Come with that one else because i used to be honest i cant remember reading such reviews and normally i dont read reviews anyway. I sit on their air ferial dimension that is accessed through association is very important to me and in our communication with. The audience then bus and i think thats purely one dimensional way of 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. That touches something deep down and each person in the audience. But it has to be entirely free. Of us with dance cries thats when the work becomes profound as it does when it touches on the mystery inside you. And that doesnt happen if youre simply telling a linear story. Involves developed one of the most significant productions carper during her 5 year stint as courtis to 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 vault isnt afraid of venturing into more abstract territory in her piece from when she takes dance back to its origins in ceremonial rituals. While her early works were wild her later choreography is still more crafted for a 3 hour 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 through coffin solution. Your outpost and why. All spiled author and yes Building Sites are certainly intriguing spaces and weve often rehearsed Building Sites it 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 then spun off by this 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 berlin as noiselessly on. How to off the space have 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 at a life of dance as i know the art one does tensors so its ultimately as a device that for example we focused on the cult of the dead in a room that would display the past of queen africa. The noise in the same house as a larger gyptian collection and thats why i did a lot of research on ancient egypt. On and so it also gives as inspiration not just the building and the architecture as such its the site in its entirety that shows me how to put a space and motion that all done with 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. About collaborated on a project with the indian choreographer apart manager tour and her ensemble. I 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. Family noises all across europe without calling to a new genre the choreographic opera it incorporates elements of contemporary dance into operatic Stage Productions but it treats all parts as equals the 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. For theatre. For misfires and then 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 the choir and some lists anymore but about the group. Becomes an entity and you cant really identify who was doing was 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 and a room where sound literally moves. Then clung this. Is the the arab. League. Many of the worlds major opera houses were now open to her in paris tokyo and berlin. She would oversee the entire stage production managing to transform even the unwieldy medium of opera and give it her own signature. Is that. You said you often look for female protagonists in opera to do was one of those how did you deal with her character as im going to think shes 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. If in this i thin isnt 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. Just imagine at what 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. So they since high point. I found it very difficult to put myself in that position and direct the production. Of course i had to imagine it and be part of it which at times was unbearable. Theres heaps of food and as a sniff it was really hard to give myself over to us. As. Clients. Midair is one of the best known characters in greek mythology she famously helped jason and the argonauts retrieve the Golden Fleece jason binn marry her only to later leave her for another woman the daughter of the king crayon midhir took revenge by killing crayon his daughter and her own 2 children to. The end. In this production the children of the shovels 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 it is that it is a lot like playing we play dead and then we all get up again. But again unlike with your children more often with you during productions and while traveling or on tour and the dentures were with you to. Read up by it was like one big family for you it was a for me it was it then to be a visitor an artist i always had babysitters with me. But they just spend a lot of time with the dancers during rehearsals. With intensity and when they were dancing too they were just part of the cast they didnt get any special supervision oil on and i always tried to have them with me. I never forced them to come by 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 under the theatres 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 for yet or. So it seems that passion has been passed on to them. Is their lives after but harden you have invested a lot of time in promoting young talent start you have the childrens dance company. Times company youve also been involved in dance in schools how important is that to you. This is in the. Yeah this is. My interest in children stance actually came with my 1st child last night. After last all i got on a workshop at a school and it grew from there thats what they love life and they couldnt have 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 bodies their own selfimage is it because youre very much confronted with yourself and less 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. Actually 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. Is that. Last year you yourself danced again here at the ready as this team for the project to her and. To you mr insync would you like to do it more often again of the thought. Of the i love dancing on stage but i cant do both if im choreographing a big piece i cant be on stage myself as well thats just the way it is but if i can dance for special projects now and then im happy. With a book its been really. 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 azhar siobhans to explore and improvise to. At the moment took at the hooters on his 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 they know and that these compositions continue to live on and the Younger Generation feel it and said but many dancers who pass on walks continue to dance themselves i think its good to give others the opportunity to be involved but it becomes like a whole new production you think you just passing something on but thats not actually the case things sort of like a new workout is i work on it is one of my life i usually do a workshop with the dancers or i go through the entire piece as its intended with all the moves so that i know what its all about. Boys in 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 on the scene because that noise laden called. In the spring of this year the tattle of veal in lisbon perform disaster about this piece to. The dancer spent 5 weeks rehearsing that 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 a 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 to still stay. In communication with each other for certain things and then some things she comes and she wants to bring it from the outside more her own hall in a sensation 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 truly happy 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 a very precise and that i can trust them and so far its worked very well touch wood and theres been no problems if i enjoy being able to let go and step back a bit in the piece takes on a life of a time and its not a fixed creation rose and moves away from me like. When we have. Lets talk about your new production exodus which you did for the 25th anniversary of your dance company. Exit those exodus from the greek both in the sense of departure and escape what led you to this idea. That had. I was weak it was this idea of fleeing from more scaping from something finding our 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 after i decided on the one hand you have this idea of a group thats running away their corporate fleet leaving one place and moving somewhere else in. It on this and i gather this process that takes place more in the mind. As often cup as we all step out of your body and into another dimension and to this technique trance or ecstasy occasional cough comes up and all that test next bus 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 slash 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 are also wrong to start taking on the state ballet is 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 the job until 2019 common. There were initially huge protests over the decision to appoint a contemporary choreographer to codirect estate 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 armada called to great acclaim. These angry protests have now seen just. One thing is clear taking over the state ballet is national voxs biggest breakthrough to date and a huge challenge. Its obvious for 10 tons not qualify i think its a great opportunity for dance in general to explore these extreme positions of classical by let booklets are on the one hand to really preserve classical ballet and the whole history and to stage classical productions at a very high level because one of the anons ited i dont have a hand to have contemporary choreographies with a contemporary language with all that darius he actually at least in all the different ways of using the body. Again and the creation ensemble that is capable of working with both these extremists. Is extreme its definitely a fascinating project. The other thing this isnt into some support act. Riddim gather enough for id like to end by asking you what comes to mind when i say. Borders. Also the challenges we face today yes no irreality to be as free as children now in. Our brains. Really since learning so quickly i dont know 90 percent or 95 percent of the top class. Ah. Africa. Good spirits. Look at that. Didnt hear it could go in. The canteen guides coffee makes sound and environmental projects and sustainable energy. Doesnt blow up. In 30 minutes w. Its time to take one step further than face the possible. Time to such deal not fight for the troops. Time to overcome boundaries and the tricks of the law its time for doubling. Coming up ahead. Earth. Home to me is of species. A home worth saving and. Those are big changes and most start with small steps little boy ideas tell stories of creative people and innovative projects around the world. But heres the trick the toilets boost greenidge solutions and for station. Crew interactive content teaching the next generation of the took the church. Music channels available to inspire people to take action and more determined to build something here for the next generation. As the environment series of global 3000. 00 on t. W. And online. Frank food. International gateway to the best connections self road and rail. Located in the heart of europe you are connected to the whole world. Experience outstanding shopping and dining offers and try our services. Biala gassed at Frankfurt Airport city managed by from a bought. Plane. Plane. From the lead to a standoff between police and place into the night in hong kong thousands. Have taken to the streets for a 9 to strength meet and one Police Station was surrounded and the fire in the entrance to the fire was put out the clashes continue across the city center also on the program. Was Saddam Hussein embracing a number of major step toward democracy the ruling military reaches a firm deal with civilians that has put the country on a paltry