Taylor in Germany & Austria. Thank you Martin!

Change is inevitable, and when an artistic director steps away from a company on which he/she has left an impression on the Art, it is often a bittersweet moment. Ballet as a language lives in both its performances of the classics and its use in contemporary works, and all the choreography in between. In general terms, the classical ballet of today whose aesthetic I have known evolved from work by choreographers like Auguste Bournonville and Marius Petipa in the early 1800's, Bronislava Nijinska, Vaslav Nijinsky, Michel Fokine, Frederick Ashton in early 1900's and forward through Maurice Bejart, Jiri Kylian, George Balanchine, Hans van Manen, William Forsythe, and so many more... Amongst current choreographers of ballet that I find fascinating is Martin Schläpfer, whose work has never been performed live in the USA. In truth, access to seeing any of his work on video or livestream was only available in the USA as a result of broader international access in response to the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic. The Wiener Staatsoper made their livestreams of performances of Martin's work, and others, available worldwide, giving you a chance to see the exceptional dancers and productions.

Next weekend, on Sunday 29th June, 2025 will mark Martin Schläpfer's retirement from the ballet directorship of the Vienna State Ballet, where he also served as chief resident choreographer. For more than three decades, he has directed and choreographed contemporary ballets for companies in Germany and Austria. Alongside of his own works, Martin curated dance programs for his dancers to perform works by George Balanchine and Hans Van Manen, as well as works rooted in a modernist background by the likes of Kurt Jooss, Merce Cunningham, Trisha Brown, Mark Morris and Paul Taylor.

2016 with Ballett am Rhein cast of Taylor's "Esplanade"

I had the pleasure of staging four different Paul Taylor dances under the invitation of Martin, two while he directed Ballett am Rhein, and subsequently two more when he took over at the Wiener Staatsballett in Austria. 

Martin in 2017 working on a world premiere with Ballett am Rhein.

Martin championed the evolution of modern dance as well for his dancers and audiences in the different houses he directed. It was amazing to share space, dancers and performances with other regisseurs restaging works by the above mentioned choreographers. I loved that the dancers under Martin's direction were always unique and committed artists with a hunger for fluency in the breadth of technique and artistry demanded of them to perform such a range of dance. I am also honored that so many of the dancers with whom I had the pleasure of working with continue to touch base with me on occasion. Even some with whom I did not work, have graciously offered me collegial acknowledgement of adding to their artistic homes.

2016 with Ballett am Rhein

In 2019, Martin licensed Taylor's "Offenbach Overtures" and Ballett am Rhein in Düsseldorf, Germany, became the first company other than Paul Taylor's namesake company to perform the dance that premiered in 1995.

2019 with Ballett am Rhein

In 2020, during the the height of the pandemic, Martin took over as dance director for Wiener Staatsballett in Vienna, and was followed by some of the dancers with whom I had worked in Düsseldorf. When he chose to license "Promethean Fire" for the dancers in Vienna, I would have the pleasure of working with familiar and new dancers. However, rehearsals to learn the dance in 2021 would not end in a performance that year. We did get the whole dance learned and a rough run through of the dance in the studio was as far as we could get before the premiere performances would be postponed... until 2023. 

2021 in the studios of the Wiener Staatsoper

Most of the dancers who learned "Promethean Fire" in 2021 were still active and dancing in 2023 when I returned to get the work onto the stage. 

2023 after final rehearsals prior to the company premiere in the Volksoper Wien

2023 also saw the dancers at the Volksoper Wien perform "Dandelion Wine"

In short order after the long awaited company premiere by the Wiener Staatsballett of "Promethean Fire", Martin requested to license another work that had not been previously performed by a company other than Paul Taylor Dance Company, "Dandelion Wine" from 2000. This time he wanted the dancers of the Volksoper Wien to have their own program of dances including a work by Martin himself, the Taylor work, and "Ligeti Essays" by Karole Armitage. It was a unique opportunity for me to work with the dancers of both houses of the Wiener Staatsoper! 

2023 on stage after the premiere evening at the Volksoper Wien

I can only express my humblest gratitude to Martin Schläpfer for inviting me to share in the wealth of exceptional humans with whom he has worked, dancers, rehearsal directors, ballet masters and mistresses, adminstrators, and so many more. Bravo!