GAUTHIER DANCE - DANCE COMPANY//THEATERHAUS STUTTGART

BIOGRAPHIES

Gauthier Dance is a young, 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.
Gauthier, a shooting star of the German dance scene, is known for his highly original, humorous choreographies. One of Mr. Gauthier's primary goals as a director and choreographer, is to present and create content-oriented dance, which has a meaning recognizable even to audiences not familiar with dance, and which will move, disturb, elate or inspire his public. He pursues his goal of making contemporary dance accessible and attractive to a new and young audience with works such as Eclipse, an "Transformers" meets "House of Flying Daggers" action-ballet about an encounter between two species on a faraway planet and Air Guitar, a witty and inventive hommage to an instrument primarily associated with rock and pop music.
In addition to performances in the Theaterhaus, Gauthier Dance undertakes an extensive Educational and Community Outreach program, the first of its kind in Stuttgart: Gauthier Dance Mobile. With a specially tailored repertory of works which can be presented in small performing spaces with limited technical equipment, Gauthier Dance Mobile brings contemporary dance to children and teens in community centers as well as to a segment of our society which would otherwise have no opportunity to enjoy this art form: senior citizens and people with dementia living in retirement homes, people with physical or mental disabilities or people in rehabilitation centers. Germany is undergoing a massive demographic change and in response to this, and to a childhood spent as the son of one of Canada's foremost specialists on Alzheimer's, Mr. Gauthier conceived Gauthier Dance Mobile. With these performances, Gauthier Dance literally mobilises the dance, takes it out of the theater and brings it into new spaces and to new or disadvantaged audiences. For this project, Mr. Gauthier received substantial start-up funding from the City of Stuttgart and from Star Care e.V. Stuttgart.
The Theaterhaus Stuttgart, which opened its doors in 1985, is a unique cultural center in the city of Stuttgart, which presents theater, music, dance, cabaret, comedy, literature, political discussions and more on a total of four stages. The Theaterhaus has a long tradition of producing and presenting Tanztheater; most well known are the collaborations between Marcia Haydée and Ismail Ivo. The Theaterhaus has also traditionally been and will continue to be, a venue for the free-lance dance scene in Stuttgart. Gauthier Dance is the first resident contemporary dance company in Stuttgart.

ERIC GAUTHIER
director and choreographer, Gauthier Dance

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 including Alain in Frederick Ashton's La Fille mal Gardée, Mercutio in John Cranko's Romeo and Juliet, the Joker in Cranko's Je de Cartes as well as in works by George Balanchine and Kenneth MacMillan. It was his abilities as a contemporary dancer, however, 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 in so doing he danced the works of, or worked directly with, an impressive roster of internationally acclaimed choreographers including Hans van Manen, John Neumeier, Jiri Kylian, Nacho Duato, Paul Lightfoot, Uwe Scholz and James Kudelka. 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 an impressive list of choreographers to create roles for him, most especially Christian Spuck, resident choreographer of the Stuttgart Ballet. Gauthier danced in eight world premieres by Spuck who created the role of Schigolch in Lulu and the leading role of the painter in ...la peau blanche... for him. 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. International Choreographic Competition in Hannover, Germany. In 2007, Gauthier created Air Guitar for the Noverre Society.
In September 2007, Eric Gauthier starred alongside the legendary dancer Egon Madsen in Christian Spuck's Don Q., more than a danced review about the loss of reality which Spuck created for the Theaterhaus Stuttgart. The world premiere was a "sensational success" in the words of the critic Hartmut Regitz of "BallettTanz" magazine. Don Q. is currently touring to Austria, Italy, Spain, Luxembourg and many cities in Germany.
Since October of 2007, Eric Gauthier is director and choreographer of Gauthier Dance, resident dance company of the Theaterhaus Stuttgart. 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.
Gauthier Dance also has a strong commitment to community and educational outreach. With Gauthier Dance Mobil, the company visits and performs a specially selected repertory of works for people or children with mental and/or physical disabilities, people with Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia, people in psychological rehab as well as in youth community centers and in schools for children with special needs.
In 2001, parallel to his dancing career, Gauthier formed a band together with three other musicians for which he composes, writes lyrics, sings and plays the guitar. The band, playing many local concerts and winning local prizes, released their first CD in 2004 and their second in 2007.



BALLETTMEISTER und TÄNZER

Renato Arismendi, Ballettmeister
Renato Arismendi wurde in Osorno, Chile geboren und erhielt seine tänzerische Ausbildung am Conservatorio de Danza Maria Elena Scheuch. Von 1980 bis 1992 tanzte er mit dem Chilenischen National Ballett sowie mit dem Ballett de Santiago am Teatro Municipal. Von 1992 bis 1996 war er Solist beim Ballett Augsburg und von 1996 bis 2001 Solist beim Balletttheater München unter der Leitung von Phillip Taylor. Von 2001 bis 2007 war er Gasttrainingsleiter für u.a. das Balletttheater München, das Ballett de Santiago in Chile, das Nationalballett Kroatiens, und das Slovenische Ballett. Von 2004 bis 2007 war er ausserdem Beleuchtungsassistent am Balletttheater München.


Anja Behrend, geboren in Rostock, erhielt ihre Tanzausbildung an der Staatlichen Ballettschule in Berlin. Von 1997 bis 2007 war sie Mitglied des Hamburger Balletts unter der Leitung von John Neumeier. In Hamburg tanzte sie das gesamte Neumeier-Repertoire darunter auch viele Solorollen sowie Stücke von George Balanchine, Tamar Ben-Ami, Mats Ek, Jiri Kylian, Natalia Makarova and Christopher Wheeldon.


Emilia Giudicelli, geboren in Frankreich, erhielt ihre Tanzausbildung am Konservatorium in Lyon, an der Ècole-Atelier Rudra Béjart in Lausanne und am Königlichen Konservatorium für Bühnentanz in Madrid. Engagements hatte sie bei Rudra Béjart, beim Ballett des Theaters Dortmund, und am Staatstheater Braunschweig wo sie u.a. Stücke von George Balanchine, Maurice Béjart, Carolyn Carlson, Nacho Duato, Martha Graham und Anthony Tudor tanzte.


Marianne Illig, geboren in Frankreich, erhielt ihre Tanzausbildung am Konservatorium in Lyon sowie an der Heinz-Bosl Stiftung in München. Von 2003 bis 2004 war sie Elevin beim Stuttgarter Ballett; von 2004 bis 2007 war sie Mitglied im Corps de Ballets des Berlin Ballet unter der Leitung von Vladimir Malakhov. In Stuttgart und Berlin tanzte sie Stücke u.a. von George Balanchine, Maurice Béjart, John Cranko, William Forsythe, Kenneth MacMillan, John Neumeier, David Parsons und Christopher Wheeldon.

Armando Braswell, geboren in New York, erhielt seine Tanzausbildung an der LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts und an der Julliard School wo er sein Studium mit einem Bachelor of Fine Arts abschloss. In den USA tanzte er mit der SUNY Purchase Dance Corps, dem Julliard Dance Ensemble sowie dem Metropolitan Opera Ballet in Stücken von u.a. George Balanchine, Ronald K. Brown, Nacho Duato, Eliot Feld, William Forsythe, José Limon, Lin Hwai-Min, Mark Morris und Stanton Welsh. 2006 wurde er Mitglied des Ballet Theater München am Gärtnerplatz, wo er Stücke von Richard Alston, Carolyn Carlson, Anthony Rizzi und Philip Taylor tanzte.


Alexis Dupuis-Le Blanc, geboren in Kanada, erhielt seine Tanzausbildung an der École Superieur de Danse de Quebec und am Konservatorium in Lyon. Von 2002 bis 2004 tanzte er beim Ballett des Grand Theatre in Genf in Stücken von Davide Bombana, Lucinda Childs, John Neumeier und Saburo Teshigawara. Von 2004 bis 2007 tanzte er bei Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo unter der Leitung von Jean-Christophe Maillot, u.a. in Stücken von George Balanchine, Maurice Béjart, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, William Forsythe, Jiri Kylian und Jean-Christophe Maillot.


William Moragas geboren in Brasilien, erhielt seine Tanzausbildung in Sao Paulo, an der Staatlichen Ballettschule in Havana, Kuba sowie an der Akademie des Tanzes in Mannheim unter der Leitung von Prof. Birgit Keil. Er tanzte von 2000 bis 2002 beim Ballett der Semperoper in Dresden, von 2002-2003 am Stadttheater Koblenz, von 2003 bis 2006 beim Badischen Staatstheater in Karlsruhe und zuletzt am Stadttheater Chemnitz. Sein Repertoire umfasst ua. Werke von John Cranko, Hans van Manen, Robert North, Uwe Scholz, Christian Spuck, Glen Tetley, Jorma Uotinen, Vladimir Vasiliev, Richard Wherlock and Peter Wright.

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