World premieres by Rena Butler and Barak Marshall
Choreographies by Sharon Eyal, Andonis Foniadakis and Marco Goecke
Short film premiere by Eric Gauthier

Fancy travelling back in time? Just book a ticket for RENAISSANCE. After all, the first own stage programme of the Gauthier Dance JUNIORS is a rebirth of sorts. The production conveys much of the spirit of optimism that prevailed at Theaterhaus Stuttgart in the 2007/2008 season when Eric Gauthier opened the first chapter of an astonishing success story – with a company of six dancers and the bill Six Pack.
Now a new story begins. From the moment rehearsals started, the enthusiasm and motivation of the six young dancers has been palpable – as well as their formidable talent. For RENAISSANCE, the JUNIORS are bound to need it! The varied and challenging sextet of pieces not only includes world premieres by Rena Butler (link to https://www.renabutler.com/) and Barak Marshall (link to https://www.youtube.com/c/barakmarshall), masterpieces by Sharon Eyal, Andonis Foniadakis and Marco Goecke as well as a new short film by Eric Gauthier. The illustrious international line-up of the choreographers involved also makes clear that there will be no compromise on artistic excellence. RENAISSANCE thus gives the JUNIORS an extremely valuable opportunity: to grow in the face of a great challenge.

Rena Butler. For the past few years, the career of the young, Chicago-based choreographer has known but one direction – upwards, with commissions from Hubbard Street Dance Chicago or Boston Dance Theatre as well as being the cover star of Dance Magazine in November 2019.
As a person of colour, it is particularly important to Rena Butler to make dance accessible to everyone – and to bring its full diversity to the stage.
Barak Marshall. The singer and choreographer grew up in the USA, but his artistic breakthrough only came after his emigration to Israel, when he became house choreographer of the legendary Batsheva Dance Company. His first work for Gauthier Dance was Honigsaft for the Deuces programme. The humorous „relationship drama“ captured the spirit of Gauthier Dance so well that it quickly became clear: collaboration to be continued!
Sharon Eyal. With SARA, the Israeli star choreographer has created an enigmatic, incredibly atmospheric piece that takes a deep dive into a world of dreams and memories. What's more, SARA is the perfect match for the JUNIORS. This is because Eyal originally developed it for another young company – the world-famous NDT2.
Marco Goecke. Eric Gauthier has long had his eye on this work for his own company. Not only was it awarded the Dutch dance Oscar Zwaan (Swan), even measured against Goecke's high choreographic standards, Midnight Raga (link to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iESFTAxd70M) stands out. A radical, ardent pas de deux that shows contemporary dance in perfection.
Andonis Foniadakis. Notoriously difficult to dance: His mesmerising choreographies combine complex movement sequences with breakneck speed. By other means, his famous Bolero also challenges the performers to the point of exhaustion. From the first to the last bar and set to the hypnotic score by Maurice Ravel, Foniadakis has them dance on – trampolines.
Eric Gauthier. He discovered his love of choreographing for film while shooting Covid Cage for The Dying Swans Project. His contribution to RENAISSANCE will therefore also be a short film. Grand Voyage translates an inner journey into dance. A journey that all JUNIORS have embarked on and that takes them far away from their homes – into their professional lives as dancers. The biography of Gauthier’s protagonist has much in common with his own. Like himself, Mathilde Roberge is French Canadian and a graduate of the National Ballet School of Canada in Toronto.

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