ensembles: Ballett des Staatstheater Augsburg

Portrait

Since the 2017/18 season, the long-standing ballet director of Theater Hagen , Ricardo Fernando, is director of the ballet ensemble at Staatstheater Augsburg. He presents a young, international ensemble with great diversity of dance. Alongside modern interpretations of classic narrative ballets and new creations from Ricardo Fernando himself, the programme also includes the work of other nationally or internationally acclaimed choreographers as part of the series “Dimensions of Dance“. Ricardo Fernando continues the tradition of the international dance galas and carries on working with young choreographers for example in the series “New Comer”. The ensemble presents at brechtbühne (chamber dance evenings) as well as in the large interim venue, Martini-Park (big productions), and also performs in a production with the Augsburger Philharmonic once each season. Additionally, the ensemble experiments with the possibilities of digital ballet and can be seen in several ballets for virtual reality since summer 2020.

List of ensemble members
Season 2023/2024

History and biography

On the ensemble’s history
Staatstheater Augsburg boasts a long line of renowned ballet directors.
In recent decades, artistic directors such as Günther Pick, Erich Payer, Philip Taylor, Eva-Maria Lerchenberg-Thöny, Jochen Heckmann and Robert Conn have influenced the artistic profile of the ensemble with very individual stylistic signatures. Since season 2017/18 the long-standing ballet director of Theater Hagen, Ricardo Fernando, directs the ballet ensemble of Staatstheater Augsburg.

Ricardo Fernando started his career as a ballet director and chief choreographer in 1993 in Bremerhaven. Within seven years of holding this position, he realised several full-length ballets and contemporary choreographies and initiated one of the first AIDS Benefit Galas in Germany, which later on he transferred over to Regensburg and Hagen. While directing the company in Bremerhaven, he became ballet director in Chemnitz beginning in 1998 until 2000 as well. After this he worked as ballet director in Pforzheim and one year later in Regensburg. During the season 2003/04 with the premiere of the dance piece »Tango«, Ricardo Fernando started as ballet director at Theater Hagen. Soon narrative ballets such as Sergej Prokovjew’s »Romeo und Julia«, Tschaikowsky’s »Nussknacker« and Adolphe Adam’s »Giselle« were shown, as well as classical modern ballets like Strawinsky’s »Feuervogel«. Ricardo Fernando creates numerous dance pieces, in which he intensely focusses on music of the 20th century, such as works by Ezio Bosso and Ólafur Arnalds. The works he initiated with guest choreographers, did not just offer new impulses and perspectives, but also gained great recognition far beyond the local limits regarding evening pieces like »Three Faces«, »Nighthawks«, »Drei-mal-Tanz«, »Shortcuts« or »TanzTrilogie«. Ricardo Fernando works as guest choreographer himself in Germany, Japan, Brazil, Austria, Italy, Turkey and Switzerland. In 2015 he was honoured with a recognition award by the German Dance Awards (Deutscher Tanzpreis).

"I want to tell stories with dance, with the big story ballets, for which I create my own versions, as well as with modern dance. The choice of interesting music to which I can think of choreographies in contemporary dance is very wide today!"

Ricardo Fernando

Images

Frame of View | Choreografie: Didy Veldmann | © Jan-Pieter Fuhr

Le Spectre de la Rose | Choreografie: Marco Goecke | © Jan-Pieter Fuhr

Man and Honeymoon in New York City | Choreografie: Micheal Ostenrath | © Jan-Peter Fuhr

Metamorphers | Choreografie: Jacopo Godani | © Jan-Pieter Fuhr

Moving | Choreografie: Peter Chu | © Jan-Pieter Fuhr

Beyond | Choreografie: Ricardo Fernando | © Jan-Pieter Fuhr

Productions

2022/2023
2022/2023
Productions from the 2022/2023 season
Godani - Goecke - Fernando
Three-part ballet evening
Premiere 22.10.2022
Metamorphers
Choreography by Jacopo Godani
Music by Béla Bartók
Le Spectre de la Rose
Choreography by Marco Goecke
Music by Carl Maria von Weber
beyond
Premiere
Choreography by Ricardo Fernando
Music by Lilijan Waworka
Duration: 120 minutes incl. 2 intermissions
Contrasts
Two-part studio ballet evening
Premiere 22.12.2022
Man & Honeymoon in New York City
Premiere
Choreography & production by Michael Ostenrath
Frame of View
Choreography & production by Didy Veldman
Duration: 90 minutes
Dimensions of Dance. Part 4
Two-part ballet evening
Premiere 11.03.2023
Tangata
Ballet by Ricardo Fernando
Music by Astor Piazzolla
A Fresh Start
Ballet by Iratxe Ansa & Igor Bacovich
The Fairy Queen
Ballet opera in five acts by Henry Purcell
Premiere 2.4.2023
Libretto by Thomas Betterton, attributed to the play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare
Choreography & production by Ricardo Fernando
Musical direction by Domonkos Héja
Internationale Ballett- und Tanzgala
Gala performances 9.&10.04.2023
New Comer
Studio Dance Evening
Premiere 12.05.2023
Choreography Augsburg Ballet
Moving
Studio ballet evening
Premiere
Revival 22.09.2022
Choreography by Peter Chu
Duration: 60 minutes, no intermission
2021/2022
2021/2022
Productions from the 2021/2022 season
Boléro | VR production (2020)
Choreography: Ricardo Fernando
Music: Maurice Ravel
18 dancers
Duration: 25 min
shifting_perspective | VR production (2020)
Choreography & Dance: Dancers of the Augsburg Ballet
   Title 1: Gabriela Zorzete Finardi
   Title 2: Michele Nunziata
   Title 3: Momoko Tanaka, Shori Yamamoto
   Title 4: Goncalo Martins da Silva
   Title 5: Emily Wohl
   Title 6: Sewon Ahn, Samuel Maxted
   Title 7: Cosmo Sancilio, Giovanni Napoli
   Title 8: Moeka Yugawa
   Title 9: Franco Ciculi
   Title 10: Ria Girard
   Title 11: Keiko Okawa
Music: Robin Rimbaud alias Scanner
18 dancers
Duration: 40 min
Dimensions of Dance. Part 3 (2021)
Rain Dogs (Part 1: Rain Dogs; Part 2: Whim; Part 3: Satisfaction)
Choreography
   Part 1: Johan Inger
   Part 2: Alexander Ekman;
   Part 3: Ricardo Fernando
Music
   Part 1: Tom Waits
   Part 2: Edmundo Ros, Nina Simone, Antonio Vivaldi;
   Part 3: The Rolling Stones
Number of dancers:
   Part 1: 8 dancers
   Part 2: 18 dancers
   Part 3: 12 dancers
Stage dimensions: 12.8m wide and 8.35m deep*; orchestra pit area approx. 16m wide and 6.8m deep
Duration: 2 h 15 min
Creations (2021)
Part 1: bel inconnu; Part 2: Poco
Choreography
   Part 1: Patrick Delcroix
   Part 2: Mauro Astolfi
Music: Ólafur Arnalds, Kate Bush, Saul City, David Lang, Zach Miskin, Scanner & Whitetree
Number of dancers
   Part 1: 14 dancers
   Part 2: 11 dancers
Stage dimensions: 10,94m deep and 10,3m wide
Duration: 1 h 45 min
Winterreise (2021)
Choreography: Ricardo Fernando
Music: Franz Schubert & Hans Zender
Libretto: Wilhelm Müller
18 dancers
Stage dimensions: 12.8m by 13.4m
Duration: 90 min
Kinesphere | VR production (2021)
Choreography: Ricardo Fernando
Music: Lilijan Waworka
17 dancers
Duration: 30 min
Moving (2021)
"left behind (you) right"
Choreography: Peter Chu
Music: Bang on a Can, Bruxas, Matmos, Sarah Neufeld a. o.
18 dancers
Stage dimensions: 10.94m deep and 10.3m wide
Duration: 60 min
New Comer (2022)
Choreography: Dancers of the Augsburg Ballet
Stage dimensions: 10,94m deep and 10,3m wide
*For the tape ballet, the dimensions of the depth must be taken together, but both areas have different widths.
2020/2021
2020/2021
Productions from the 2020/2021 season
Premieres
„Winterreise“ (first showing)
Ballet by Ricardo Fernando | Music: Franz Schubert
Premiere 31/10/20 | martini-Park
„Creations“ (first showing)
Chamber dance evening in two parts
Choreography: Mauro Astolfi, Patrick Delcroix
Premiere 29/01/21 | brechtbühne im Gaswerk
„Dimensions of Dance. Part 3“
Dance evening in three parts
Choreography: Alexander Ekman, Johan Inger, Ricardo Fernando
Premiere 10/04/21 | martini-Park
„New Comer“
Choreography: dancers from Ballett Augsburg
Premiere 28/05/21 | brechtbühne im Gaswerk
Internationale Ballett- und Tanzgala
Gala-shows 17-18/04/21 | martini-Park
Ballett for children: Dance!
Guided ballet for young audiences
Premiere 20/03/21 | brechtbühne im Gaswerk
Back on stage:
„Made For Two“
Chamber dance evening
Choreography: Ricardo Fernando, Andonis Foniadakis, Eric Gauthier, Annett Göhre, Young Soon Hue, Guillaume Hulot, Nadav Zelner
Revival 03/12/20 | brechtbühne im Gaswerk
2019/2020
2019/2020
Productions from the 2019/2020 season
Premieres
“Giselle”
Ballet by Adolphe Adam
Choreography: Ricardo Fernando
Premiere 26/10/19 | martini-Park
„Made For Two“
Chamber dance evening
Choreography: Ricardo Fernando, Andonis Foniadakis, Eric Gauthier, Annett Göhre, Young Soon Hue, Guillaume Hulot, Nadav Zelner
Premiere 31/01/20 | brechtbühne im Gaswerk
vr-theater@home-premieres
“shifting_perspective”
A Virtual-Reality Dance-Experience
Idea: André Bücker
Conception and musical selection: Ricardo Fernando & Carla Silva
Choreography: dancers from Ballett Augsburg
Music: Robin Rimbaud alias Scanner
„Bolero“
A Virtual-Reality Dance Project
Choreography: Ricardo Fernando
Premiere in July 2020
previous seasons
Weitere Spielzeiten
Productions from the 2017/2018 season
Schwanensee (2017)
Choreography Ricardo Fernando, music Peter I. Tschaikowsky, musical direction: Domonkos Héja, Orchestra: Augsburger Philharmoniker
18 dancers, stage 12 x 12 m, duration 120 min (incl. interval)
Ballett? Rock it! (2018)
Choreography Heroes by Marguerite Donlon, Club 27 by Ricardo Fernando, Anima Fragile (UA) by Riccardo De Nigris, music Brian Jones, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse
15 dancers, stage 14 x 10 m, duration ca. 110 min
Dimensions of Dance. Part 1 (2018)
Choreography Cantata by Mauro Bigonzetti, Six Breaths by Ricardo Fernando, Reminiscence (UA) by Young Soon Hue, music Trio Assurd, Ezio Bosso, Ólafur Arnalds
17 dancers, stage 12 x 12m, duration ca. 110 min
New Comer (2018)
Choreography n.n, music n.n.

Productions from the 2016/2017 Season
Der Nussknacker (2016)
Choreography: Mauro de Candia, music: Peter I. Tschaikowsky
18 dancers, 2 children, Augsburger Philharmoniker, stage 18 x 20 m, 105 min
(R)Evolution (2016)
Pur un clin d’oeil / Adagio & Scherzo / Brel – Getanzte Chansons / New produktion
Pur un clin d’oeil
Choreography: Mario Schröder
1 female dancer, 1 male dancer, stage 13 x 10 m, 17 min
Adagio & Scherzo (2014)
Choreography: Krzysztof Pastor
8 dancers, stage 13 x 10 m, 20 min
Brel – Getanzte Chansons (2007)
Choreography: Lode Devos
17 dancers, stage 13 x 10 m, 25 min
New produktion - Titel not known yet (2016)
Choreography: Dominique Dumais
6 dancers, stage 13 x 10 m, 18 min

Productions from the 2015/2016 season
Hamlet (2015)
Choreography: Stephen Mills, music: Philip Glass
stage: 16 x 22 m
Romeo und Julia (2015)
Choreography: Young Soon Hue
stage 16 x 22 m
Anders-Artig (2016)
Mobile Productions for Kids from 5 years
Von Göttern und Menschen (2016)
Choreography: Balanchine, Clug, De Nigris
stage 16 x 22 m
Soto Danza (2016)
Choreography: Cayetano Soto
stage 14 x 11 m
Ballettgala 2016

Productions from the 2014/2015 season
Destillationen IV (2015)
stage 14 x 11 m
Medea (2015)
Choreography: Angel Rodriguez
stage 14 x 11 m
Dans imPulse (2015)
Choreography: Georg Reischl, Stephen Shropshire, Marco Goecke
stage 16 x 22 m
Romeo und Julia (2014)
Choreography: Young Soon Hue, music: Sergej Prokofjev
stage 16 x 22 m, 130 min

Productions from the 2013/2014 season
Where I end and you begin (2014)
Choreography: Edward Clug, Katarzyna Kozielska
stage 14 x 11 m, 120 min
Schattenspiel (2014)
Choreography: Itzik Galili, music: Percossa, Waits, Höfs, Prado and others
stage 16 x 22 m, 95 min
Das Bildnis des Dorian Gray (2013)
Choreography: Michael Pink, music: Tobias PM Schneid
stage 16 x 22 m, 120 min