ensembles: Leipzig_Leipziger Ballett

Portrait

Since the 2010/11 season, ballet director and chief choreographer, Mario Schröder has been at the helm of the Leipziger Ballett, with its 39 dancers from 21 nations, creating narrative choreographies for his dancers that have captivated audiences through their intensity, dynamics and technical virtuosity. Aesthetically, the Palucca student Schröder has created a stylistic spectrum that demands an enormous range of styles from a company that is excellently trained in classical as well as modern dance. Tours throughout Europe, Asia and South America as well as international guest choreographies have all contributed greatly to the fact that the Leipziger Ballett, with its rich tradition, has ranked among the great international companies for decades. The Leipziger Ballett regularly ventures on new paths with performances in public spaces and in contact with other arts and artists. As part of its work in the field of education the ballet regularly realises major productions regularly with different partners in Germany and abroad, and these are continually accompanied by smaller formats.

History and biography

On the ensemble´s history

The roots of the Leipziger Ballett reach back into the late 17th century. In the 1940s, Mary Wigman’s choreography to Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana”, based on expressionist dance (Ausdruckstanz), marked a milestone. Since the Neue Opernhaus was opened in 1960, almost all of the great narrative dramatic ballets have been presented, along with new signature pieces. Uwe Scholz’s appointment as ballet director and chief choreographer in 1991 ushered in a new era for the ensemble. His first premiere in Leipzig, “Die Schöpfung”, was followed by symphonic ballets such as “Die Große Messe”, “Siebente Symphonie” and “Bruckner 8”; these were presented in guest performances throughout Europe and in Hong Kong.

Mario Schröder

Mario Schröder took over the company as ballet director and chief choreographer in 2010/11. The former Palucca student and graduate of the Hochschule für Schauspielkunst und Regie “Ernst Busch” was also first soloist of the ensemble from 1983-1999 under the direction of Uwe Scholz from 1991. He later became ballet director and chief choreographer in Würzburg and Kiel (Germany). Schröder has created in excess of 80 choreographies in Japan, Taiwan, USA, Russia, Mongolia and France among other countries as well as for major German stages such as the Deutsche Oper, the Komische Oper Berlin and the Aalto Ballett Essen. He has worked with Ruth Berghaus, Maxim Dessau, Nikolaus Lehnhoff and Uwe Scholz, and has been awarded numerous choreographic and cultural prizes.

“A constant element in my choreographic creation is dealing with the search for authenticity as an absolute artistic credo. But individual apocalypses and social utopias also belong to the range of subjects addressed in my works.”

Mario Schröder

Images

Productions

2019/2020
2019/2020
Productions of the 2019/2020 season
Premieres
Dornröschen (2019)
Choreography: Jeroen Verbruggen
Music: P.I. Tchaikovsky / Gewandhaus Orchestra
40 dancers
Stage: 25 x 22 m
Duration: 110 min
Lamento (2020)
Choreography: Mario Schröder
Music: Udo Zimmermann, J.S. Bach, Henryk Mikolaj Górecki / Gewandhausorchester
40 dancers
Stage: 25 x 22 m
Duration: 120 min
Triple Bill (2020)
Choreography: Didy Veldman, Iván Pérez, Martin Harriague
Music:Alfred Schnittke, Arvo Pärt, Eric Whiteacre, "The Shoes", "The Knife", Octavio Mesa, Alva Noto / Ryuichi Sakamoto (from tape)
29 dancers
Stage (Schauspiel Leipzig): 15 x 15 m
Duration: 80 min
Soto / Scholz / Schröder (2020)
Choreography: Cayetano Soto, Uwe Scholz, Mario Schröder
Music: David Lang, robert Schumann, Aaron Copland / Gewandhausorchester
8 / 24 / N.N. dancers
Stage: 25 x 22 m
Duration: approx. 120 min
Repertoire
Der Karneval der Tiere
Choreography: Bjartwe Emil Wedervang Bruland
Music: Camille Saint-Saens / Gewandhaus Theater
8 dancers
Stage: 25 x 22 m
Duration: 60 min
Schwanensee (2018)
Choreography: Mario Schröder
Music: P.I. Tchaikovsky / Gewandhaus Orchestra
40 dancers
Stage: 25 x 22 m
Duration: 135 min
Der Nussknacker (2016)
Choreography: Jean-Philippe Dury
Music: P.I. Tchaikovsky / Gewandhaus Orchestra
40 dancers
Stage: 25 x 22 m
Duration: 120 min
Johannes-Passion (2017)
Choreography: Mario Schröder
Music: J.S. Bach / Gewandhaus Orchestra
40 dancers
Stage: 25 x 22 m
Duration: 150 min
Tanz in den Häusern der Stadt (since 2011)
Choreography: Mario Schröder
music: varied (from tape)
changing locations
Duration: 45 - 60 min
previous seasons
Productions from the 2017/18 season
Premiers
Johannes-Passion (2017)
Choreography: Mario Schröder, music: Johann-Sebastian Bach
35 dancers, stage: 18x22m, ca. 150 min (incl. 20 min interval)

Boléro (Walkind Mad) / Le Sacre du Printemps (2018)
Choreography: Johann Inger (Walking Mad), Mario Schröder (Le Sacre du printemps), music: Maurice Ravel, Arvo Pärt, Igor Strawinsky
40 dancers, stage: 18x22m, ca. 95 min

Schwanensee (2018)
Choreography: Mario Schröder, music Piotr I. Tchaikowski
40 dancers, stage: 18x22m, ca. 150 min

Toot (2018)
Choreography: Didy Veldman, music: Alfred Schnittke, Dmitri Schostakowitsch, Balancescu Quartett
30 dancers, stage: 12x15m, ca. 80 min

Repetoire

Lobgesang (2016)
Choreography: Mario Schröder, music: Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
40 dancers, stage 18x22m, ca. 90 min

Der Nussknacker (2016)
Choreography: Jean-Philippe Dury, music: Piotr I. Tcahikowsky
40 dancers, 13 children, stage: 18x22m, ca. 130 min

Don Juan / Mozart à Deux (2017)
Choreography: Thierry Malandain, music: Christoph Willibald Gluck, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
30 dancers, stage: 18x22m, ca. 90 min

West Side Story (2015)
Choreography / Inszenierung: Mario Schröder, music: Leonard Bernstein
40 dancers, 8 musical-performers, 3 actors, 10 extras, stage: 18x22m, ca. 170 min

Productions from the 2014/15season

Jim Morrisson (2014)
Choreography: Mario Schröder, music: recorded music
40 dancers, stage: 16 x 22m, duration: 90 min

Deca Dance (2014)
Choreography: Ohad Naharin, music: recorded music
40 dancers, stage: 16 x 22m, duration: 70 min

Ein Liebestraum (2014)
Choreography: Mario Schröder, Silvana Schröder, music: Gewandhausorchester zu Leipzig (GWO)
40 dancers, two singer-soloists from the Oper Leipzig, stage: 16 x 22m, duration: 90 min

Mozart Requiem (2014)
Choreography: Mario Schröder, music: Gewandhausorchester zu Leipzig (GWO), opera choir
40 dancers, 1 speaker, stage: 16 x 22m, duration: 80 min

Rachmaninow (2014)
Choreography: Uwe Scholz and Mario Schröder, music: Gewandhausorchester zu Leipzig (GWO)
46 dancers, stage: 16 x 22m duration: 80 min

Eine Weihnachtsgeschichte (2014)
Choreography: Mario Schröder, music: Gewandhausorchester zu Leipzig (GWO)
40 dancers, stage: 16 x 22m, duration: 90 min

Othello (2015)
Choreography: Mario Schröder, music: Gewandhausorchester zu Leipzig (GWO)
40 dancers, 1 singer soloist, 1 lutist, stage: 16 x 22m, duration: 120 min

Intershop (2015)
Choreography: ensemble members, music: recorded music
30 dancers, stage: 16 x 22m, duration: 80 min

West Side Story (2015)
Choreography: Mario Schröder, music: Gewandhausorchester zu Leipzig (GWO)
40 dancers, 40 singers, opera choir, stage: 16 x 22m, duration: 120 min