The Theatre Pforzheim is the most important cultural institution in Pforzheim and the region. The profile of the city and state-sponsored multi-genre house with over 200 employees ranges from masterpieces in the opera to contemporary narrative ballet and multi-part dance evenings to contemporary drama, comedy or musicals. Since 2015, Guido Markowitz has shaped dance at the Pforzheim Theater together with Damian Gmür as his deputy, rehearsal director and house choreographer and Alexandra Karabelas as his dramaturge. Markowitz set striking accents with full-length contemporary new productions at unusual dance locations in the city, the founding of the URBAN THEATER PFORZHEIM LAB as an interface between contemporary stage dance and urban dance in Baden-Württemberg, the Digital Dance Lab for the aesthetic transfer of own dance pieces into the medium of film and as experienced TANZLAND cooperation partner of several cities in southern Germany.
The in-house new productions aim at a new and stylistically diverse narrative of existential themes of people in conflict with themselves and the world to important works of the musical canon. Young international guest choreographers add further highlights to the annual programme. With the start of Markus Hertel's new directorship, the Ballet Theater Pforzheim changed its name to TANZ Theater Pforzheim in order to pay tribute to the diversity and practice of the styles and modes of expression.
On the ensemble’s history
The Theatre Pforzheim is a house of opera, ballet and play. In 1997 the american choreographer Anthony J. Sterago was appointed to director and chief choreographer of the ballet. Sterago stayed four years until 2001. After that Ricardo Fernando dos Santos overtook the ballet direction for one season. In 2002, the scottish James Sutherland started to create a separate era. Together with Elsa Genova, Sutherland shaped the ballet and dance at the Pforzheim Theatre for thirteen years. After this period, Guido Markowitz was appointed to new ballet director and chief choreographer. He enlarged the company and gave her a new and very contemporary image and profile. He also set new accents regarding site specific works.
Guido Markowitz was born in Villach. He studied classical and contemporary dance at the Iwanson International School of Dance in Munich. Between 1996 and 2006, he was a soloist in Brigitta Trommler's dance theatre company at State Theatre Darmstadt. Later on, he started to choreograph. As of 2004, he worked as a freelancer. He was resident choreographer at the Tanzhaus NRW in Düsseldorf and also as of 2012 at the Schauspielhaus Bochum. In 2015, his catalog of works included 50 new creations in contemporary ballet and dance theater as well as direction and choreography for plays, operas, operettas and musicals. Guido Markowitz has been on the board of the Dachverband Tanz Deutschland since 2018 and he was in the board of directors of Tanzszene BW e.V. until 2022. His works have been nominated twice for the FAUST theater prize. In 2019 he was honored with the Isadora Prize of the Iwanson Sixt Foundation.
Productions from the seasons 2020/2021 and 2021/2022
Die vier Jahreszeiten
World Premiere: 25th January 2020, Pforzheim
Choreography: Guido Markowitz
Music: Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi – The Four Seasons
Music Director: Alexandros Diamantis
Badische Philharmonie Pforzheim
Number of dancers: 14
Other persons on stage: 1 Violinist
Stage: 10 x 14,5 m
Duration: ca. 1 Stunde 20 min, no intermission
Changes: Falling Face / 45
World Premiere: 26th of June 2020, Pforzheim
Choreographies: Odbayar Batsuuri („Falling Face”), Damian Gmür (“45”)
Music: Sound composition by Ulf Langheinrich („Falling Face“), Fabian Schulz („45“)
Number of dancers: 6 / 8
Stage: 10 x 14,5 m
Duration: 40 min + 20 min
In Cooperation with the Palucca Hochschule Tanz Dresden
Brahms – Faith Love Hope
World Premiere: 5th June 2021, Villach
Choreography: Guido Markowitz
Music: Johannes Brahms, 1. Sinfonie (1876); Samuel Barber, Adagio for Strings (1938)
Musical director: Robin Davis
Badische Philharmonie Pforzheim
Number of dancers: 13
Other persons on stage: Orchestra and conductor backstage
Stage: 10 x 14,5 m
Duration: 70 min, no intermission
How it molds into the shape of their skin
World Premiere: 24th of July 2021, Online
Choreography: Sebastian Abarbanell
Music: Dario Wilmington
Number of dancers: 6
Other persons on stage: Orchestra and conductor backstage
Stage: 10 x 14,5 m
Duration: 70 min, no intermission
Urban Theater Pforzheim Lab
World Premiere: 18th of July 2021, Pforzheim
Choreography: Damian Gmür, Daniela Romero Rodriguez, Ziya Aktas
Music: Collage
Number of dancers: 28
Set: 8 x 6 m
Duration: 70 min, no intermission
Freedom – A Tribute to George Michael
World Premiere: 28.10.2021, Pforzheim
Choreography and production: Guido Markowitz, Damian Gmür
Musik: Johannes Brahms, 1. Sinfonie (1876); Samuel Barber, Adagio for Strings (1938)
Musikalische Leitung: Frank Nimsgern
Frank Nimsgern & Band
Number of dancers: 13
Other persons on stage: Fabrizio Levita (Vocals), Svenja Meyer (Vocals) + 4 band-members
Stage: 10 x 14,5 m
Duration: 70 min, no intermission
Beethoven. Unerhört. Grenzenlos.
World premiere: 29.01.2022, Pforzheim
Choreography and production: Guido Markowitz, Damian Gmür
Music: Ludwig van Beethoven 9. Sinfonie in d-Moll op. 125 (1824), 1. Satz, 3. Satz und 4. Satz (Anfang);
Ludwig van Beethoven 7. Sinfonie in a-dur, op. 92 (1812), 2. Satz, 4. Satz; Fabian Schulz sound-designs and -scpaes „Rage”, “Sheep and Unicorn”, “Ode an die Freude”; Travis Lake Dust To Dust (2018), arranged by Fabian Schulz (2022)
Musical direction: Robin Davis
Number of dancers: 18
Stage: 10 x 14,5 m
Duration: 75 min
Tanz Pur 7: On the Shoulders of Giants
World premiere: 30.04.2022
Choreography: Brian Scalini ("On the shoulders of giants"), Roberto Doveri ("Bacco"), Gil Kerer ("Another Land: Reflecions of 3rd Symphony in A minor")
Music: Gaborhalasz art, “On the Shoulders of Giants” and excerpt from David Tennant, “Undone” (Late Night Tales: Òlafur Arnalds”); Domenico Palmeri ("Bacco"); Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Sinfonie Nr. 3 in a-moll, op.56, 1. Satz (1842)
Number of dancers: 7 / 5 / 4
Stage: 7 x 7
Duration: 1 h 10 min
In cooperation with Palucca Hochschule Tanz Dresden
Productions from the 2019/2020 season
Vier Jahreszeiten
Premiere: 25 January 2020
Choreographer: Guido Markowitz
Composition: Max Richter, „Vivaldi – The four seasons“, rekomposition; music played by Badische Philharmonie Pforzheim
Dancers: 14
Stage: 10 x 12 m (Großes Haus), duration: 50 min
TANZ PUR 5
Premiere: 09 Mai 2020
Choreographers: Damian Gmür, Lotem Regev, n.N. in cooperation with Internationales Solo-Tanz-Theater-Festival Stuttgart
Komposition: n.N.
Dancers: 14
Stage: 7 x 10 m (Podium), duration: 70 min
ROMEO UND JULIA IN DER STADT
Premiere: 26 Juni 2020
Choreographers: Guido Markowitz, Damian Gmür
stage and visual performance: Susan Hefuna, „Life Stories“
Composition: n.N.
Dancers: 14
Stage: rooms at Bürgercentrum Pforzheim
Duration: 60 min
JUNGE CHOREOGRAFEN
Premiere: n.A. 2020
Choreographer: dancers of Ballett Theater Pforzheim
Dancers: 14
Stage: 7 x 10 m (Podium), Duration: 90 min
TANZLAND-guest performance cooperations with Metzingen:
Do. 04.06.2020 I 10am - 6pm
Stadt bewegt: TANZAKADEMIE für alle
Workshops on dance and further topics aimed at children, adolescents and adults with dancers of Ballett Theater Pforzheim at Stadthalle Metzingen.
Fr. 05.06.2020 I 7.30pm
Vier Jahreszeiten (see above)
Productions from the 2018/2019 season
Perfekt unperfekt (UA, 2018)
Choreography: Guido Markowitz, Damian Gmür
12 dancers, stage dimensions: rooms of the Pforzheim Schmuckmuseum in Reuchlinhaus, duration: 75 min.
Verwandlungen – Der Feuervogel / Metamorphosen (UA, 2019)
Choreography: Guido Markowitz
12 dancers, Badischer Philharmonie Pforzheim, stage dimensions 10 x 12 m, 90 min
Tanz Pur (2019, UA)
Choreography: Damian Gmür, Edan Gorlicki, choreographers of the German-Swedish cooperation project Pforzheim-Linköping
9th International Ballet Gala (2019)
Productions from the 2017/2018 season
Schwimm, wenn du kannst (2017)
Choreography: Guido Markowitz, Damian Gmür
11 dancers, 12 water polo players, stage; Emma-Jäger-Bad Pforzheim, 75 min.
Mozart-Requiem – Feiert das Leben (2018)
Choreography: Guido Markowitz
11 dancers, 4 singer soloists, with Badische Philharmonie Pforzheim and choir, stage 10 x 12 m, 90 min
Tanz Pur (2018)
Choreography: Felix Dumérsil, Ana Rita dos Santos Brito da Torre, Stefaan Morrow, Adrien Ursulet
10 dancers, stage 8 x 6 m, 90 min.
Junge Choreografen (2018)
Choreography: ensemble members, stage 8 x 6 m
Die vier Jahreszeiten
Trailer
„Being human – menschlich Sein“
Tanzfilm
„How it molds
into the shape of their skin”
a piece by SEBASTIAN ABARBANELL
Brahms – Glaube Liebe Hoffnung
Trailer
EREMITES
Trailer
Beethoven. Unerhört. Grenzenlos.
Trailer
On the Shoulders of Giants
Trailer
Bacco
Trailer
TANZ PUR 7
Trailer
Tanz Theater Pforzheim
Guido Markowitz
Ballettdirektor
Guido.markowitz@pforzheim.de
Damian Gmür
Probenleiter und Choreograph
Damian.gmuer@pforzheim.de
Alexandra Karabelas
Dramaturgie, Gastspiele und Management
Alexandra.karabelas@pforzheim.de
Postadresse: Am Waisenhausplatz 5, 75172 Pforzheim
Telefon: 07231/39-2789, 0176 70739834