The Hessisches Staatsballett, founded in 2014, is the dance company of the Staatstheater Darmstadt as well as the Hessisches Staatsballett Wiesbaden. The 28-strong ensemble, directed by ballet director and head choreographer Time Plegge, procudes about four different performance evenings per year, which are shown above all in their home theaters but also regularly tour national and international guest theaters. Tim Plegge choreographed three full-length narrative-ballets for the ensemble - Aschenputtel, Kaspar Hauser, Sommernachtstraum as well as Eine Winterreise. In addition to this, works from guest choreographers such as Edward Clug, Alexander Ekman, Itzik Galili, Marco Goecke, Crystal Pite, Damien Jalet, Marcos Morau, Wayne McGregor, Hofesh Shechter and Richard Siegal are also shown. Besides the ensemble’s repertoire, curator Bruno Heynderickx regularly invites national and international companies for guest performances and residencies, and in this way ensures a link between state theater structures and the free dance scene. Through this unique concept, the Hessisches Staatsballett has since its founding become an importance part of the dance world, one that stands for not only technical and artistic versatility of the ensemble, as well as for the exciting and varied curatorial composition of the program.

History of the Ensemble

 After a leap into the unknown, the Hessisches Staatsballett, founded in 2014/15, soon carried the reaction of its impressed audience into future seasons. Influenced by the most varied choreographers and with the bravery and curiosity, to tread new and unknown paths, the ensemble of 28 dancers offers a world-wide spectrum of dance.  

Biography

Tim Plegge was born in Berlin and – after an exchange at the École de Cirque de Bordeaux – trained as a dancer in the Netherlands and at the ballet school Hamburg Ballett John Neumeier. After dance roles, he studied choreography at the Hochschule für Schauspielkunst “Ernst Busch” in Berlin. Then followed assistance to Helena Waldmann and Christian Spuck. From 2006 onwards, works were created for Ballett Kiel, the Badisches Staatsballett Karlsruhe and Staatsballett Berlin – in particular, Ballett Momo, which was premiered in 2012 in Karlsruhe, gained special recognition, as well as the piece, They, created in collaboration with the painter Norbert Bisky and performed in the Berlin club Berghain. The latter is an example of Plegge’s interest in creating a creative dialogue between the medium of dance and various art forms. This is also true of his debut as opera director for Igor Strawinskys Die Nachtigall and of his dance piece Orpheus, created in collaboration with media artist Elke Reinhuber – both at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe. Plegge was appeared in the 2013 yearbook of the magazine tanz, listed among the hopefuls of dance artists “who will hopefully move the future”.

Between 2014 and 2015, Tim Plegge became ballet director and head choreographer of the Hessisches Staatsballett. Since then he has produced shorter pieces, Vom Anfang and Tabula rasa, as well as narrative ballets, Aschenputtel  Kaspar Hauser, Sommernachtstraum and recently, Eine Winterreise. In addition to this, the opening up of the Hessisches Staatsballett with, for example, the format Antanzen, or his project Odyssee_21, form an important part of his work.