Lutz Förster
Foto: Anna van Kooij
July 13 & 14, 2010, Muffathalle, 8.30 pm
"In 2008, I was invited by Pina Bausch to come and perform Véronique Doisneau in her festival in Wuppertal. This piece was a solo for Paris Opera Ballet dancer Véronique Doisneau. In this 2004 production, Véronique Doisneau was retrospectively describing her work as a « corps de ballet » dancer in the Paris Opéra, since she was going to retire that same year at age 42. I answered Pina Bausch that unfortunately Véronique Doisneau was now retired and that she couldn’t perform anymore. But I offered to develop the same kind of work with one of her dancers. Pina Bausch said that she was interested by the project. Some time later, I told Bettina Masuch, German producer and dramaturg, about this project and she said that she knew Lutz Förster personally, one of the most devoted members of the Tanztheater Wuppertal, and that she could put us in contact.
I knew Lutz Förster because I had seen him perform many times in Pina Bausch’s early works. After Lutz Förster had watched the Véronique Doisneau film, we both agreed to try to make a solo titled Lutz Förster in which he would talk about his own career as a dancer." (Jerôme Bél)
Lutz Förster has been dancing with the Tanztheater Wuppertal - Pina Bausch since 1975 with whom he has been performing in countries all over the world. He is currently professor for Contemporary Dance and the representative of the Dance Department of the Folkwang Hochschule Essen and has also been teaching for many different companies and universities. He studied at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen with Hans Züllig and Jean Cébro and danced with the José Limón Dance Company. He has also been working with Susanne Linke, Reinhild Hoffmann, Anna Sokolow, Meredith Monk, Robert Wilson and Sir Simon Rattle among others.
Credits
Concept: Jerôme Bel and Lutz Förster (2009)
Performed by: Lutz Förster
Cooperation with: Bettina Masuch
Project Management: Sandro Grando
Thanks to: Pina Bausch, Carla Maxwell – Limón Dance Company, Robert Wilson, Caetano Veloso
Production: Springdance (Utrecht), R.B. Jérôme Bel (Paris)
Koproduction: Landshoff Entertainment (Hamburg)
More Information: www.jeromebel.fr