The German choreographer Marco Goecke is viewed both in his native country and in the Netherlands as one of the greatest choreographic discoveries of the 21st century. What’s striking about his work is notable is its completely individual atmosphere: mysterious, magical, often sinister and sometimes absurdist as well. His movement vocabulary is unique: for a long time Goecke put the focus on movements of the torso, the arms and hands, with nervous twisting, fluttering, waving and trembling motions. His idiom is quirky and innovative — even when dancers just lay on their backs their legs are mostly wrapped in darkness, due to the low light.
In fifteen years of work as a house choreographer of the Stuttgart ballet and of Scapino Ballet he has made over 50 productions, often performed by both companies. In addition he has created work for such companies as the Hamburg Ballet, Staatstheater Braunschweig, Leipzig Ballet, Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, the Norwegian National Ballet and the Gauthier Dance Company in Stuttgart.
In 2013 Marco Goecke (Germany) joined NDT as an associate choreographer. His latest works for the company are Hello Earth (2014), Thin Skin (2015), Woke up Blind (2016), winner of the Dutch dance Zwaan Award 2017 for ‘most impressive choreography’ Midnight Raga (2017), Wir sagen uns Dunkles (2017) and Walk the Demon (2018).
Some critically acclaimed choreographies include: Der Rest ist Schweigen, Äffi, Beautiful Freak, his full-length, ballet-noir version of The Nutcracker, Supernova and Songs for Drella.
Dutch national newspaper NRC noted: “[Goecke] is always so refined with tempo and dynamics. He weaves his steps through the music so unparalleled that it creates an incredibly fascinating spectacle that is just right from a to z. And considering he often decides what music he is going to use at a late stage: genius".
