{{Short description|German Choreographer and Dancer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} thumb|right|Sasha Waltz (2007) thumb|right|Sasha Waltz '''Sasha Alexandra Waltz''' (born 8 March 1963, Karlsruhe) is a German choreographer, dancer and leader of the dance company Sasha Waltz and Guests.

==Biography==

Waltz is the daughter of an architect and a curator. At the age of five years she had her first dance lesson in Karlsruhe with Waltraud Kornhass, a student of Mary Wigman. From 1983 until 1986, Waltz studied at the School For New Dance Development in Amsterdam.

Between 1986 and 1987, Waltz did further training in New York. During that period she was a dancer for Pooh Kaye, Yoshiko Chuma & School of Hard Knocks, and Lisa Kraus. After that, she collaborated intensely with choreographers, visual artists and musicians such as Tristan Honsinger, Frans Poelstra, Mark N Tompkins, and David Zambrano.

From 1992 onwards Waltz was an artist in residence at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien. There she developed a series of "dialogues" in interdisciplinary projects with dancers, musicians and visual artists (Nasser Martin-Gousset, Takako Suzuki, Charlotte Zerbey, Ákos Hargitai).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sashawaltz.de/ueber-sasha-waltz-guests/|title=SW&G &#124; Sasha Waltz & Guests|website=www.sashawaltz.de|accessdate=1 December 2021}}</ref> A year later in 1993, she founded her company "Sasha Waltz and Guests" with Jochen Sandig. Over the next 3 years they developed the ''Travelogue-Trilogy''.

Together with Jochen Sandig, Waltz founded the Sophiensæle in central Berlin, as a center for the development of free theatre and dance. Here they developed ''Allee der Kosmonauten'' (1996), ''Zweiland'' (1997) and ''Na Zemlje'' (1998), as well as the project ''Dialoge `99/I''.

In 1999, Waltz took over as artistic director at Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz in Berlin alongside Thomas Ostermeier, Jens Hillje and Jochen Sandig. She opened the Schaubühne under new direction with the debut of ''Körper'' (2000). This was followed by ''S'' (2000), ''noBody'' (2002), ''insideout'' (2003), ''Impromptus'' (2004) and ''Gezeiten'' (2005).

Once her 5-year period with the Schaubühne finished, Waltz reactivated Sasha Waltz & Guests as an independent company again, with a base in Berlin. It was established as an international project with 25 permanent and 40 associate collaborators.

In 2008, she was awarded the X Europe Prize Theatrical Realities, in Thessaloniki.<ref>{{Cite web |title=XII Edizione |url=https://www.premioeuropa.org/xii-edizione/ |access-date=2023-01-02 |website=Premio Europa per il Teatro |language=it-IT}}</ref>

In 2016, Michael Mueller, Mayor of Berlin, announced that Waltz and Johannes Ohman would succeed Nacho Duato as joint artistic directors of the Berlin State Ballet in 2019.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/10/arts/dance/staatsballett-berlin-sasha-waltz-johannes-ohman-to-succeed-nacho-duato.html|title=2 New Faces for Staatsballett Berlin, When Nacho Duato Leaves in 2019|last=Sulcas|first=Roslyn|date=9 September 2016|work=The New York Times|access-date=25 July 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In an online conversation with Octavian Saiu, Waltz declared that she "does not want to go back to the same world" as before the pandemic. She further explained that she thinks important lessons should be drawn from the global crisis, with crucial implications for humanity, ecology, and culture.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sibfest.ro/2020/program/Program-FITS-2020-Special-Edition-online_EN_13.06.pdf|title=Program FITS 2020|accessdate=1 December 2021}}{{Dead link|date=September 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref>

In July 2022, Sasha Waltz became the Inaugural Fellow of the International Association of Theatre Leaders (IATL).<ref name="IATL 2022">{{cite web | title=IATL | website=IATL | date=4 July 2022 | url=https://theatreleaders.org/ | access-date=9 November 2022}}</ref>

Waltz and her husband Jochen Sandig have two children.<ref>{{cite news |last=Brug |first=Manuel |title=Warum lässt Berlin Sasha Waltz hängen? |url=https://www.welt.de/kultur/buehne-konzert/article120603579/Tanzkultur-Warum-laesst-Berlin-Sasha-Waltz-haengen.html |work=Die Welt |date=2013-10-03 |access-date=2026-05-10 }}</ref> ==Artistic phases==

===Education=== After high school, from 1983 to 1986, Waltz studied dance at the School For New Dance Development<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.atd.ahk.nl/|title=Academie voor Theater en Dans|website=Academie voor Theater en Dans|accessdate=1 December 2021}}</ref> in Amsterdam.

She then furthered her education in New York from 1986 to 1987. In New York she worked as a dancer in the companies of Pooh Kaye, Yoshiko Chuma & School of Hard Knocks and Lisa Kraus. She then went on to collaborate with choreographers, visual artists and musicians such as Tristan Honsinger, Frans Poelstra, Mark Tompkins, David Zambrano, and others.

During her training in Amsterdam and New York she created her first Sasha Waltz's choreographies, among them: Das Meer in mir (1985), Gold Dust (1986), How come we go (1987), Schwarze Sirene (1987) and Rifle (1987).

===1990s=== In 1992, Waltz received a scholarship from the Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin as an Artist-in-residence It was in that context that she created her first of five ''dialogues'' in collaboration with the dancers Frans Poelstra, Nasser Martin-Gousset, Takako Suzuki, Kitt Johnson, Carme Renalias and David Zambrano, as well as the musicians Tristan Honsinger, David Moss, Dietmar Diesner, Sven-Åke Johansson, and Peter Hollinger. They performed their own dance productions at various locations in Berlin, such as the two solos False Trap (Tanzfabrik Berlin, 1991) and Paulinchen – allein zu Haus (Kunsthaus Tacheles, 1996) and in 1993 the Duet ''Bungalow'' in Hackescher Markt.

Over the next three years her career took off with productions including ''Travelogue-Trilogie'' with ''Twenty to Eight'' (1993), ''Tears Breakfast'' (1994) and ''All Ways Six Steps'' (1995). Through this work, she laid the foundation for the rest of her career: After the premiere of ''Twenty to Eight'' in October 1993, Waltz founded, together with Jochen Sandig, her own dance company Sasha Waltz & Guests in order to appear in the Dance Platform in Berlin in 1994. The Dance Platform brought her more public attention. Then, Sasha Waltz & Guests toured with the trilogy ''Travelogue through Europe'', and in 1995, with the support of the Goethe Institute, she toured North America (including the cities of Atlanta, New York, Chicago, Montreal, Houston and Los Angeles).

===2000s=== In 2007 a new generation of dancers took part in the first play of the trilogy ''Twenty to Eight''. Up to this date the play is still on the repertoire of the company and is regularly performed.

==Selected works==

Year and location of world premieres by Sasha Waltz:

* 1993 ''Travelogue I – Twenty To Eight'', Grand Theatre Groningen * 1994 ''Travelogue II – Tears Break Fast'', Podewil Berlin * 1995 ''Travelogue III – All Ways Six Steps'', Theater am Halleschen Ufer Berlin * 1996 ''Allee der Kosmonauten'', Sophiensaele Berlin * 1997 ''Zweiland'', Sophiensaele Berlin – 48th Berliner Festspiele * 1998 ''Na Zemlje'' ("On Earth"), Sophiensaele Berlin * 1998 Film adaptation of ''Allee der Kosmonauten'' in cooperation with television channels Arte/ZDF directed by Sasha Waltz * 1999 ''Dialoge '99/I'', Sophiensaele Berlin * 1999 ''Dialoge '99/II'', Jewish Museum Berlin * 2000 ''Körper'', Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz Berlin * 2001 ''S'', Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz Berlin * 2001 ''17-25/4 – Dialoge 2001'', Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz Berlin * 2002 ''noBody'', in coproduction with Festival d'Avignon, Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz Berlin * 2002 Adaptation of ''noBody'' for the Cour d'honneur of the Palais des Papes in Avignon * 2003 ''insideout'', Helmust-List-Halle Graz * 2004 ''Impromptus'', Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz Berlin * 2005 ''Dido and Aeneas'', opera according to the composition by Henry Purcell, Berlin State Opera * 2005 ''Gezeiten'', Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz Berlin * 2006 ''Solo für Vladimir Malakhov'', House of World Cultures Berlin * 2006 ''Dialoge 06 – Radiale Systeme'', Radialsystem Berlin * 2007 ''Medea'', based on the opera "medeamaterial" by Pascal Dusapin (music) / Heiner Müller (text), Grand Théâtre de la Ville de Luxembourg * 2007 ''Roméo et Juliette'', based on the symphony by Hector Berlioz, Paris Opera * 2008 ''Jagden und Formen'' with music by Wolfgang Rihm, Schauspiel Frankfurt * 2009 ''Dialogue 09 – Neues Museum'', Neues Museum Berlin * 2009 ''Dialogue 09 – MAXXI'', MAXXI National Museum of the 21st Century Arts Rome * 2010 ''Continu'', Schiffbauhalle Zurich * 2010 ''Passion'', based on the composition by Pascal Dusapin, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées Paris * 2011 ''Matsukaze'', Opera by Toshio Hosokawa, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Brussels. Co-production: Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg, Staatsoper Unter den Linden and Teatr Wielki (Warsaw). * 2021 ''In C'', based on the open composition In C by Terry Riley, Radialsystem, Berlin * 2022: ''SYM-PHONIE MMXX,'' Staatsoper Berlin, Berlin''.'' Co-production: Staatsballett Berlin, with music composed by Georg Friedrich Haas. * 2023: ''Beethoven 7'', Radialsystem, Berlin. A two-part dance piece, starting with »Freiheit/Extasis« by the composer Diego Noguera and followed by Ludwig van Beethoven's »Sinfonie Nr.7 in A-Dur (op. 92)«. * 2024 ''Johannespassion'', opera based on the composition by Johann Sebastian Bach, Felsenreitschule, Salzburg. Co-production: Opéra de Dijon.

==Awards==

* 1994: Choreography Prize at the International Choreographer's Competition Groningen (NL) for ''Travelogue I – Twenty to Eight'' * 1997: Invitation of ''Allee der Kosmonauten'' to the 34th "Berliner Theatertreffen", an annual event of the Berliner Festspiele that invites the 10 most remarkable German theatre productions of the season to be presented in Berlin * 2000: Adolf Grimme Award for the film adaptation of ''Allee der Kosmonauten'' * 2000: Invitation of ''Körper'' to the 37th "Berliner Theatertreffen" * 2007: "Choreographer of the Year", by ''ballettanz'', German dance magazine * 2008: Europe Theatre Prize - Europe Prize Theatrical Realities<ref>{{Cite web |title=Europe Theatre Prize - XII Edition - XII Edition Europe Theatre Prize |url=https://archivio.premioeuropa.org/open_page.php%EF%B9%96id=40.html |access-date=2023-01-02 |website=archivio.premioeuropa.org}}</ref> * 2009: 1st prize of the Critique's Survey of ''Die Deutsche Bühne'', Germany's oldest theatre magazine * 2009: Order of Arts and Letters * 2010: Friederike Caroline Neuber Prize of the City of Leipzig, Germany * 2022: Nominated in the Bessie Awards category "Outstanding Choreographer/Creator" for ''In C'' at the Brooklyn Academy of Music * 2024: Appointed Commander of Arts and Letters by the Ministry of Culture (France) * 2024: Winner of the Deutscher Tanzpreis for her "artistically unique and discipline-breaking body of work".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Deutscher Tanzpreis 2024 |url=https://www.deutschertanzpreis.de/preistraegerinnen/preistraegerinnen-2024#c394 |access-date=2024-04-24 |website=www.deutschertanzpreis.de}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== * Sasha Waltz: ''Gezeiten''. Berlin, Henschel Verlag 2006, {{ISBN|3-89487-548-8}} * Sasha Waltz: ''Cluster''. Berlin, Henschel Verlag 2007, {{ISBN|978-3-89487-572-5}} * Karl Stocker, Nadia Cusimano, Katia Schurl: ''Insideout''. Wien, New York, Springer Verlag 2003, {{ISBN|978-3-211-40782-0}}

==Bibliography==

* Yvonne Hardt, ''Sasha Waltz''. Palermo, L'Epos, 2007. {{ISBN|978-88-8302-337-8}}

==Reviews== * [http://www.zeit.de/2005/48/Gezeiten__2fTanz?page=all "Ausweidung der Kampfzone"], Die Zeit, 24. November 2005 *[http://www.berlinonline.de/berliner-zeitung/archiv/.bin/dump.fcgi/2006/0301/feuilleton/0002/index.html "Die Geilheit unter der Puderperücke"], Berliner Zeitung, 1 March 2006 *[http://www.netzeitung.de/feuilleton/kulturnews/746870.html "Das Pathos der Trauer"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213232150/http://www.netzeitung.de/feuilleton/kulturnews/746870.html |date=13 February 2012 }}, Netzeitung, 19 September 2007 *[https://www.welt.de/welt_print/article1243826/Unter_Todeskieseln.html "Unter Todeskieseln"], Die Welt, 8 October 2007 *[https://www.ft.com/content/d0f1fdf0-ec1c-11df-9e11-00144feab49a "Sasha Waltz & Guests, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York"], The Financial Times about "Gezeiten" (Tides), 9 November 2010.

==External links== * [http://www.sashawaltz.de/ Sasha Waltz & Guests] Homepage * [http://movingeurope.sashawaltz.de/ Moving Europe / Weblog Sasha Waltz & Guests] Weblog * {{DNB portal|124916597|TYP=}} *{{IMDb name|1637862}} *[https://archive.today/20120609113621/http://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/archiv/03.12.2006/2941600.asp "Medeas Metamorphosen"], Tagesspiegel, 3 December 2006, Interview *[http://images.zeit.de/text/2007/21/Portraet-Sasha-Waltz "Geniale Zweiflerin"], Die Zeit, 17 May 2007, Nr. 21

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Waltz, Sasha}} Category:German artists Category:German female dancers Category:1963 births Category:German women choreographers Category:German choreographers Category:Contemporary dance choreographers Category:Contemporary dancers Category:Living people Category:Artists from Karlsruhe Category:Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Category:Members of the Academy of Arts, Berlin