Johannes Wieland (born 20 November 1967 in Berlin, Germany) is a choreographer, teacher and dancer.
Biography Johannes Wieland received his early dance training under Ellys Gregor in Berlin, the ballet academy of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, with John Neumeier at the Hamburg State Opera and the Amsterdam School of the Arts where he earned his BFA. His dance career took him back to Germany, the State Theatre of Brunswick, Germany, followed by the Berlin State Opera. Here he worked with numerous guest choreographers, among them Roland Petit and Maurice Béjart. He then joined the Béjart Ballet Lausanne as a principal dancer and also toured extensively with the company. Ready for a radical change, Wieland next moved to New York City, where he was awarded a scholarship to the NYU Tisch School of the Arts, earning his MFA in Contemporary Dance and Choreography in 2002. His company, johannes wieland, was founded that same year and debuted with his original work tomorrow at the Joyce SoHo theater. Praised as 'a spectacular exploration of relationships', by Anna Kisselgoff of The New York Times, this was one in the body of the startlingly powerful, terse strange pieces Wieland began creating for his company, prompting Dance Magazine to cite him as one of "25 to Watch" in 2003. From 2006 until 2021, Wieland was artistic director and choreographer of the resident dance company of the State Theater of Kassel in Germany. He was also associate artistic director of Paradigm in New York and is a guest choreographer and teacher in schools and companies in Europe and North America. He is a permanent resident of the United States and divides his time between New York and Germany.
Work Wieland guides his dancers to achieve 'unpredictable, improbable feats and configurations' employing his riveting movement vocabulary which exhibits his architecturally driven understanding of bodies and space.
As part of his integrated approach to performance art, Wieland has evolved a rigorous developmental process to explore various situations of causality. This intense process fosters a relationship between the performers, composers, designers and other collaborating artists and institutions involved in Wieland's works. Wieland's work also often incorporates video, text, photography, original sound scoring, set designs of an installation character. As part of his outreach initiative in Kassel, Wieland regularly holds open rehearsals and classes, pre- and post- performance talk-backs with the audience as well as inviting a roster of innovative choreographers to create pieces on his company.
Awards, honors and grants 16th International Choreographic Competition in Hanover, Germany, semi-finalist, 2002 25 to Watch; Dance Magazine, 2003 Hubbard Street Choreographic Competition Winner, Chicago, 2004 Kurt Jooss Award, Germany, 2004 Goethe Institut, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2018 Harkness Foundation for Dance, 2004 Choo-San Goh & H. Robert Magee Foundation, 2004 Greenwall Foundation, 2004, 2005, 2006 The Guglielmo Ebreo Competition semi-finalist, Italy, 2006 Poseidon Services, 2006 Trust for Mutual Understanding, 2007 Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, 2007, 2009 The William J. Cooper Grant, 2009 NYSCA, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2011 Der Faust, German theatre prize (nomination), 2016 Grant from the city of Kassel, Germany, 2021 Grant from the state of Hesse, Germany, 2021
Collaborations Staatstheater Kassel (State Theater of Kassel) Folkwang University of the Arts Berkshire Theatre Festival The Juilliard School Jacob's Pillow Dance Bard College New York University Ben Frost, composer Diane von Furstenberg, fashion designer Carmen de Lavallade, performer Espen Sommer Eide, composer Gus Solomons Jr., performer Nicole Chevalier, soprano Hans-Werner Henze, composer Os Gêmeos, graffiti artists
References
External links Website, including full list of repertory State Theater of Kassel, in German