2024: Mind the Gap-Edition I

Marco Goecke

Choreographer

Blushing

Marco Goecke, born in 1972 in Wuppertal, is an internationally renowned German choreographer. He completed his ballet training from 1988 to 1995 at the Ballet Academy of the Heinz Bosl Foundation in Munich and at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague.

Goecke’s choreographic career began in 2000 with his work Loch at Theater Hagen. He achieved his breakthrough in 2003 with Blushing, which earned him the Prix Dom Pérignon in Hamburg. Since then, Goecke has created more than 90 works and has received numerous awards, including the Nijinsky Award Monte Carlo (2006), the Dutch Dance Award De Zwaan (2017), and the title Choreographer of the Year twice (2015 and 2021) in the critics’ poll of Tanz magazine.

Goecke’s unique dance style is characterized by a highly expressive and innovative movement language. His choreographies are in demand worldwide and are performed by renowned companies, including Stuttgart Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater, Ballet de l’Opéra de Paris, Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, and Zurich Ballet.

Throughout his career, Goecke has held significant positions, including Resident Choreographer of Stuttgart Ballet (2005–2018), Scapino Ballet Rotterdam (2006–2012), and Associate Choreographer of Nederlands Dans Theater (2013–2023). From 2019 to 2023, he served as Ballet Director of Staatsballett Hannover.

From the 2025/2026 season onward, Marco Goecke will assume the position of Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer of the ballet at Theater Basel. Together with the students of the Pre-Professionals Summer Academy of Tanz und Kunst Königsfelden, he will interpret his work Blushing.

Maša Kolar

Choreographer

Divine Creatures

Maša Kolar, born in 1973 in Zagreb, is a renowned Croatian dancer, choreographer, and artistic director. She completed her training at the Ana Maletić School of Dance in Zagreb, the Vlaamse Dansacademie in Bruges, and earned a BA in Contemporary Dance from the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb, as well as an MA in Cultural Studies from the University of Rijeka.

Her professional dance career began in 1986 at the Komedija Theatre in Zagreb. From 1992 to 1998, she danced at the Semperoper Dresden, where she was promoted to soloist in 1995 and received the Mary Wigman Award in 1997. She subsequently worked with renowned companies such as Queensland Ballet in Australia and Aterballetto in Italy.

As a choreographer, Kolar has created numerous works, including Pour homme et femme, Macbeth, Lace, Rite of Spring, and Afternoon of a Faun for Ballet Rijeka, Bolero for the Croatian National Ballet in Zagreb, and Allegro for the Croatian National Ballet in Split.

Kolar has received several awards, including the Croatian Theatre Award (2008), the Austin Critics Table Award, and the Production Award of the Dance Week Festival.

Since the 2017/18 season, Maša Kolar has served as Artistic Director of the Ballet at the Croatian National Theatre Ivan pl. Zajc in Rijeka, where she is also active as a choreographer and creative producer.

Filipe Portugal

Choreographer

Quiet.ude

Filipe Portugal was born in 1978 in Lisbon, Portugal, and completed his dance studies at the National Conservatory there, among others with Georges Garcia, his most important mentor. After graduating, he began his career as a professional dancer with the Portuguese National Ballet at the invitation of its director, Jorge Salavisa.

Six years later, he joined the renowned Zurich Ballet under the direction of Heinz Spoerli. In both companies, Filipe impressed with his exceptional artistic talent and stylistic versatility, which led to his rapid promotion to soloist and later to the rank of principal dancer.

Throughout his career, he performed works by numerous internationally renowned choreographers, including George Balanchine, John Cranko, Patrice Bart, Jiří Kylián, Mats Ek, William Forsythe, Hans van Manen, Nacho Duato, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Marco Goecke, Crystal Pite, Edward Clug, Douglas Lee, Martin Schläpfer, Nils Christe, Heinz Spoerli, Christian Spuck, Vasco Wellenkamp, and Rui Lopes Graça.

Filipe made his choreographic debut as early as 2001 with the work Anfractus, which, due to its success, was taken into the repertoire of the Portuguese National Ballet. From 2007 onward, he continued his choreographic work consistently and, since ending his career as a dancer in 2020, has been active as an internationally sought-after choreographer. To date, he has created works for companies including Ballet Ireland, the Stuttgart Noverre Society, Shanghai Ballet, Charlotte Ballet, Cannes Jeune Ballet, and the Portuguese National Ballet.

Alongside his artistic work, Filipe Portugal has a strong interest in nurturing young talent, which he pursues in his role as Artistic Director of Tanz und Kunst Königsfelden.

Nicole Kohlmann

Staging & Rehearsal Director

Blushing

Born in Frankfurt, Nicole Kohlmann received her training as a dancer at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts, the Heinz Bosl Foundation in Munich, and the Academy of Dance in Mannheim, where she was also trained as a dance educator. Her twenty-year career as a dancer led her to ensemble positions at the Berlin State Opera (Staatsoper Unter den Linden), the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Saarland State Theatre in Saarbrücken, Company Introdans, and Scapino Ballet Rotterdam. During this time, she was involved in the creation of numerous world premieres, collaborating with choreographers such as Maurice Béjart, Ed Wubbe, Georg Reischl, Hans Vierthaler, David Heitkamp, Marguerite Donlon, Nanine Linning, Renato Zanella, Jorma Uotinen, and Marco Goecke.

In 2012, she ended her active career as a dancer and pursued academic studies at the Free University of Berlin, earning a BA in Theatre Studies and Art History, followed by an MA in Dance Studies.

Since then, she has been working as a freelance ballet mistress, choreographic assistant, dramaturg, and production manager, among others for the emerging choreographer Arshak Ghalumyan and the newly formed Berlin Ballet Company. As co-curator and co-production manager, she contributed to the highly successful realization of the benefit gala Ballet for Life II in 2023. With particular passion, she has been responsible since 2013 for staging and rehearsing works by choreographer Marco Goecke.

Salomé Martins

Rehearsal Director

Divine creatures / Quiet.ude

Salomé Martins was born in Setúbal, Portugal, where she began and completed her professional dance training at the Contemporary Dance Academy.

After her first professional engagement in Portugal, she pursued an international career with various theatres and companies in Germany, France, and Switzerland, including Ballett Theater Munich (Germany), Ballet National de Marseille (France), and Tanz Luzerner Theater (Switzerland). There, she worked for seven seasons as a soloist under the artistic direction of Kathleen McNurney and concluded her stage career in 2017.

In 2022, Salomé obtained a Master’s degree in Teaching and Coaching Dance Professionals at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). She currently teaches as a guest lecturer for the BA Contemporary Dance program, among other institutions.

Since 2023, Salomé Martins has been the coordinator of the tanz+ Residency Center in Baden, operated by the association Tanz & Kunst Königsfelden.