Boîte-en-valise

Aesthetic creativity has always been about the preservation, processing and reworking of what has been experienced. Because dance as an art form is very much of the moment, however, and because its sensuality consists in flux rather than stasis, we feel a desire to preserve these special moments in our memory. With his “Boîte-en-valise” (Box in a Suitcase) the Franco-American object artist Marcel Duchamp rendered the idea of an artist having a portable museum of his own works. This was Duchamp’s way of addressing the question of how to archive his art.

The Ballet Company of the Staatstheater Nürnberg, headed by Goyo Montero, is now in its 15th season, a major anniversary. To mark 15 years of innovation, variety and virtuosity – and intimate involvement with our audiences – we now present five performances of “Boîte-en-valise”, our back catalogue of creations staged since 2008. The retrospective revisits signature pieces by guest choreographers ranging from Mats Ek with excerpts from his “A sort of … Bolero” to William Forsythe and his iconic ballets. The programme encompasses Nacho Duato’s sculptural “Duende” and the subtle “das siebte blau” from Christian Spuck’s early period. Goyo Montero rounds off the evening with a choreography created specially for the occasion, tying together this string of gems and demonstrating the breadth of the Company’s spectrum under his leadership.