STUTTGART Which art form combines classical music and movement? It's a safe guess to say that almost everyone would answer ballet. The mixed programme Radical Classical, premiere this evening in Stuttgart (then 24,25,28,29,30,31January), aims to show just how fascinating the not-so-rare combination of contemporary dance and classical music can be. 

The added media value in the breaks between the dance: specially produced, informative short films that illuminate each piece of music from a different angle. Developed by Eric Gauthier and dramaturge Thomas Geiger, the focus here is partly on the instruments, partly on the composers and partly on the performing artists. And although these short documentaries will certainly be of interest to the whole audience, Eric Gauthier had a special target group in mind when planning this programme: Young people who normally have little contact with classical music. All the signs are that Radical Classical will not only inform, but also inspire them. After all, the Gauthier Dance JUNIORS are not just immensely likeable. In this extremely demanding programme, both in terms of performance and technique, they prove just how radical classical music can be.

With her pas de deux Lascilo Perdere, originally created for her own company AB&A in 2005, Aszure Barton might have just set a record for the longest and most audacious tongue-locked moment in a dance piece. For the entire duration of Antonio Vivaldi’s hypnotic Nisi Dominus – Cum Dederit, the new artist in residence entwines a couple in a physically near-impossible feat. Vivaldi has certainly never been translated to dance in this way before! The video features the countertenor Yuriy Mynenko (Staatsoper Stuttgart).

Inspired by Nijinski's ground-breaking choreography L'Après-midi d'un faune and historical photographs showing him in his famed role, Marie Chouinard created her own version for a female faun, which has since emerged as a key work in her oeuvre. With the first notes of Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, the solo transports us into a mythical, archaic, literally inhuman world. How and what does a fabulous creature dream? The Canadian dance avant-gardist shows us. The video features the oboist Prof. Juri Vallentin (Karlsruhe University of Music).

Britten, Handel, Mozart, Schütz, Purcell, Schubert, Wagner ...: Few choreographers have delved into classical music, and opera in particular, as thoroughly as Andreas Heise. Frühlingsstimmen (Voices of Spring) also looks beneath the surface. On the one hand, there is the exuberant bliss of Johann Strauss II.'s classic waltz, the rapture and beauty of nature awakening. On the other hand, there is doubt and scepticism, a puppet-like scene with dancers moving as if remote-controlled. And the pressing question: Where are the faultlines in a supposedly perfect world? The video features the mezzo soprano Maria Theresa Ullrich (Staatsoper Stuttgart).

It is hard to think of a piece of music that has been translated into dance as often, as differently and as creatively as Maurice Ravel's Boléro. Ohad Naharin was also inspired by this iconic piece – on his own terms ... Not only does the title B/olero contain a slash, but the Godfather of Gaga has also opted for a synthesiser arrangement by Japanese composer Isao Tomita. The video features the percussionist Leonie Klein.

Orchestra of Wolves by Eric Gauthier is full of humour. Set to the first movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, this miniature comedy invokes the notorious rivalry between conductor and orchestra. In the professional music scene, this is usually a struggle between two almost equal opponents. There is just one problem: In this piece, the conductor is a bird and only wolves play in the orchestra ... The video features the pianist Maximilian Schairer.

With La Morte del Cigno, Italian choreographer Mauro de Candia takes a radically new look at this iconic piece. In his interpretation, the dying swan is not personified by a delicate ballerina in a tutu, but by a male dancer. The video features the master cello and violin maker Markus Steinbeck.

There is one more surprise in store: instead of the originally planned Firebird pas de deux, Marco Goecke is now contributing a world premiere for Radical Classical. He is dedicating it to costume designer and Theaterhaus Stuttgart co-founder Gudrun Schretzmeier, who passed away in September 2025. Created in a breathless six-day rehearsal period, FURIA represents an attempt to capture time. As his musical template, the long-time artist in residence of Gauthier Dance chose Baroque La Folia variations by Marin Marais and Arcangelo Corelli – two compositions from an era that was artistically obsessed with the fleeting nature of time. "You must fight for the time that is passing“, the choreographer told the dancers during rehearsals, "fight to hold on to time, even when you realise it is going by.“ The video features the conductor Mark Mast.

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