Lebenslang

2002, 2 dancers, 50min, 12x10

A piece about and with Margaret Illmann and Bettina Thiel Choreography: Christoph Winkler Music: Hazard, Akira Rabelais, Chris Carter, Legendary Pink Dots, Lustmord, Fennesz Production: Christoph Winkler and Barbara Friedrich Supported by the Fonds Darstellende Künste e.V. Thanks: Frederick Ashton, Patrice Bart, John Cranko, William Forsythe, Jean Coralli, Petipa

Two extremely successful ballerinas at the height of their career now, together on stage, look back onto their rich lives as dancers. The choreographer Christoph Winkler interviewed Margaret Illmann and Bettina Thiel about their lives as dancers. How does a dancer remember, what does life, if danced, mean? What happens to them, how do they experience getting older in dance, where will it lead them? The thoughts expressed during these interviews are the exciting basis for a choreographic piece that sees itself as a mirror, a foreign gaze onto these two women, artists and dancers.

Review excerpts

"Lebenslang” is an exciting attempt to grasp the careers of two exceptionally successful prima ballerinas; mixing the private with the professional … it focuses on very direct questions that surround the lives of the dancers. For example: What does having been engaged for 22 years at the same venue mean to you … Instead of answering, Thiel slowly turns around in her introverted way and begins a touching, even radical, absolutely non-sentimental solo. She finds the way, just like the glamorous-controlled ballet star Margaret Illman, back to basic movement, to bound form -as verse differs from prose. Tagesspiegel, 11.11.2002

Does ballet only have a chance for the future if it opens itself up more for other systems of art? Christoph Winkler has … searched for possible answers. Like an archaeologist Winkler begins his research on the surface, only gradually digging deeper and that is not only the only reason why "Lebenslang” is also a piece for fans. His dialogue between ballet and contemporary dance is convincing…. Stuttgarter Nachrichten, 15.11.2002

The Berliner choreographer Christoph Winkler has, in his dance piece "Lebenslang”, undertaken a very personal introspection of life as a classical dancer, based entirely on the biographies of two women. Winkler, in his work as an independent choreographer a critical inquirer into academic dance, has very tenderly, with respect for the art and the personalities of the dancers translated it into solos and pas de deux in his strict formal, minimalistic choreographic style. The rebel of dance and two grand ballerinas - a fascinating meeting in dance. Stuttgarter Zeitung, 15.11.2002

Both dancers, complementing each other so wonderfully, celebrated a triumph more exultant than any of their appearances in the opera, bouquets and all, could ever be. It was truly a great programme… That was primarily thanks to this young choreographer Christoph Winkler from Berlin…He interviewed both about their artistic and private self-understandings, as intelligently and penetratingly, as I haven’t experienced in a long while… and then choreographically pushed them to their limits. tanznetz.de, das tanzmagazin im internet, koeglerjournal 2002/2003