Doris Uhlich

Ballett-Trilogie (Fragments)

Performance Dance

Doris Uhlich is performing a ballet pose while lying on the floor. She is wearing a tutu over her black leather outfit. — © Barbara Pálffy

Halle G / Tanzquartier Wien

In her ballet trilogy, Doris Uhlich examines the myths, promises, and demands of classical ballet. Excerpts from the pieces “SPITZE,” “Rising Swan,” and “Come Back” reveal a choreographic exploration in which Uhlich has grappled with body ideals, perfection, and transformation over many years.

“SPITZE” (2008) explores the emergence of pointe dance in the 19th century and the accompanying idealization of the ballerina. Former principal dancers Susanne Kirnbauer and Harald Baluch join Doris Uhlich, who did not begin dancing on pointe until 2008, at the age of 30. For her solo “Rising Swan” (2010), Doris Uhlich draws on Michel Fokine’s revolutionary ballet “The Dying Swan” and intertwines it with personal memories of new beginnings, while in “Come Back” (2012), former ballet dancers return to the stage years after the end of their active careers to launch a personal revolution.

With “BOOM TSCHAK: 20 Years of Doris Uhlich,” Tanzquartier Wien dedicates a major retrospective to the local icon and internationally celebrated choreographer from 5 November to 5 December, spanning radical body art, dance, sound and excess.