Moves for Future

Making dance fit for the future – that has long been Eric Gauthier's great ambition. And long actually means from the very beginning. Even before the first premiere of the newly-established Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart in January 2008, Gauthier and his – back then – six dancers brought dance to people who could not come to the theatre themselves. But the company grew, the performances at Theaterhaus and on tour became more numerous. As a result, it became increasingly difficult to schedule shows with the Gauthier Dance Mobile. 

But now there is a happy ending – and a fresh start for this much-needed outreach project. Funded by the federal programme DIS-TANZ-START, the second, young dance company of Theaterhaus Stuttgart provides the truly authentic connection to tomorrow's audience. With their shows on the road, the Gauthier Dance JUNIORS, who are themselves aged between 18 and 22, can be trusted to be an inspiration for children and young people – and make many of them fall in love with dance. By summer 2025, the two initial formats have reached approximately 23,500 pupils at 80 schools.

Eric Gauthier was able to win a patron who is the ideal fit for the MOVES FOR FUTURE mission: football star Jürgen Klinsmann. The two of them met at the 2021 summer party for the 25th anniversary of the Esslingen Children's Centre, which is run by Klinsmann's Agapedia Foundation. It is not surprising that the two men, who are both actively engaged in a number of charitable causes, hit it off with each other right away. When Eric Gauthier reached out to him, Jürgen Klinsmann didn't have to think twice: „Of course I'll do it! After all, we pursue very similar goals with Agapedia – to enrich children’s lives through sport, play and exercise. Initiatives like Eric's MOVES FOR FUTURE are incredibly important for our entire society, and even more so for children and young people. After more than two years of the pandemic, they have to learn to be active again and rediscover the joy of creativity.“

Jürgen Klinsmann, who lives in the USA, will have to miss out on the official start of MOVES FOR FUTURE. However, Eric Gauthier and his patron have their sights firmly set on a joint event at the next opportunity.

Presented and explained by Eric Gauthier, the MOVES FOR FUTURE Mobile gives children and young people an inside look into the creative work of a dance company. The just under one hour show includes performances of complete dance pieces as well as a live choreography demo. And of course Eric Gauthier will also encourage his audience to dance themselves.

For the premiere programme, the artistic director of the Gauthier Dance JUNIORS has selected two solos and a duet. These include Michel Fokine's ballet classic The Dying Swan in an adaptation by Eric Gauthier, danced by Ayda Frances Güneri, the pas de deux from Nacho Duato's famous Rassemblement, danced by Arnau Redorta Ortiz and Maria Sayrach Baró, and a world premiere by Eric Gauthier. He has created a new solo especially for the MOVES FOR FUTURE Mobile: Everybody's Somebody, a piece about love, set to Lewis Capaldi's hit song Someone You Loved, danced by Angelo Minacori.

An unforgettable school day! Wherever Eric Gauthier shows up with his „truck stage“, the pupils are bound to have the time of their lives. At the MOVES FOR FUTURE Pop-ups, the artistic director of Gauthier Dance will use the big break for a flash appearance – and for getting the whole schoolyard moving. The inspiring dancer has a lot of experience in winning young audiences over: His recipe for success: a lot of humour, hip songs and catchy, uncomplicated choreographies.

Dance for the next generation: that is – in both senses of the word – the purpose of the young dance company of Theaterhaus Stuttgart. Eric Gauthier had been dreaming of this for a long time. Especially as the social developments of recent years have lent urgency to this cause: Children and young people are increasingly suffering from a lack of movement and social interaction. At the same time, training and career planning for the next generation of dancers is becoming ever more complicated in the face of ubiquitous funding curbs. The name of the solution: Gauthier Dance JUNIORS//Theaterhaus Stuttgart.

Supported by the DIS-TANZ-START programme of the Dachverband Tanz as part of NEUSTART KULTUR, the company started out with four dancers in January 2022. From the outset, the outreach aspect was a key focus. Instead of waiting for the kids to find their way to the theatre, it is the Gauthier Dance JUNIORS who seek them out in their everyday lives to get them excited about dance – and ideally win them over as theatregoers. Since spring 2022, the JUNIORS have been working with children and young people on a large scale with the MOVES FOR FUTURE initiative.

But working with children and young people is only one aspect of the Gauthier Dance JUNIORS. In the 2023/24 season, the company expanded to six members, and the young dancers are also meant to grow artistically and advance their own professional careers. January 2024 saw the premiere of the JUNIORS' first stage production, RENAISSANCE. With new creations by Rena Butler and Barak Marshall, choreographies by Sharon Eyal, Andonis Foniadakis and Marco Goecke and a short film by Eric Gauthier, the bar was set just as high as for the main company. The JUNIORS rose to the challenge with flying colours and wowed both the audience and the press. In the 2024/25 season, they went one better with two productions of their own. The first programme Dream Team from January 2025 included world premieres by Virginie Brunelle and Barak Marshall, choreographies by Alejandro Cerrudo and Nacho Duato and a podcast format by Eric Gauthier. In July 2025, Barak Marshall's full-length piece Barker become one of the great hits of the COLOURS International Dance Festival. Conceived for the Theaterhaus gym, Barker will also be performed as a mobile format in schools from the 2025/26 season.

Daria Mosunova
Mail: daria.mosunova@theaterhaus.com
Telefon:  0157 58078325