In February 2023, after an incident in which he smeared dog feces on the face of a dance critic who had reviewed him negatively, he was removed from his position in Hanover. In late May 2024 Goecke was announced to be the director of ballet for the Theater Basel for the upcoming season 2025/2026.
Early life
Goecke was born 12 April 1972 in Wuppertal, Germany.[3][4][5] His father worked in an office at a factory and his mother as a secretary.[5] He has an older sister.[5]
Goecke began ballet training in 1988.[3] He studied at the Ballet Academy Cologne, the Tanzinstitut Heinz-Bosl-Stiftung in Munich, and from 1989 to 1995 at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague.[4][5]
Career
In 1997, Goecke began dancing professionally with Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, then at the ballet of Hagen Theatre.[3][4] In 2000, he made his choreographic debut with a piece entitled Loch, for Hagen Theatre.[5]
In 2005 Goecke became the choreographer in residence at the Stuttgart Ballet.[6] In 2008 he was named resident choreographer at Scapino Ballet [nl] in Rotterdam.[5] In 2013, he was an appointed associate choreographer at the Nederlands Dans Theater.[2][7] In 2018, he became the resident choreographer at Stuttgart's Gauthier Dance.[8] In 2019, he was named the director of Hanover State Ballet, the ballet of Staatsoper Hannover.[8]
Goecke's work is noted for its focus on the upper body; costuming is typically black trousers with taupe tops on the women and bare chests for men.[5][4] Movement is primarily by the arms, hands, and torso and described as fluttering, twitching, shaking, spasming, trembling, with great rapidity and precision.[4] The movements in his pieces are often described as making little sense and seemingly chosen only to be ugly or different.[4]
Goecke's sets are typically dimly lit.[4][5] He often includes items spread on or falling onto the stage or being tossed by dancers such as feathers, rose petals, balloons, or dead leaves or flour.[4] Costumes are sometimes trimmed with items that move, such as fringes, or make sounds, such as walnuts.[4] The dancers also create intentional sounds by pattering their feet or sometimes shrieking or quacking.[4] Musical choices are often diverse within a piece and are chosen for mood.[4]
Goecke's Nijinsky (2016) was called out by the 2022 Deutscher Tanzpreis jury as a milestone in his career.[9]
His In the Dutch Mountains (2023) was about his relationship with the Netherlands, where he studied; it was partially inspired by the 1984 novel In the Mountains of the Netherlands by Cees Noteboom and the 1987 song of the same name by the Nits.[5]
Incident with critic
On 12 February 2023, Goecke smeared his dog's feces[11][12] on the face of Wiebke Hüster, a dance critic whose mostly-negative review of the Nederlands Dans Theater premiere of his work In the Dutch Mountains had appeared in that day's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.[2] He confronted Hüster during the intermission of a show including one of his works at the Hanover State Ballet, telling her that her piece had caused people to cancel their season tickets, and threatening to ban her from the premises.[11][13] He then pulled out a bag of feces and smeared them on her face.[11][13]
Goecke said the review had angered him,[2] and that Hüster had written only two positive pieces about his work in the twenty years she'd been covering it.[2][14] He said that critics should not write in "a personal and hateful way".[11] He said "I apologize for the fact I finally blew my top, but I also ask for a certain understanding at least for the reasons why this happened."[13] He said he hoped to start a debate on what art critics should be allowed to say in their reviews.[2]
In the wake of the incident Goecke was charged with assault.[2] The Hanover Opera House suspended Goecke after the incident,[12] and on 16 February, the opera house director Laura Berman announced that "by mutual agreement", it was decided that Goecke would step down from his role as the director of the Hanover State Ballet immediately, though his works will remain in the company's repertory. Berman stated it was because Goecke's works are "incomparable" and her belief that his works should be viewed separate from the incident.[2] The Nederlands Dans Theater announced that although Goecke's action was "contrary to our values", after "a difficult companywide conversation" and Goecke's apology, the company decided to maintain its association with Goecke.[2]The Australian Ballet, however, withdrew its plan to tour Kunstkamer, which featured contributions by Goecke and three other choreographers, to the Royal Opera House in London, citing the incident as the reason.[15]
After the incident, four other critics, all based outside of Germany, described receiving "bizarre communications" from Goecke after reviewing his work negatively.[2]
Proceedings against Goecke were discontinued in November 2023, after the prosecution concluded that Hüster did not suffer lasting damage and Goecke donated a four-digit amount to a non-profit association that deals with conflict resolution.[16]
In late May 2024 Marco Goecke was announced to be the director of ballet for the Theater Basel in the upcoming season 2025/2026. On the occasion, the Theaters intendant Benedikt von Peter praised Goecke as an exceptional artist, who deserved a second chance.[17]
In 2017 Goecke won the Gouden Zwaan for most impressive dance production for Midhight Raga, and the Danza & Danza award for best choreography for Nijinsky.[4][5] In 2022 he won the Deutscher Tanzpreis, sharing the award with Christoph Winkler.[20][21] The jury said his work was extraordinary, that he had created an "unmistakable signature", and that he had contributed to the development of modern dance.[9]
The New York Times called him "renowned" and said that as of 2023 he had for more than a decade been "a star" in European ballet.[2] In Thin Skin, the 2016 documentary, he was called "one of the world's leading choreographers".[22]
Personal life
The 2016 documentary Thin Skin said that 'outside of the rehearsal room, Goecke is difficult, demanding and self-centered. He is preoccupied with a feeling of "otherness," and suffers from panic attacks that cast a shadow on his life and work'.[22] Goecke is known for wearing sunglasses at all times and has explained that he is constantly being observed and wears the glasses to protect himself.[5]
Dancer in the Dark, Stuttgart Ballet and Schauspiel Stuttgart (full-length. Choreographed with Louis Stiens. Director: Christian Brey. Musical arrangement: Matthias Klein)
