We are nominated for the FAUST-prize!

The Hessisches Staatsballett has now been nominated for the FAUST Prize for the fifth time!

Imre & Marne van Opstal’s “I’m afraid to forget your smile” from our double evening “V/ertigo” is in the running for the prestigious theater prize in the category “Staging Dance”. In their piece, the two shooting stars of the European dance scene brought together dancers from the Hessian State Ballet and the opera choir of the Staatstheater Darmstadt for the first time and explored the moment of letting go in all its facets.

I’m afraid to forget your smile will soon be shown in Maastricht! At the Nederlandse Dansdage we will show the piece on the stage of the Theater aan het Vrijthof.

More about the piece

“The now fifth nomination for the Faust Prize is a great confirmation of our joint Hessian State Ballet, the dance ensemble and the ballet direction. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that this will be the third Faust Prize win for the Hessian State Ballet. Congratulations and a warm invitation, because the special double evening “V/ertigo” will be seen again this season in Darmstadt and Wiesbaden,” said Uwe Eric Laufenberg, artistic director of the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden.

“Two nominations for the Faust Prize at once make us happy and proud, of course,” says Karsten Wiegand, artistic director of the Staatstheater Darmstadt. “I am particularly pleased that two ventures have been wonderfully confirmed: Young choreographers can work with the ballet ensemble and the opera choir on a work about ultimate questions (…). Congratulations to all involved and fingers crossed for November 25, the day of the award ceremony!”

“I am infinitely grateful to Imre and Marne for this great piece. A small masterpiece that leaves no one untouched,” said Bruno Heynderickx, Ballet Director of the Hessisches Staatsballett. “I`m afraid to forget your smile” is an incredibly valuable addition to our repertoire and demands the absolute best from our dancers. I am equally grateful for the wonderful collaboration with the choir of the Staatstheater Darmstadt and the singers who performed with us at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden.”

The nominations and winners of the FAUST Prize are decided by juries of theater experts and members of the German Academy of Performing Arts and the Artistic Committee of the Deutscher Bühnenverein: https://derfaust-theaterpreis.de/

FAUST: Previous nominations and awards of the Hessian State Ballet:

2016 nominee in the category “Performer Dance”: Tyler Schnese as Kaspar Hauser in “Kasper Hauser” by Tim Plegge / 2017 nominee in the category “Choreography”: Damien Jalet for “Thr(o)ugh”.

FAUST Prize 2018 in the category “Performer Dance” for Ramon John as Wanderer in “Eine Winterreise” by Tim Plegge / FAUST Prize 2020 in the category “Choreography” for Bryan Arias for “29 May 1913” from the double evening “Le sacre du printemps”.