taking shape in various ways, my approach towards choreography is always a very physical one. in the process of creating i try to combine emotionally charged movements with abstract physicality. therefore i don‘t see dance as something decorative but i use movements as the origin of a theatrical act. some of the recurring themes in my pieces are: the difficulties in interpersonal communication, our natural imperfection and the struggles yet to come up to our and other‘s expectations. my work is influenced by a bunch of different art forms as well as everyday life, but what always plays an essential part is the music. and of course music is meant in a literal sense, but it also includes the musicality of the movement, the musicality of all that‘s happening.
michael started creating his own choreographic work while still involved in his dance studies at cologne university of music and dance, beginning with DIE BESTAENDIGKEIT DER ERINNERUNG in 2004 and followed by WITH A PALM FULL OF [...]. in 2005 RE|THINKING was premiered within the frame of tanz aus(ser) der reihe, an evening of shorts hosted by the members of gregor zoellig‘s tanztheater bielefeld. one year later michael created the duet IF YOU‘RE GONNA DINE WITH THE CANNIBALS, SOONER OR LATER, DARLING, YOU‘RE GONNA GET EATEN for austrian dancer brigitte uray and himself. in 2007 michael choreographed a part of the community dance project ZEITSPRUNG which was coached by royston maldoom, the protagonist of rhythm is it!. the project became a big hit and as a consequence a model for plenty of subsequent projects in germany. in summer 2010 michael collaborated with amsterdam-based dancer andrea hackl on two improvisational performances, TEJAS and WITHIN SPACES. one year later, michael headed back to bielefeld to choreograph another edition of ZEITSPRUNG in collaboration with his berlin colleague antje rose. in 2011 michael initiated and curated a triple bill program in berlin, which showed works by maya lipsker and stella zannou as well as his latest creation INLAND.
most recently, michael formed the collective SOMETHING MACHINE with his longtime collaborators pansun kim, genevieve osborne, francois przybylski and milena twiehaus. a first residency period for the creation of a new work called THE 2ND EXCESSIVE RUDENESS is set to take place in summer 2017 in amsterdam.
