The Team

It only took Eric Gauthier a few years to make it from charismatic soloist of the Stuttgart Ballet to high-profile international choreographer and director of one of Germany's most successful companies. The German Dance Prize »Future« 2011 in the category choreography for Gauthier himself as well as the German Theatre Prize THE FAUST 2011 and 2013 for Gauthier Dance mark the reputation the company of currently 16 dancers has gained since 2007. In the critics' survey 2012/13 of the German specialist magazine tanz, Eric Gauthier was twice nominated as Dancer of the Year – for the solo I Found A Fox Marco Goecke had created for him. Recent kudos include the listing among the "Great Hopes" 2016 in the new yearbook of tanz and the prize for Best Duet at the St. Petersburg DANCE OPEN Festival 2016 for his piece Punk Love.

Top companies worldwide have taken Gauthier's works into their repertoire – including the Staatsballett Berlin, the St. Petersburg Mariinsky Ballet, the Stuttgart Ballet, Scapino Ballet Rotterdam or Het Nationale Ballet Amsterdam. Devised by Gauthier and produced by Theaterhaus Stuttgart, COLOURS International Dance Festival 2015 created a stir in the international dance world. The festival is to be continued as a biennial event.

As the son of a leading Alzheimer's researcher, Eric Gauthier has acquired an awareness for social issues early on. With the Gauthier Dance Mobile, the company brings contemporary dance to youth centres, hospitals or to old people's homes. Eric Gauthier was awarded the Order of Merit of the State of Baden-Wuerttemberg and is a member of the board of trustees of the Alzheimer's Foundation Baden-Wuerttemberg.

In his 30 years as the curator of various festivals, Meinrad Huber has acquired a wealth of experience and contacts in the international cultural scene. From 1987 to 2001, in his hometown of Isny, he ran a festival of music, theatre, cabaret and dance that also offered a comprehensive range of workshops. During the 1990s, he worked with the Scala Theater in Ludwigsburg, where, among other things, he programmed an annual jazz festival. From 1996 to 2009 he was project director for dance, theatre and world music with the Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele/Internationale Festspiele Baden Wuerttemberg. He has also been responsible for the dance programme of the Burghof Lörrach cultural and event centre since it was opened in 1998 until 2015. In 1992, he founded the dance agency ecotopia dance productions with Claudia Bauer, which represents renowned companies from all over the world, including the Balé da Cidade de São Paulo, the Compagnia Aterballetto, Danza Contemporánea de Cuba, Shen Wei Dance Arts, Helena Waldmann and the Gauthier Dance//Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart.

Thirty years ago Meinrad Huber and Claudia Bauer founded the dance agency ecotopia dance productions, devoting themselves to contemporary dance and the promotion of its visibility throughout the world. Since then, tours with some of the world’s most interesting productions and ensembles have taken them from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and India to South Korea, Canada, the USA, Latin America, Russia and almost all European countries. Their encounters with so many places and cultures have resulted in an immense wealth of experience. From the very beginning, a close collaboration with the Theaterhaus was established, which continues to this day. Claudia Bauer and dance director Helena Waldmann have been working hand in hand since 1996. Together, they have realized numerous productions dealing with contemporary themes and drawing audiences out of their comfort zone. In 2016, Bauer founded the Ballet of Difference as a freelance ballet company with choreographer Richard Siegal and dramaturge Tobias Staab. In the 2019/20 season, the company transferred to the Schauspiel Köln as a permanent ensemble.

In 2006, ecotopia initiated the founding of Gauthier Dance at the Theaterhaus and has been at the side of Eric Gauthier and the Dance Company ever since. The agency’s tasks include organizing tours all over the world, and in 2015 it was instrumental in the founding of the Colours International Dance Festival. Eric Gauthier and Claudia Bauer also work as a team on the dance film series Dance Around The World produced by the German broadcaster SWR.

They are particularly interested in supporting young talent and events that allow a broad audience to experience the power of dance.