Gauthier Dance//Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart

Orsolina28 Art Foundation is honoured to welcome Gauthier Dance for the second residency dedicated to the creation of the work “Luck / Unluck”, with world-renowned choreographer Hofesh Shechter.

“Luck / Unluck” is a program built on striking contrasts and playful tensions, where two distinct choreographic voices explore opposing yet interconnected themes. The first part of the project investigates the idea of luck and is led by Aszure Barton (who came for a residency in March); this June, Hofesh Shechter takes on its darker counterpart: unluck.

During this residency, the company will work with Shechter to define his own version of Unluck. For the UK-based choreographer, the process itself becomes a gamble, an experiment that mixes self-irony with anxious anticipation. Shechter deliberately turns the rehearsal process into a challenge to fate, questioning whether the success of a creative work truly depends on superstition, habits or luck.

Known for his personal rituals and superstitious tendencies, Shechter now sets out to break all the rules he once followed: speaking openly about the choreography before its premiere, allowing outsiders into the creative process and abandoning the habits that once shaped his working method. What happens when an artist deliberately invites misfortune? The result is “Unluck”: a bold choreographic exploration where risk, doubt, and intuition collide, transforming uncertainty into creative momentum.

The world premiere of “Luck / Unluck” will take place at Theaterhaus Stuttgart on June 26, 2026.

Hofesh Shechter

Hofesh Shechter began studying piano at the age of six and discovered folk dance at twelve. After graduating from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, he worked as a dancer with Ohad Naharin of the Batsheva Dance Company and later with Belgian choreographer Wim Vandekeybus.

In 2002 he moved to London for an artistic residency at The Place, where he began creating his first works in contemporary dance and later became an associate artist of Sadler’s Wells Theatre.

Shechter first gained international recognition in 2004 when his work Cult won the Audience Choice Award in London. In 2008 he founded the Hofesh Shechter Company, now a resident company at Brighton Dome, where he created his first full-length work Political Mother in 2010. Since then, the company has toured extensively worldwide, performing in countries including New Zealand, Taiwan, South Korea, Qatar, and Brazil.

In Italy, Shechter created the work Wolf for Aterballetto, which premiered in Gorizia in 2017. In 2018 he received the Danza&Danza Award as Best Choreographer of the Year.

A musician and composer since adolescence, Shechter also composes much of the music for his own productions, often focusing on strong rhythmic and percussive elements, a signature feature of his choreographic language.

In 2016 the theatre magazine The Stage named him among the 100 most influential artists in the world, and in 2018 he was awarded an Honorary OBE by Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution to dance.

Gauthier Dance//Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart

Gauthier Dance//Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart is a young, dynamic company of 16 highly individual, versatile artists, directed by dancer, choreographer, musician and charismatic dance ambassador Eric Gauthier. Founded in October 2007, the company established itself in the German dance scene with remarkable speed and has long since become an international brand.

The repertoire includes works by Gauthier himself as well as by renowned contemporary choreographers such as Mauro Bigonzetti, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Marie Chouinard, Sharon Eyal, Andonis Foniadakis, William Forsythe, Itzik Galili, Jiří Kylián, Lightfoot/León, Hans van Manen, Marcos Morau, Ohad Naharin and Sasha Waltz.

In addition to performances at its home base Theaterhaus Stuttgart, the company tours internationally to cities such as Toronto, New York, Tel Aviv, Venice, Amsterdam, St. Petersburg, Monaco, Québec City, Montréal, Berlin and Chicago.

Beyond traditional performances, Gauthier Dance has been committed from the very beginning to a pioneering socio-cultural format: Gauthier Dance Mobile, bringing dance to audiences who cannot attend theatre performances and visiting institutions such as retirement homes, hospitals and care facilities.

In 2022 Theaterhaus Stuttgart and Eric Gauthier launched a new chapter of this outreach program with the initiative MOVES FOR FUTURE. Gauthier Dance JUNIORS//Theaterhaus Stuttgart also inspires enthusiasm for dance among younger generations through numerous performances in schools throughout the region.