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

Choreographer, filmmaker and composer Hofesh Shechter OBE is Artistic Director of UK-based Hofesh Shechter Company, formed in 2008, whose acclaimed productions include Political Mother and Grand Finale. Shechter is Co-director of the L’Agora - Cité internationale de la Danse, Montpellier, Associate Artist of Sadler’s Wells and Artist-in Residence of Gauthier Dance (2021-2026). and recognised as one of the most exciting artists making work for both stage and film. His works have been staged by leading UK and international dance companies including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (USA), Candoco Dance Company (UK), Martha Graham Dance Company (USA), Nederlands Dans Theater 1 (NL), Paris Opera Ballet (FR), Royal Ballet (UK) and Royal Ballet Flanders (B).

He has choreographed for theatre, television and opera, notably at the Metropolitan Opera (New York) for Nico Mulhy’s Two Boys, the Royal Court on Motortown and The Arsonists, the National Theatre on Saint Joan and for the Channel 4 series Skins. He co- directed Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice with John Fulljames at the Royal Opera House and LIGHT: Bach dances, a co-production with Royal Danish Opera and winner of the FEDORA – VAN CLEEF & ARPELS Prize for Ballet 2020 and Oedipus, an Old Vic Production in association with Hofesh Shechter Company.

Shechter has directed three short dance films including Clowns (2018), broadcast by the BBC, POLITICAL MOTHER: The Final Cut (2021) and Return (2023). He collaborated with French filmmaker Cédric Klapisch on the feature film En corps in which he starred with his company. The film was released in 2022 alongside a soundtrack composed by Shechter.

He has received many prizes including an Audience Choice Award at the Place Prize 2004 for Cult, the British Theatre Institute’s Award for Excellence in International Dance (2011), a Tony Nomination for his work on Fiddler on the Roof (2016), Best Dance Film at Festival de Cannes (2023), nominations for Olivier Awards for Best New Dance Production for Grand Finale (2018), Best New Dance Production for Theatre of Dreams (2025) and Best Theatre Choreographer for Oedipus (2025). In 2014, he was Guest Director of the Brighton Festival and 2018, he was also awarded an honorary OBE for Services 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.