Iván Pérez

Since its establishment in September 2018, the dance company has earned the praise of spectators and critics with its high-quality productions and contemporary dance aesthetics. Its repertoire includes diverse creations by Iván Pérez, often in collaboration with the Heidelberg Philharmonic Orchestra and other sections of Dance Theatre Heidelberg (DTH), as well as commissioned works by guest choreographers. DTH is an international ensemble with dancers from Belgium, France, Martinique, Portugal, Russia, Spain and Taiwan. It is committed to inclusivity, and it promotes dialogue and exchange among artists. The objective of DTH's framework and parallel programme is to reach all spectators, bolstering the company's commitment to the development of communities through dance and in the city. Since September 2018, Spanish choreographer Iván Pérez has been the art director of DTH at Theatre und Orchester Heidelberg. He is also co-curator of the Tanzbiennale Heidelberg and a member of the jury of the Choreographic Centre Heidelberg. In early 2022, he was appointed to the board of Tanzszene BW. Pérez is a former member of Netherlands Dance Theatre, where he debuted professionally as a choreographer in 2011 with ‘Flesh’. Since then, he has created new works for companies such as Paris Opera Ballet, Balletboyz, Ballet Moscow, Compañía Nacional de Danza and Dance Forum Taipei. In 2018, his creation for the Paris Opera Ballet, The Male Dancer, along with part of an engagement he shared with Crystal Pite, Hofesh Shechter and James Thiérrée, was rebroadcast by ARTE and seen in cinemas worldwide. Before joining DTH, he also created Flutter for Natalia Osipova and Jonathan Goddard at Sadler's Wells in London, which was co-produced by New York City Centre and remains on tour worldwide. In 2016, the feature film Young Men premiered on BBC2/ARTE. Based on a theatrical work created for Balletboyz at Sadler's Wells, the film went on to win a Rose d'Or and Golden Prague Award. As a choreographer associated with Dutch producer Korzo, he created Kick the Bucket (2011), Hide and Seek (2013), Exhausting Space (2015) and Waiting for the Barbarians with director Michiel de Regt (2016). From this latter work, he prepared the first written documentation of his practice: Moving thinking capture, Iván Pérez | a choreographic toolbox, by Hannah Shakti Bühler. That same year, he founded his own company, Inne, in the Netherlands, where he developed his entrepreneurial and leadership skills. With this company, he created his first site-specific work, The Inhabitants, commissioned by the Operaestate Festival in Italy. He also choreographed Island in collaboration with director Grzegorz Bral and Song of the Goat Theatre in Poland. Becoming was the last work made with Inne in co-production with Dance Forum Taipei and was presented at the National Theatre of Taipei during the Taiwan International Festival for the Arts (TIFA). At Dance Theatre Heidelberg, Pérez creates large-scale works, promotes new choreographic voices, and develops communities through dance.