BALLET
“Strawinsky Evening” Chamber Ballet – 2014/15 season
Nordharzer Städtebundtheater • Director and choreographer: Francisco Sanchez Martinez • Sets and costumes: Wiebke Horn • Sound collage: Kay Lautenbach
Agon: Twelve Tutus hanging on the stage symbolize the diversity in art. They also connect to the twelve tone music of this musical piece. Dancers develop abstract formations. Body landscapes are created. The consensus within the movement forms as well as spatial and dynamic complexity are highlighted. the intensive dialogue between music, sound-collage and the choreography opens up visual access to a tightly woven and sensual body language. Capriccio: As a metaphor of the inexhaustible diversity of the arts, especially of the performing arts, during the course of this piece the tutus become included choreographically and in a humorous manner misused. Apollon musagète: From the passionate encounter and joining together of Zeus and Leto, Apollo, the god of music, is born. Supported by Zeus, Apollo is urged through his uncontrollable creative curiosity to discover art forms, one after the other, the muses of poetry, epic and dance. The unity of the muses represents the inexplicable transcendence of the diverse art forms as the existential essence of our being. Press
“Zwischentango” (“In-between Tango”) Dance performance- 2012/2013 season
Theater Lüneburg • Director and Choreographer: Francisco Sanchez Martinez, Robina Steyer, Francesc Fernández Marsal, Javier Sanchez and Júlia Cotrés • Lighting design: Richard Busse
The “In-between Tango” draws the audience, with tango sounds and baroque music, into the worlds of music and dance. The dancers perform in quite different styles, from classical to modern, and naturally tango. Dancing to music makes the room between the passionate world of the tango and the structurally perfect world of baroque music both audible and visual, an “Inbetween Tango” full of unleashed emotions and deep strength of expression.
Ballet director Francisco Sanchez Martinez, Robina Steyer, Francesc Fernández Marsal, Javier Sanchez and Júlia Cotrés dance to the music of Bach, Montes, Rodrigo and Astor Piazzola, which is played by Ivan Neykov (violin), Roland Funck (guitar) and Richard Welschhoff (bass). Press
Theater Lüneburg • Director and Choreographer: Francisco Sanchez Martinez, Robina Steyer, Francesc Fernández Marsal, Javier Sanchez and Júlia Cotrés • Lighting design: Richard Busse
The “In-between Tango” draws the audience, with tango sounds and baroque music, into the worlds of music and dance. The dancers perform in quite different styles, from classical to modern, and naturally tango. Dancing to music makes the room between the passionate world of the tango and the structurally perfect world of baroque music both audible and visual, an “Inbetween Tango” full of unleashed emotions and deep strength of expression.Ballet director Francisco Sanchez Martinez, Robina Steyer, Francesc Fernández Marsal, Javier Sanchez and Júlia Cotrés dance to the music of Bach, Montes, Rodrigo and Astor Piazzola, which is played by Ivan Neykov (violin), Roland Funck (guitar) and Richard Welschhoff (bass). Press
“Seht mich an” (“Look at me”) Dance Theater – 2012/2013 season
Theater Lüneburg • Director and Choreographer: Francisco Sanchez Martinez • Stage design: Barbara Bloch • Costumes: Frauke Ollmannn
When Whitney Houston died, millions of fans mourned her passing. But the list of artists who became “Stars of the Century” due to their exceptional capabilities and who often died much too young under tragic circumstances, is long. While they were performing on stage, their plea “Look at me!” was unnecessary. They were sure of the world’s attention/admiration. They had what we all desired: fame, the promise of wealth, love and beauty. In the spotlight, in the storm of camera flashbulbs, they shone with their strength and we envied them. But often their stage personalities became a “second skin” which began to confine them in their offstage lives. They live on in our memory, and a few of them are “present” this evening as they tell their own stories. They allow us to share in the intoxicating feeling of happiness in their success and their constant search for love. Francisco Sanchez Martinez deals with the personalities of the stars in”Look at me!”, investigating their emotional condition and observing them through another perspective than the public did when they were alive. He respectfully allows us to see what we could not perceive while we were admiring them. Press
Theater Lüneburg • Director and Choreographer: Francisco Sanchez Martinez • Stage design: Barbara Bloch • Costumes: Frauke Ollmannn
When Whitney Houston died, millions of fans mourned her passing. But the list of artists who became “Stars of the Century” due to their exceptional capabilities and who often died much too young under tragic circumstances, is long. While they were performing on stage, their plea “Look at me!” was unnecessary. They were sure of the world’s attention/admiration. They had what we all desired: fame, the promise of wealth, love and beauty. In the spotlight, in the storm of camera flashbulbs, they shone with their strength and we envied them. But often their stage personalities became a “second skin” which began to confine them in their offstage lives. They live on in our memory, and a few of them are “present” this evening as they tell their own stories. They allow us to share in the intoxicating feeling of happiness in their success and their constant search for love. Francisco Sanchez Martinez deals with the personalities of the stars in”Look at me!”, investigating their emotional condition and observing them through another perspective than the public did when they were alive. He respectfully allows us to see what we could not perceive while we were admiring them. Press
Auf dem Seil ”Entfesselt” (On the Tightrope “Unleashed ”) – 2012/2013 season
Theater Lüneburg • Conception and choreography: Francisco Sanchez Martinez • Musical director: Nezih Seckin • Stage design: Barbara Bloch • Costumes: Frauke Ollmannn
The choreography’s content delves into the universe of Robert Schumann, whose second symphony is a musical masterpiece. It is devoted to Schumann’s last stage of life spent after an attempted suicide in the Endenich sanatorium. There Schumann is haunted by the demons mania and depression. His wife Clara defragments before his very eyes into different characters: the cool artist, the passionate lover and an angel of death, who accompanies him more and more in his increasing insanity. His only connection to Clara and the outside world is his music, full of despair, but also full of hope and an irrepressible lust for life. Press
Theater Lüneburg • Conception and choreography: Francisco Sanchez Martinez • Musical director: Nezih Seckin • Stage design: Barbara Bloch • Costumes: Frauke Ollmannn
The choreography’s content delves into the universe of Robert Schumann, whose second symphony is a musical masterpiece. It is devoted to Schumann’s last stage of life spent after an attempted suicide in the Endenich sanatorium. There Schumann is haunted by the demons mania and depression. His wife Clara defragments before his very eyes into different characters: the cool artist, the passionate lover and an angel of death, who accompanies him more and more in his increasing insanity. His only connection to Clara and the outside world is his music, full of despair, but also full of hope and an irrepressible lust for life. Press
Herzschlag (Heartbeat) – 2011/2012 season
Theater Lüneburg • Conception and choreography: Francisco Sanchez Martinez • Stage design: Daniel Libeskind • Costumes: Elke Pesarra
A ballet evening presented in quite a modern way. The first part is choreographed by some of the company members. In the second part, “Heartbeat”, artistic director Francisco Sanchez Martinez combines Daniel Libeskind`s architectural drawing with a sound collage of Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Architecture arouses all of our senses. The aesthetics of a building awakens, in a split second, feelings in us, can disturb us, frighten us, or “make our hearts beat faster” with anticipation. Daniel Libeskind, who himself needs no introduction, creates buildings which impress and leave no one unmoved. The fundamentals of architecture: mathematics, fragments, and, last but not least, emptiness form structures which equally form the basis for music. Daniel Libeskind, who worked in his early years as a professional musician, created on the occasion of an installation in Milan, together with Holm Keller, based on the Goldberg Variations, a sound collage that serves as the basis for the ballet “Heartbeat”. From Libeskind’s drawings, which was further developed in collaboration with Francisco Sanchez Martinez, was born a choreographic language of tension, release, architecture and music. Press
Theater Lüneburg • Conception and choreography: Francisco Sanchez Martinez • Stage design: Daniel Libeskind • Costumes: Elke Pesarra
A ballet evening presented in quite a modern way. The first part is choreographed by some of the company members. In the second part, “Heartbeat”, artistic director Francisco Sanchez Martinez combines Daniel Libeskind`s architectural drawing with a sound collage of Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Architecture arouses all of our senses. The aesthetics of a building awakens, in a split second, feelings in us, can disturb us, frighten us, or “make our hearts beat faster” with anticipation. Daniel Libeskind, who himself needs no introduction, creates buildings which impress and leave no one unmoved. The fundamentals of architecture: mathematics, fragments, and, last but not least, emptiness form structures which equally form the basis for music. Daniel Libeskind, who worked in his early years as a professional musician, created on the occasion of an installation in Milan, together with Holm Keller, based on the Goldberg Variations, a sound collage that serves as the basis for the ballet “Heartbeat”. From Libeskind’s drawings, which was further developed in collaboration with Francisco Sanchez Martinez, was born a choreographic language of tension, release, architecture and music. Press
Bewegende Zeiten (Moving Times) – Part 1 of the ballet evening – 2011/12 season
Theater Lüneburg • Conception and choreography: Francisco Sanchez Martinez • Musical director: Nezih Seckin • Stage design: Barbara Bloch • Costumes: Sabine Meinhardt
The “Moving Times”, in the sense of breaking into the modern period, forms the basis for the the ballet evening`s first piece. We accompany a painter in his studio, creating a work of art. He experiments with all aspects of art such as shape, perspective, distortion and color contrast. The dancers embody his vision. The music is the brush, the dancers are the paint. The music of Debussy, the innovator and “painter” by means of music, becomes the fundament of the search for authenticity and intensity of artistic expression. A kaleidoscope of movement, form, light and nuances is created, just as Debussy’s music forms a kaleidoscope of sounds. Francisco Sanchez Martinez combines neo-classical style with contemporary elements of movement and thus expands on the movement possibilities of ballet. Press
Theater Lüneburg • Conception and choreography: Francisco Sanchez Martinez • Musical director: Nezih Seckin • Stage design: Barbara Bloch • Costumes: Sabine Meinhardt
The “Moving Times”, in the sense of breaking into the modern period, forms the basis for the the ballet evening`s first piece. We accompany a painter in his studio, creating a work of art. He experiments with all aspects of art such as shape, perspective, distortion and color contrast. The dancers embody his vision. The music is the brush, the dancers are the paint. The music of Debussy, the innovator and “painter” by means of music, becomes the fundament of the search for authenticity and intensity of artistic expression. A kaleidoscope of movement, form, light and nuances is created, just as Debussy’s music forms a kaleidoscope of sounds. Francisco Sanchez Martinez combines neo-classical style with contemporary elements of movement and thus expands on the movement possibilities of ballet. PressZwischen(t)räume@dialog.de (inbetween Dreams@dialogue.de) – 2011/2012 season
Theater Lüneburg • Conception and choreography: Francisco Sanchez Martinez • Stage design: Barbara Bloch • Costumes: Sabine Meinhardt
The “face” of a city is made up of countless fates and hopes, in short, the personal stories of people together. If you could even look at all the hearts and minds …What we see is only the first façade – a mix of social engagements and self-expression: as one moves to the streets and squares, so you have to move. In dance, we learn of the dreams of individuals, we get a glimpse into their souls. And so the urban landscape is a map of the emotions. Since there is a street of memories – of a lost love perhaps. And a road of vanity, where women have to compete with the mannequins. One can argue against the mainstream? You can create a free space, get out of the movements of the earth, the rhythm and pace, the group pretending? Press
Theater Lüneburg • Conception and choreography: Francisco Sanchez Martinez • Stage design: Barbara Bloch • Costumes: Sabine Meinhardt
The “face” of a city is made up of countless fates and hopes, in short, the personal stories of people together. If you could even look at all the hearts and minds …What we see is only the first façade – a mix of social engagements and self-expression: as one moves to the streets and squares, so you have to move. In dance, we learn of the dreams of individuals, we get a glimpse into their souls. And so the urban landscape is a map of the emotions. Since there is a street of memories – of a lost love perhaps. And a road of vanity, where women have to compete with the mannequins. One can argue against the mainstream? You can create a free space, get out of the movements of the earth, the rhythm and pace, the group pretending? Press
Bachgeflüster (Whispers from Bach) – 2011/2012 season
Theater Lüneburg • Conception and choreography: Francisco Sanchez Martinez • Musical director: Nezih Seckin • Stage design: Barbara Bloch • Costumes: Sabine Meinhardt
Francisco Sanchez Martinez first full length ballet evening with orchestra at the Lueneburg Theater has two parts. The (dance) music by Sebastian Bach on one hand and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on the other lead us into the realms of feeling and sensibility. On the spiritual side with Bach we search for the meaning of life, the life force that we search for in rituals, in religion, philosophy or esoterics. On the secular side with Mozart we search for sensuality, physical experience and happiness, for immediacy. Two poles around which the entire range of human harmony and disharmony, the search for love and the need to belong, circle. Francisco Sanchez Martinez weaves a wide range of means of expression, from classical to modern movement elements, from short stories to shadow plays, into an experience in which, sensually, all the senses are activated. Press
Theater Lüneburg • Conception and choreography: Francisco Sanchez Martinez • Musical director: Nezih Seckin • Stage design: Barbara Bloch • Costumes: Sabine Meinhardt
Francisco Sanchez Martinez first full length ballet evening with orchestra at the Lueneburg Theater has two parts. The (dance) music by Sebastian Bach on one hand and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on the other lead us into the realms of feeling and sensibility. On the spiritual side with Bach we search for the meaning of life, the life force that we search for in rituals, in religion, philosophy or esoterics. On the secular side with Mozart we search for sensuality, physical experience and happiness, for immediacy. Two poles around which the entire range of human harmony and disharmony, the search for love and the need to belong, circle. Francisco Sanchez Martinez weaves a wide range of means of expression, from classical to modern movement elements, from short stories to shadow plays, into an experience in which, sensually, all the senses are activated. Press
CHILDREN’S BALLET
Der Froschkönig (The Frog Prince) family ballet performance – 2012/2013 season
Theater Lüneburg • Conception and choreography: Francisco Sanchez Martinez • Stage design: Barbara Bloch • Costumes: Frauke Ollmannn
A princess awakens, full of anticipation and excitement, for it is the morning of her birthday. She gets many gifts, but the best is a golden ball. But while playing in the forest she drops the ball into a deep well. Fortunately, a frog appears and offers her his help. But he demands compensation for this: he wants to sit at the table with the princess, eat and drink with her and to sleep with her in her bed. The princess seems to agree. But as soon as she has the ball in her hands again she runs away. But never underestimate a frog… With charm and wit you see a cheeky modernized dance version of the fairy tale by the brothers Grimm. Press
Theater Lüneburg • Conception and choreography: Francisco Sanchez Martinez • Stage design: Barbara Bloch • Costumes: Frauke Ollmannn
A princess awakens, full of anticipation and excitement, for it is the morning of her birthday. She gets many gifts, but the best is a golden ball. But while playing in the forest she drops the ball into a deep well. Fortunately, a frog appears and offers her his help. But he demands compensation for this: he wants to sit at the table with the princess, eat and drink with her and to sleep with her in her bed. The princess seems to agree. But as soon as she has the ball in her hands again she runs away. But never underestimate a frog… With charm and wit you see a cheeky modernized dance version of the fairy tale by the brothers Grimm. Press
Der Zauberlehrling (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice) family ballet – 2010/2011 season
Theater Lüneburg • Conception and choreography: Francisco Sanchez Martinez • Stage design: Barbara Bloch • Costumes: Frauke Ollmannn
No, it’s not about Harry Potter. This guy turns out to be quite a gifted sorcerer. This could appear to be more of an action in the style of Ron Weasley: he must draw water, the sorcerer’s apprentice, and puts a spell on a broom to take on the chore for him. Actually a good idea. But the nightmare can no longer be tamed, he cannot get rid of the ghosts that he called forth. And when he destroys the broom with an axe, an army of water carriers arises from the splinters. An enormous emergency… Paul Dukas has put to music the popular Goethe ballad, thus creating a masterful example of program music. Dukas sets Goethe’s eloquence into dramatic, colorful orchestral music, with catchy motives he tells the story clearly and compellingly. He paints with sounds the hall of the magician sparkling magically in the twilight, where the broom comes to life careening, hopping, we are happy for the apprentice until the floods pour down continuously on him. Just right for spellbound dance fans, young and old and those who would like to be the same. We will meet Harry Potter. Musically. That’s a promise. Press
Theater Lüneburg • Conception and choreography: Francisco Sanchez Martinez • Stage design: Barbara Bloch • Costumes: Frauke Ollmannn
No, it’s not about Harry Potter. This guy turns out to be quite a gifted sorcerer. This could appear to be more of an action in the style of Ron Weasley: he must draw water, the sorcerer’s apprentice, and puts a spell on a broom to take on the chore for him. Actually a good idea. But the nightmare can no longer be tamed, he cannot get rid of the ghosts that he called forth. And when he destroys the broom with an axe, an army of water carriers arises from the splinters. An enormous emergency… Paul Dukas has put to music the popular Goethe ballad, thus creating a masterful example of program music. Dukas sets Goethe’s eloquence into dramatic, colorful orchestral music, with catchy motives he tells the story clearly and compellingly. He paints with sounds the hall of the magician sparkling magically in the twilight, where the broom comes to life careening, hopping, we are happy for the apprentice until the floods pour down continuously on him. Just right for spellbound dance fans, young and old and those who would like to be the same. We will meet Harry Potter. Musically. That’s a promise. Press
Des Kaisers neue Kleider (The Emperor’s New Clothes) family ballet – 2010/2011 season
Theater Lüneburg • Conception and choreography: Francisco Sanchez Martinez • Musical director: Itay Dvori • Stage design: Barbara Bloch • Costumes: Sabine Meinhardt
The story of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” is one of the classic fairy tales. We think of the sentence: “But he has nothing on!” Whenever, behind a pompous facade, nothing seems to materialize, people act important but really have nothing to offer. Two fakers promise to provide the Emperor, for a lot of money, the latest fashions: clothing which is so artfully made that only those who can see them are worthy of their jobs and not stupid – and this, of course no one denies, so this dance story humorously takes its course. A ballet for children, according to Hans Christian Andersen’s story with music by Elisabeth Naske. Press
Theater Lüneburg • Conception and choreography: Francisco Sanchez Martinez • Musical director: Itay Dvori • Stage design: Barbara Bloch • Costumes: Sabine Meinhardt
The story of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” is one of the classic fairy tales. We think of the sentence: “But he has nothing on!” Whenever, behind a pompous facade, nothing seems to materialize, people act important but really have nothing to offer. Two fakers promise to provide the Emperor, for a lot of money, the latest fashions: clothing which is so artfully made that only those who can see them are worthy of their jobs and not stupid – and this, of course no one denies, so this dance story humorously takes its course. A ballet for children, according to Hans Christian Andersen’s story with music by Elisabeth Naske. Press
MUSICAL – OPERETTA – OPERA
Im weißen Rössl – Season 2014/2015
Municipal Theater Klagenfurt • Musical director: Mitsugu Hoshino • Staging: Aron Stiehl • choreography: Francisco Sanchez Martinez and Javier Sanchez • Set and Costume design: Friedrich Eggert
In the famous holiday resort hotel “Zum Weißen Rößl” (The White Horse) on Wolfgang Lake stressed-out metropolitans romp in search of peace and relaxation. It isn’t easy for a diligent head waiter to keep track of the illustrious goings-on. But Leopold Brandmeyer has another much more serious problem, his boss! The attractive and resolute hostess Josepha Votgelhuber has really turned his head and firmly ignores all of his attempts to approach her. There ensues some woohoo… But in the postcard idyll status, financial means and social climbing count a good deal… Press
Municipal Theater Klagenfurt • Musical director: Mitsugu Hoshino • Staging: Aron Stiehl • choreography: Francisco Sanchez Martinez and Javier Sanchez • Set and Costume design: Friedrich Eggert
In the famous holiday resort hotel “Zum Weißen Rößl” (The White Horse) on Wolfgang Lake stressed-out metropolitans romp in search of peace and relaxation. It isn’t easy for a diligent head waiter to keep track of the illustrious goings-on. But Leopold Brandmeyer has another much more serious problem, his boss! The attractive and resolute hostess Josepha Votgelhuber has really turned his head and firmly ignores all of his attempts to approach her. There ensues some woohoo… But in the postcard idyll status, financial means and social climbing count a good deal… Press
Zar und Zimmermann (Czar and Carpenter) – 2013
Theater Lüneburg • Musical director: Nezih Seckin • Staging: Iris Gerath-Prein • choreography: Francisco Sanchez Martinez • Stage design and Costumes: Barbara Bloch
A local sensation: two Russians appear in the same town (location) and both land a job at the same shop (workshop), and both of them are called Peter. But once the rumor is spread around that one of them has to be the Czar himself, everyone goes crazy, particularly the town mayor Von Bett, who seizes the opportunity, believing that because of this he can now step into the (slippery) stage of world politics. Political envoys from the other European countries (major powerful European countries) have appeared on the scene. But it is still unclear which of the two men named Peter is the czar… Press
Theater Lüneburg • Musical director: Nezih Seckin • Staging: Iris Gerath-Prein • choreography: Francisco Sanchez Martinez • Stage design and Costumes: Barbara Bloch
A local sensation: two Russians appear in the same town (location) and both land a job at the same shop (workshop), and both of them are called Peter. But once the rumor is spread around that one of them has to be the Czar himself, everyone goes crazy, particularly the town mayor Von Bett, who seizes the opportunity, believing that because of this he can now step into the (slippery) stage of world politics. Political envoys from the other European countries (major powerful European countries) have appeared on the scene. But it is still unclear which of the two men named Peter is the czar… Press
Aida – 2010
Theater Lüneburg • Musical director: Nezih Seckin • Staging: Iris Gerath-Prein • choreography: Francisco Sanchez Martinez • Stage design: Barbara Bloch • Costumes: Sabine Meinhardt
With Aida you think of Verdi’s triumphal march, of huge pyramids and live elephants on stage – truly great theater. Yet Aida is almost a chamber piece. The story of a love that should not be. A story of constancy and fidelity until death, of false and true heroism, Radames, a young Egyptian war hero and heir to the throne, is promised to Amneris, the Pharaoh’s daughter. In his recent battle, he has taken Aida, daughter of the Nubian king, as a slave, and with sudden affection, has spared her life and promised the gift of marriage. The timeless story of a man torn between two women, torn between a love and his political ambitions and commitments, surrounded by false advisors and unscrupulous schemers. Ten years ago pop giant Elton John and musical superstar Tim Rice wrote , loosely based on Verdi’s opera, their version of the story of the slave Aida and her love for Radames, transcending space and time. Press
Theater Lüneburg • Musical director: Nezih Seckin • Staging: Iris Gerath-Prein • choreography: Francisco Sanchez Martinez • Stage design: Barbara Bloch • Costumes: Sabine Meinhardt
With Aida you think of Verdi’s triumphal march, of huge pyramids and live elephants on stage – truly great theater. Yet Aida is almost a chamber piece. The story of a love that should not be. A story of constancy and fidelity until death, of false and true heroism, Radames, a young Egyptian war hero and heir to the throne, is promised to Amneris, the Pharaoh’s daughter. In his recent battle, he has taken Aida, daughter of the Nubian king, as a slave, and with sudden affection, has spared her life and promised the gift of marriage. The timeless story of a man torn between two women, torn between a love and his political ambitions and commitments, surrounded by false advisors and unscrupulous schemers. Ten years ago pop giant Elton John and musical superstar Tim Rice wrote , loosely based on Verdi’s opera, their version of the story of the slave Aida and her love for Radames, transcending space and time. Press