Christian Spuck

Christian Spuck, originally from Marburg, received his dance training at the John Cranko School in Stuttgart. His early career included performing with Jan Lauwers’ Needcompany and Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker’s Ensemble Rosas. In 1995, he joined Stuttgart Ballet, later becoming the company’s resident choreographer from 2001 to 2012. During his time there, he created fifteen new works, including full-length narrative ballets such as Lulu, Eine Monstretragödie (inspired by Frank Wedekind), Der Sandmann, and Das Fräulein von S. (based on stories by E.T.A. Hoffmann).

Spuck’s choreography has been presented by leading ballet companies across Europe and North America. His interpretation of The Return of Ulysses was developed for the Royal Ballet of Flanders and featured at the Edinburgh Festival. Other notable works include Woyzeck (after Georg Büchner) for the Norwegian National Ballet and Die Kinder, which premiered at Aalto Ballett Theater Essen and was nominated for the prestigious Prix Benois de la Danse. His ballet Leonce und Lena has been performed internationally, including by Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, Charlotte Ballet, the Czech National Ballet, and the Stuttgart Ballet.

In 2010, his production Poppea//Poppea for Gauthier Dance was named one of Dance Europe magazine’s top ten dance productions worldwide. It went on to receive both the German Theatre Prize DER FAUST and the Italian Danza&Danza Award.

Spuck has also made significant contributions to opera. His stage direction includes productions such as Gluck’s Orphée et Euridice (Staatsoper Stuttgart), Verdi’s Falstaff (Staatstheater Wiesbaden), Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust, and Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer (both at Deutsche Oper Berlin).

From the 2012/13 season, Spuck served as Artistic Director of Ballett Zürich. His tenure featured productions such as Romeo und Julia, Leonce und Lena, Woyzeck, Der Sandmann, Messa da Requiem (a collaboration with Oper Zürich), Nussknacker und Mausekönig, and Dornröschen. His ballet adaptation of Anna Karenina premiered in Zurich in 2014 and was later performed in Oslo, Moscow, Seoul, and Munich. In 2018, his dance interpretation of Winterreise premiered in Zurich, earning him the Prix Benois de la Danse in 2019.

Further highlights include Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern (based on Helmut Lachenmann’s composition), which was named Production of the Year by the magazine tanz in 2019. In 2021, he premiered Orlando at the Bolshoi Theatre, followed by Monteverdi, which debuted in Zurich in 2022.

In 2023, his production of Messa da Requiem was part of the Adelaide Festival in Australia and has since become part of the repertoire at both Dutch National Opera & Ballet and the Finnish National Ballet. Messa da Reqiuem will debut in Brisabne as part of Queensland Ballet's 2026 Season in collaboration with Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Brisbane Chorale and Canticum Chamber Chior.