Monday
Travel day to Rome, the first leg of our Italian tour. Untypically, the company members are converging on the Italian capital from different cities. Some of them from our home base in Stuttgart, some from Heidelberg where they performed in the Gala of the Tanzbiennale Heidelberg. I’m heading to Rome from Gelsenkirchen, together with our dancer Shori Yamamoto. My solo ABC [taking the audience through letters of the dance alphabet] was part of another, very special gala organised by our ex-dancer Giuseppe Spota. It’s now his fourth season as Artistic Director of Musiktheater im Revier but due to the pandemic, it was actually the first time he was able to put on a gala. It turned out to be a great occasion to celebrate and renew old ties and meet many old friends, including my dear former Stuttgart Ballet colleague Bridget Breiner. What’s more, the very same evening, Gauthier Dance received an invitation to the gala of the Dortmund Ballet in June 2023.
After our arrival in Rome the tour bus takes us to a cute little hotel where I spend the rest of the afternoon working. Among other dates on my schedule: a Zoom call with the CEO of the education association Didacta about their prize giving ceremony in March. Thanks to my MOVES FOR FUTURE initiative, I’m going to be their 2023 Education Ambassador. What an honour!
Tuesday
I get up early and stroll through the city, trying to find a fitness centre for my daily workout. It is much needed as the company is spending the rest of the day in stage rehearsals. At 9pm Gauthier Dance opens the festival Equilibrio at the Auditorium Parco della Musica with our production The Seven Sins, featuring seven world premieres by Aszure Barton, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Sharon Eyal, Marco Goecke, Marcos Morau, Hofesh Shechter and Sasha Waltz. The auditorium is packed, and the show proves a huge success with the Roman audience. At the after-show reception, I again meet a lot of old friends and make a new one: Elissa Golberg, the Ambassador of my native Canada to Italy. There is also a small delegation from the Vatican, handing us our invitations for tomorrow’s audience of Pope Francis. The company couldn’t be more excited!
Wednesday
Getting up at 6am. At 7am the bus is picking us up and takes us to the Vatican. We have to wait for quite a while before the audience begins, but time just flies. The company is seated in the third row. It is an incredible experience to be so close to the Pope and be blessed by him. The dancers are deeply moved and so am I, as a practising Catholic. After this very special morning, the bus takes us to the station where we take the train to Reggio Emilia. I use the trip for a planning session with our production manager Inga Kunz. There is so much to organise ahead of our anniversary production 15 Years Alive, which was premiered on 1 March. Work continues after we have arrived at our hotel in Reggio. I have another Zoom call, this time with Jonathan Holland of Battery Dance (New York), who invites the company to his festival.
Thursday
Again, I start the day at the gym. Theoretically, it is a day off for the company but somehow, this never seems to apply to me! I make a lot of phone calls, amongst others to the Gauthier Dance artistic management at Theaterhaus Stuttgart. I also take a good hour to select the photos for our anniversary programme book. I spend a great afternoon at the Fondazione Nazionale della Danza, where I watch rehearsals and talk shop with Sveva Berti, the Director of Aterballetto. In the evening, I enjoy a nice dinner with my team, dreaming about future projects.
Friday
The day starts as usual: at the gym, followed by a cup of coffee and the digital edition of the Stuttgart newspaper. After a phone call to the Gauthier Dance press agent about some PR issues, I have another Zoom meeting with my dramaturge about the libretto of the opera I’m going to direct next season. It will be at a well-known German opera house, but I’m not yet allowed to tell more.
In the afternoon, I make my way to Teatro Ariosto, for stage rehearsals and the show at 8:30pm. Another sold-out show and plenty of applause by an enthusiastic audience. Afterwards, the company has dinner at (so they claim in Reggio) Italy’s best pizzeria, in the town’s central square – I’m inclined to agree.
Saturday and Sunday
On Saturday morning, the company flies back to Stuttgart. I can’t wait to see my kids again. I spend the rest of Saturday and the whole of Sunday with my two sons (12 and 10) and my daughter (6). This much is certain: Artistic Director of Gauthier Dance may well be the second-best job in the world. But there is one that is even better: being a dad!
Eric Gauthier is Artistic Director of Gauthier Dance//Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart.
Instagram: @ericgauthier_official
YouTube: @ericgauthier8416
