Leo
Kees

A big thank you to the Kunststiftung NRW for the research grant for “How to Be European?”, the research behind “IMAGINE: EUROPE”. Through museum and archive visits in Germany and conversations with researchers and curators, I will investigate how historical material can inform practical artistic experiments.

Alongside this, I will test AI-assisted video tools to explore relationships between projected language, images and the moving body. The grant provides valuable time to develop methods, question initial assumptions and test their possibilities before taking the work into production.

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An unusual process reaches the stage: I had the luxury of co-creating Brecht’s Der aufhaltsame Aufstieg des Arturo Ui with Wolfgang Menardi, Christina Tscharyiski, Julia Hölscher, Lars-Ole Walburg, Simon Hastreiter, Bert Zander, Leonie Rohlfing, Michael Pietsch, Ilario Raschèr and Anja Michaela Wohlfahrt. Together with the theatre’s ensemble and newly formed Stadtensemble, eleven directors brought different artistic languages into one production. Alongside co-direction, I contributed the choreography. Set among Chicago’s gangsters and vegetable traders, Brecht’s play exposes how economic interests, intimidation and public acquiescence enable authoritarian power—and asks why a society allows a rise it could prevent.

Serotonin Lab explores clubbing as a performative practice, tracing relationships between movement, presence, and pleasure through layered improvisations. Inspired by house music and the search for a personal beat, participants develop individual movement vocabularies and a distinct style. Removed from nightlife, alcohol, or social codes, the body becomes the focus. Between dance and physical investigation, roles of audience and performer dissolve, creating a shared experiential space where tendencies and qualities become visible. The lab links somatic practice, house music, and alternative movement culture in contemporary studio-based collective research. 

Selected for the 21st edition of the Founders Foundation Startup School, I will work with my colleague Dr.-Ing. Simon Weinreich on our concept K.I.² from an entrepreneurial perspective. Our research sits at the intersection of creativity, innovation and artificial intelligence, asking how artistic and technological ways of thinking can lead to practical, sustainable ventures. Through the programme’s stages of ideation, validation and MVP development, we will sharpen the project’s focus, investigate needs and opportunities, test assumptions and develop a viable business model. The Startup School’s workshops, mentoring and founder community will give us a practical framework for connecting artistic experimentation with entrepreneurial methods.

After a great beginning at Tanzhaus NRW in Düsseldorf, Serotonine Lab travels to  TANZ AREAL Karlsruhe. This Lab explores clubbing as a performative practice, tracing relationships between movement, presence, and pleasure through layered improvisations. Inspired by house music and the search for a personal beat, participants develop individual movement vocabularies and a distinct style. Removed from nightlife, alcohol, or social codes, the body becomes the focus. Between dance and physical investigation, roles of audience and performer dissolve, creating a shared experiential space for collective research. 

I’m very happy to restage Oh Yeah, Baby! for its Austrian premiere. Originally created at Theater Oberhausen and later taken into the repertoire of Staatstheater Kassel, the production now travels to St. Pölten. For the first time, I’ll be working on this piece with an all-male cast, opening up new possibilities for its physical humour, tenderness and playfulness.

Created for children aged two and up and their companions, the performance explores the body’s capacity to surprise, communicate and invite connection. A shared encounter through movement, where watching can become dancing and curiosity sets the rhythm.

I feel very thankful that my paper has been accepted and that I’ve been invited to speak at In turn – Choreographies of Change, the 2026 symposium of the Society for Dance Research (Gesellschaft für Tanzforschung e.V.). Taking place from 15 to 17 October in Frankfurt am Main and Gießen, the symposium brings together HfMDK Frankfurt, the Institute for Applied Theatre Studies at Justus Liebig University Gießen, and the Master’s programme in Performative Arts in Social Fields at Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, in cooperation with Tanz: Stadttheater Gießen. I’ll use this opportunity to develop "LEAP / Learning as Performance" and articulate a conceptual framework for my current working concept. It's a pleasure to contribute to this exchange on dance and choreography as embodied, social and political practices of change.

Gald  to return to AUGENBLICK MAL!, Germany’s national festival for theatre for young audiences. In 2023, "Alice – ein Spiel mit der Wirklichkeit", created with Fetter Fisch, was longlisted; this year "HIGH – Irgendwer hat immer irgendwas", developed with Theaterhaus Ensemble, is among the five productions for young people selected for the 2027 festival. Big thanks to the Centre for Drug Research at Goethe University Frankfurt, Fachstelle Prävention, BASIS e.V. and the Drogenkommissariat der Polizei Frankfurt, whose expertise the production acknowledges, and to Sanne, Jonnathan and the whole team for this complex but meaningful interdisciplinary work!

As a guest of the Move it! series (Stadt:Kollektiv), I will lead a compact version of Serotonin Lab in the foyer of the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus. The lab explores clubbing as a performative practice, connecting movement, presence, and pleasure through layered improvisations. Inspired by house music and the search for a personal beat, participants discover their own movement vocabulary. Outside the conventions of nightlife, the focus shifts to bodily awareness and shared experience. The distinction between audience and performer dissolves: everyone contributes to a space shaped by curiosity, individual expression, and the pleasure of moving together.

As a guest of the Move it! series (Stadt:Kollektiv), I will lead a compact version of Serotonin Lab in the foyer of the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus. The lab explores clubbing as a performative practice, connecting movement, presence, and pleasure through layered improvisations. Inspired by house music and the search for a personal beat, participants discover their own movement vocabulary. Outside the conventions of nightlife, the focus shifts to bodily awareness and shared experience. The distinction between audience and performer dissolves: everyone contributes to a space shaped by curiosity, individual expression, and the pleasure of moving together.

Serotonin Lab explores clubbing as a performative practice, tracing relationships between movement, presence, and pleasure through layered improvisations. Inspired by house music and the search for a personal beat, participants develop individual movement vocabularies and a distinct style. Removed from nightlife, alcohol, or social codes, the body becomes the focus. Between dance and physical investigation, roles of audience and performer dissolve, creating a shared experiential space where tendencies and qualities become visible. The lab links somatic practice, house music, and alternative movement culture in contemporary studio-based collective research. 

IMAGINE is a physical lecture-performance series composed of IMAGINE: Europe (2027), IMAGINE: The Future (2028), and IMAGINE: Your Life (2029/30). It traces three interconnected questions: how narratives of European identity have shifted over the last century and remain a work in progress (2027); how shared imagination might recalibrate future scenarios beyond dystopian narratives (2028); and how different interpretations of one’s own biography become an engine for collective identity-building (2029). With enough space for humour, physicality, and performative challenges, the journey has now officially begun. The 2027 edition is developed in collaboration with dramaturg Julia Dina Hesse; partner institutions and further details will follow soon.

I’m very happy to have completed my final examination and to now call myself a systemic coach!. My training at InKonstellation has been an important step in strengthening my communication skills and deepening my understanding of how to listen with attention. Through systemic foundations, self-reflection, practical coaching, feedback, and resource- and solution-oriented methods, I learned to ask questions that open new perspectives.. Since completing the training, I keep thinking this is something we should all learn as a society: how to listen to one another with care and curiosity. That practice can change how we meet in everyday life, work together, and move through moments of conflict.