*1973, Austria
Artistic Director, Daghdha Dance Company, Ireland
'The way our culture has choreographed dance has always been reflective of the larger tendencies of how we, as a society, deal with the unknown, the unframable, the foreign, the spiritual and the animal. Conventional arrangements - those of streets, school exams, chains of command and soldiering performers - impose rigid frames upon dance. These systems are the embodiment of fear and the cultural suppression of that which is governed neither by subjective nor collective will. Our premise must not be to constrain movement into a set pattern, but rather to provide a cradle for movement to find its own patterns - over and over again.' Book of Recommendations
Michael Klien studied choreography in Vienna and London. Influenced by previous fine-art studies, he co-founded the enigmatic London-based performance collective 'Barriedale Operahouse' in 1994 (in operation till 2000). In 2003 he was appointed Artistic Director/CEO of Daghdha Dance Company, one of Ireland's premiere dance organisation. Under his direction Daghdha moved to new premises and established its Professional Artists Development Programme as well as Public Events Programme. Klien is an acclaimed choreographer and producer of numerous touring productions, installations and events (including commissions from Ballett Frankfurt and the Vienna Volksoper).
Since 1998 he has developed the theoretical and practical basis for choreography as an autonomous aesthetics, concerned with notions of change, governance and steering. His work is also associated with new methodologies for dance improvisation and with the development of 'Social Choreography' (together with Steve Valk). He has been awarded a PhD from ECA (Edinburgh College of Art) in 2009 and has been lecturing about his findings at various renowned institutions (including the ICA, ROH, University of Limerick, ZKM, Laban Centre, Zodiak, Institute of AI, etc.). Winner of various awards and commissions. Recent key projects include the choreographic works 'Standing in Ink', 'Choreography for Blackboards' and 'Sediments of an Ordinary Mind' for Daghdha Dance Company, 'Slattery's Lamp' for IMMA's (Irish Museum of Modern Art) permanent collection as well as the publications of 'Book of Recommendations' and 'Framemakers'. (both available on amazon.co.uk)
last update - 12/09