Employment in Basel

Star choreographer gets new chance after poop attack

Marco Goecke

(Bild: APA/dpa/Christophe Gateau)

German star choreographer Marco Goecke, who was suspended from his post as ballet director at the Hanover State Opera and even banned from the house after a dog excrement attack in 2023, has now been given a second chance. He will become the new artistic director of ballet at Theater Basel from summer 2025.

Naturally, Theater Basel did not ignore the attack on press freedom at the time - the victim was an editor of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung - and held many discussions about it. With the fine that Goecke had to pay, the case has been legally settled, explained Artistic Director Benedikt von Peter on Wednesday. At the same time, von Peter praised the future artistic director as an "exceptional artist who deserves a second chance". 

Marco Goecke commented on his scandal attack in an interview with NDR in 2023:

Goecke is "grateful and humble"
"That was the biggest mistake of my life, and it's not easy to excuse," Goecke assured at a press conference. He had apologized to the theater critic and everyone else he had hurt with it. He had been in a state of emergency and a low at the time, but this in no way justified the incident. "I am grateful and humbled to have been given this opportunity," he said about his new position in Basel.

Goecke has created his very own dance style since 2000, according to the theater's communiqué. His 90 choreographies are performed at all the major ballet houses in the world. The 52-year-old has worked for and with more than 20 companies from numerous countries and has received several awards for his work.