In 1812, Beethoven wrote about freedom — how it cannot be fulfilled simply, but instead gets caught between aspiration and reality. This tension forms the starting point for “Beethoven 7”, one of three evenings with Sasha Waltz & Guests at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele. The program presents different forms of choreographic and musical encounter: “Beethoven 7” engages with Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, “In C,” based on Terry Riley’s work, explores the relationship between individual freedom and society, and a “Dialoge” evening marking the 75th anniversary of the Goethe-Institut brings together dance and music as forms of exchange and connection. In 1993, Sasha Waltz and Jochen Sandig founded the Sasha Waltz & Guests company in Berlin. Since then, Sasha Waltz has continually reinvented herself as a choreographer and, together with her company, has developed new forms of dance, music, and interdisciplinary collaboration. In 2Beethoven 7″, Sasha Waltz works with 14 dancers to explore Ludwig van Beethoven’s complete Seventh Symphony. Composed in 1812, the music carries the tensions of its time: between revolutionary upheaval, restoration, and the loss of freedom. Beethoven’s score is complemented by “Freiheit/Extasis” by Diego Noguera, an electronic composition.
“In C” is based on Terry Riley’s 1964 score. It consists of 53 musical phrases, from which Sasha Waltz creates 53 movement figures. Here, too, freedom is explored. The dance is based on structured improvisation with clear rules. Within these rules, dancers have individual creative scope, moving in a constant interplay between personal freedom and group dynamics. Music by The Young Gods is created live in direct exchange with the dancers, giving the evening its pulsing framework.
The “Dialoge” evening brings together dance and music with Sasha Waltz & Guests and Ensemble Musikfabrik. Both work in the same space, without a fixed separation between music and movement. Much of what emerges comes from their direct response to one another. Across the three evenings, different forms of structure, freedom, exchange, and connection come into play. And with them, the question of how to dance one’s way through it all.
Text: Emma Zylla / Photos: Sebastian Bolesch, Jo Glinka, Reiner Pfisterer
Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Schaperstr.24, 10719 Berlin–Charlottenburg; map
Beethoven 7, 18.–20.06.2026 20–21h45h, 21.06.2026 18–19h45
75 Jahre Goethe-Institut, 26.06.2026 20–21h15
In C, 27.06.2026 20–21h, 28.06.2026 18–19h
Find tickets here.
@sashawaltzandguests
@berlinerfestspiele
@theyounggodsmusic
@ensemble_musikfabrik
@goetheinstitut
