Alan Barnes / 21

After completing his studies in dance, Alan Barnes performed with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company as well as the renowned Dance Theater of Harlem in New York. He later became a principal dancer at the world famous Frankfurt Ballet under the direction of William Forsythe and soon began assisting in the development of many of Forsythe’s seminal works.

His work as a dancer has been honored many times. Alan Barnes is active with numerous ballet companies, theater and opera houses worldwide such as the acclaimed Alvin Ailey Dance Center and the emerging Francesca Harper Project in New York, the Semperoper Dresden, the Het Nationale Ballett Muziektheater Amsterdam, Schauspielhaus Düsseldorf, the Koninklijk Ballet van Vlandeeren Antwerpen, Ballett Zurich, Opera Frankfurt or Europes biggest showpalast the Friedrichstadtpalast in Berlin. He also works with creative teams such as choreographers David Dawson and Pascal Touzeau, the stage director Christian Weise as well as opera directors Anselm Weber, Barrie Kosky, Claus Guth, Harry Kupfer, Keith Warner or Udo Samel.

His approach as a dancer and choreographer is interdisciplinary and often involves other artists and companies. An example is his creative cooperation with fashion designer Bernhard Willhelm for his art video 'Red Rose Pink Donkey' for the Athens Biennial. Other successful artistic collaborations include those for fashion houses such as Costume National, Issey Miyake, Versace and Marithe & Francois Girbaud, as well as for the rock legends The Rolling Stones.