Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher began dancing in musical theatre productions in his hometown of Lewiston, Idaho. After moving to New York, he received a B. F. A. in Dance from the Juilliard School. He has been a member of several companies, including Ballet Frankfurt, Twyla Tharp Dance, Feld Ballet, Pretty Ugly Dance Company, and Magpie Music Dance Company. As an independent artist, he has appeared in productions by Peter Sellars, William Forsythe, Dana Caspersen, Sylvie Guillem, Mark Haim, Paul Selwyn Norton, and Anouk van Dijk.

Working as dancer, choreographer, and teacher, Michael Schumacher has developed a unique approach to the discipline of improvisation. He has collaborated with several pioneering artists, including Han Bennink, Katie Duck, Mary Oliver, Kirstie Simson, and Alex Waterman. He has created original works with the dancers of Ballet Frankfurt, Netherlds Dance Theater III, The Dutch National Ballet, Dansgroep Amsterdam, and Jin Xing Dancer Theatre.

In recent years, Michael Schumacher’s work has come to the forefront in several productions of the Holland Dance Festival. With Jiří Kylián, he created the hauntingly beautiful »Last Touch First«, which has been performed throughout Europe and the USA. Together with Sabine Kupferberg, he created »Queen Lear«, a magical distillation of Shakespeare’s »King Lear«.

In 2008, Michael Schumacher was awarded both the Gouden Zwaan and the Jiří Kylián Ring, the first dancer/choreographer ever to receive the two awards at the same time. He currently resides in Amsterdam and conducts workshops in movement analysis and improvisation worldwide.

back