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Berlin, June 17, 2025 — The umbrella organization Tanz Deutschland e.V. honors Christian Spuck, choreographer and director of the Staatsballett Berlin, with the German Dance Award 2026. Tadashi Endo is posthumously recognized for his lifetime achievement, and Professor Dr. Gabriele Brandstetter, Professor of Dance Studies, receives the award for outstanding developments in dance.

The German Dance Award honors outstanding personalities in the field of dance in Germany. In spring, the jury (chairwoman Dr. Adriana Almeida Pees) selected the winners of 2026 from numerous nominations submitted by associations, institutions, and dance professionals. For his courageous, clear, and exceptionally successful work with the Staatsballett Berlin, the jury awards Christian Spuck the German Dance Award. It honors Professor Dr. Gabriele Brandstetter for her outstanding contributions to the development of dance. Tadashi Endo receives the lifetime achievement award for his work in the art of Butoh dance.

From the jury's statement:

«Even before Christian Spuck took over the Staatsballett Berlin as artistic director, audiences in Stuttgart, Zurich and around the world knew him as a choreographer with a passion for music. Christian Spuck was trained in the John Cranko tradition, gained experience in the contemporary language of movement, for example with Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, has established himself as a choreographer at numerous theatres, worked successfully as opera director of great composers from the Baroque to the present day and was celebrated as ballet company director in Zurich.

In Berlin, Christian Spuck chose a sympathetic path that attracted the audience to the performances and gave the Berlin company the chance to change its style: as an artist and advocate of the arts at the same time, Spuck is able to combine the long familiar with the still uncertain in a very short space of time. At the same time, new dialogue formats with the audience and artists get to the bottom of uncomfortable questions. Spuck remains in conversation, in dialogue with people. He shapes and pursues this path with the intuition of a dancer, the curiosity of a choreographer and the vision of an artistic director.»

Christian Spuck expresses his gratitude for the award:
«I am very pleased to receive this prize for the challenging and inspiring task of leading the Staatsballett Berlin State. This success is not a solo achievement but a work of all staff members and participating artists. It’s wonderful to receive such recognition from audiences and the press in such a short time!»

The award ceremony will take place during a dance gala on Saturday, February 28, 2026, at 7:00 PM at the Aalto Theater Essen. The detailed program will be published in fall 2025. Pre-sale for the event begins on June 14 via the Ticket Center of the Theater and Philharmonie Essen. The event will be interpreted into German Sign Language. Additionally, on the day before, Friday, February 27, 2026, the umbrella organization Dance Germany will host the “Dance Prize Culture Lounge” – an opportunity to engage in conversation with the award recipient and honoree.

German Dance Award 2026

German Dance Award 2026
Christian Spuck

Honor for Lifelong Achievement
Tadashi Endo

Honor for Outstanding Developments in Dance
Prof. Dr. Gabriele Brandstetter

Award Ceremony during a Dance Gala
Saturday, February 28, 2026, 7:00 PM
Aalto Theater Essen

Detailed information about the recipients and honorees – jury statements and biographies – can be found at: www.deutschertanzpreis.de/presse/aktuelles

Press Contact for the German Dance Association
Alexa Junge / Michael Freundt
Mobile: +49 (0) – 176 764 984 75 / +49 (0) 163 / 26 16 343
Phone: +49 (0)30 / 37 44 33 92 Office
presse@dachverband-tanz.de

Organizer of the German Dance Award
German Dance Association
Kunstquartier Bethanien, Mariannenplatz 2
D-10997 Berlin
www.dachverband-tanz.de

The German Dance Award is sponsored by the City of Essen, the Ministry of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, the Essen Culture Foundation, the Norbert Lammert Foundation, as well as other donors and sponsors.