Egon Madsen

In 1961 Egon Madsen joined the Stuttgart Ballet and wrote dance history: Named a soloist by John Cranko, Egon Madsen inspired the choreographer to create numerous roles for him. In 1981 Egon Madsen became director of the Frankfurt Ballet. He then was appointed director of the Royal Swedish Ballet in Stockholm, ballet director of the Teatro Communale in Florence, deputy ballet director of Stuttgart Ballet and ballet master of Ballet Leipzig. Following an invitation by Jiří Kylián, he joined the Nederlands Dans Theater III in 1999 and became the artistic director of the famous „senior company“ while continuing an independent dance career. Alongside Eric Gauthier, he celebrated a „sensational success“ (ballet-tanz) in Christian Spuck's Don Q.. After the establishment of Gauthier Dance in 2007, Madsen has appeared in many productions of the Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart, including Eric Gauthier's M.M. and the John Cranko tribute Dear John, as well as in Mauro Bigonzetti's Cantata. In 2011, Egon Madsen was awarded the German Dance Price in recognition of his remarkable career and, in 2012, the Golden Stauffer Medal of the State of Baden-Wuerttemberg.

The gala evenings organised by Theaterhaus to celebrate Madsen's special birthdays and stage anniversaries, most recently his 80th birthday and 70th stage anniversary in 2022, became moving family reunions of the Stuttgart dance family. Alluding to their respective ages at the time of the gala in 2018, Mauro Bigonzetti created the touching Solo 7557 for his colleague and neighbour in Italy. And in 2022, an equally energetic and wise Egon Madsen thrilled the gala audience in Hans van Manen's famous pas de deux The Old Man and Me.

Above all, Madsen proved his lasting charisma as a dancer in two enthusiastically received, full-length Theaterhaus productions: Greyhounds (2015), Madsen's cross-generational exploration of dancing in old age, and in Bigonzetti’s heartbreaking danced monologue EGON king MADSEN lear (2020). It is this piece which will bring Madsen’s dancing career full circle – he has chosen the shows in November 2022 for his farewell to the stage. What a privilege for Gauthier Dance that he will stay on with the company as much loved coach and adviser!