Raimund Hoghe (12 May 1949 – 14 May 2021) was a German choreographer, dancer, film maker, journalist, and author. Because he was born with scoliosis, his early efforts were focused on journalism. His writings explored the human condition; a documentation series won him an award by the age of 24. For the weekly Die Zeit, he portrayed personalities, the well-to-do, the less fortunate, and those shunned by society. After meeting Pina Bausch while profiling her, he served as dramaturge and chronicler of her Tanztheater Wuppertal from 1980 to 1990. He made his choreographic debut in 1989, then worked independently. His first solo production, Meinwärts in 1994, was about the Jewish tenor and actor Josef Schmidt, but also Hoghe's nonormative body.Roslyn Sulcas, "Raimund Hoghe, Choreographer of Strength and Frailty, Dies at 72," The New York Times, May 31, 2021. He was awarded the Deutscher Tanzpreis in 2020, and is regarded as "one of the protagonists of German contemporary dance theatre".
Life Hoghe was born and raised in Wuppertal, the son of a single mother. He was born with severe scoliosis. He dreamed of performing in theatre, but thought that performing would not be possible for him because of his physical limitations. He worked as a journalist, and was awarded the Theodor Wolff Prize for a documentary series about Bethel written when he was age 24. He was a freelance writer for the weekly Die Zeit profiling prominent performers like Bruno Ganz, Rex Gildo, and Freddy Quinn, as well as lesser-known persons such as the photographer Helga Paris and , and social outsiders such as cleaners, AIDS patients, and sex workers. His profiles were also published in several books.
When Hoghe profiled Pina Bausch in the late 1970s, she liked his article and engaged him to write program notes for a production of her dance company in Wuppertal, later called Tanztheater Wuppertal. From 1980 to 1990, Hoghe was dramaturge for the company, writing also two books about it. During his time with Bausch at Wuppertal, he collaborated on a number of pieces, including "1980," "Ahnen" and "Bandoneon." Beginning in 1989, he developed his own productions there, with dancers and actors. From 1992, he collaborated with the artist and scenic designer Luca Giacomo Schulte. He produced his first solo, Meinwärts, in 1994, followed by Chambre séparée in 1997 and Another Dream in 2000, as a trilogy about the 20th century. His works dealt with political circumstances, such as the situation of refugees in Europe, and, in the 1990s, the beginning of the AIDS crisis which was a topic in Meinwärts.
Hoghe directed several films, also for television, like his self-portrait Der Buckel (The Hunchback) for the WDR in 1997. His books were translated into several languages. His productions were presented in France, Germany, Norway, Portugal, United Kingdom and U.S., among others. He received awards including the Deutscher Produzentenpreis für Choreografie in 2001 and the Prix de la critique Francaise for Swan Lake, 4 Acts in the category "Best foreign production" in 2006. In 2008, Hoghe was named Dancer of the Year by the reviewers of the Tanz magazine. In 2019 he became an officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He received the Deutscher Tanzpreis award in 2020.
Hoghe lived in Düsseldorf, where he died on 14 May 2021, at the age of 72.
Publications Hoghe's publications include:Publications by Raimund Hoghe German National Library Wenn keiner singt, ist es still. Porträts, Rezensionen und andere Texte. Verlag Theater der Zeit, Berlin 2019, ISBN 978-3-95749-233-3 Raimund Hoghe. Verlag Theater der Zeit, Berlin, 2013, Pina Bausch. Sangensha Publishing, Tokyo, 1999 Zeitporträts. Beltz Quadriga Verlag, Weinheim/Berlin 1993, Pina Bausch – Historias de teatro danza por Raimund Hoghe. Ultramar Editores, Barcelona 1989 Bandoneon – Em que o tango pode ser bom para tudo? Attar Editorial, São Paulo 1989 Pina Bausch – Histoires de théâtre dansé. L’Arche Éditeur, Paris 1987 Pina Bausch – Tanztheatergeschichten. Mit Fotos von Ulli Weiss. Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1987, Wo es nichts zu weinen gibt. Porträts und Reportagen. Van Acken Verlag, Krefeld 1987/90, Preis der Liebe. Rimbaud Presse, Aachen 1984, Anderssein. Lebensläufe außerhalb der Norm. Sammlung Luchterhand, Darmstadt 1982, Bandoneon – Für was kann Tango alles gut sein? Texte und Fotos zu einem Stück von Pina Bausch. Luchterhand Verlag, Darmstadt 1981/2013, Schwäche als Stärke. Bethel – Ein Symbol und die Realität. Neukirchener Verlag, Neukirchen-Vluyn 1976,
Productions Hoghe's productions include:Productions raimundhoghe.com
1989: Forbidden Fruit 1990: Vento 1992: Verdi Prati 1994: Meinwärts 1995: Geraldo's Solo 1997: Chambre séparée 1998: Dialogue with Charlotte 1999: Lettere amorose 2000: Another Dream
2002: Sarah, Vincent et moi 2002: Young People, Old Voices 2003: Tanzgeschichten 2004: Sacre – The Rite of Spring 2005: Swan Lake, 4 Acts 2007: 36, Avenue Georges Mandel 2007: Bolero Variationen 2008: L’Après-midi 2009: Body/Space/Music 2009: Sans-titre 2010: Si je meurs laissez le balcon ouvert 2011: Pas de Deux 2012: Cantatas 2013: An Evening with Judy 2014: Quartet 2015: Songs for Takashi 2016: Musiques et mots pour Emmanuel 2016: La Valse 2017: Lettere amorose, 1999–2017
2018: Canzone per Ornella
2019/20 Postcards from Vietnam
Films Die Jugend ist im Kopf / La jeunesse est dans la tête, portrait of Marie-Thérèse Allier, director of the Menagérie de Verre in Paris. Director: Hoghe, production: Arte 2018. Cartes Postales, dance film, France 2005, director: Richard Copans, production: Les Films d'Ici, Arte France, first aired on 30 October 2005 Young People, Old Voices. France, 2005, production: Centre Pompidou Paris.Young people, old voices numeridanse.tv
Es bleibt noch viel zu sagen, television documentary, Germany, 1980
Film portraits Raimund Hoghe, der Außergewöhnliche. Germany, 2012, 43 min., moderation: , production: arte, redaction: , first aired: 11 November 2012Preview arte
Der Buckel. self-portrait, 1997, WDR
Awards 1974: Theodor-Wolff-Preis 1982: Förderpreis für Literatur der Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf 1983: 2001: Deutscher Produzentenpreis für Choreographie 2006: Prix de la critique Francaise (Meilleur spectacle étranger) 2008: Dancer of the Year of the magazine 2019: Ordre des Arts et des Lettres 2020: Deutscher Tanzpreis
References
Further reading Raimund Hoghe. ed. by Kunststiftung NRW, Theater der Zeit, Berlin 2013, . Mary Kate Connolly (ed.): Throwing the Body into the Fight, Intellect books & Live Art Development Agency, London / UK, 2013. Katja Schneider, Thomas Betz (eds.): Schreiben mit Körpern: Der Choreograph Raimund Hoghe. (in German) K. Kieser, Munich, 2012, . Jeroen Peeters, Martin Hargreaves, Gerald Siegmund: Shadow Bodies. On Philipp Gehmacher and Raimund Hoghe. Cultureel Centrum Maasmechelen, Belgium, 2006. abstract dansinlimburg.be Helmut Ploebst: no wind no word. Neue Choreographie in der Gesellschaft des Spektakels. (New choreography in the society of the spectacle.) 9 Porträts: Meg Stuart, Vera Mantero, Xavier Le Roy, Benoît Lachambre, Raimund Hoghe, Emio Greco/PC, Joao Fiadeiro, Boris Charmatz, Jérôme Bel. K. Kieser Verlag, Munich, 2001, . contents digitool.hbz-nrw.de Marie-Florence Ehret: Raimund Hoghe. L’ange inachevé. Fiction. Éditions Comp'Act & Centre international de Bagnolet pour les oeuvres choréographiques Seine-Saint-Denis, France, 2001, . (in French, bibliography, filmography)
External links
Dramaturg Raimund Hoghe zu Pina Bausch (video) 3sat 8 July 2009