Artistic Director: Jürgen Meier

Jürgen Meier studied at the University of Münster’s Academy of Fine Arts and at St. Martin’s School of Art in London. In 1987, he was promoted to the status of master class student at Münster’s Academy of Fine Arts. He later took on teaching positions at a variety of higher education institutions, including the Leipzig Academy of Visual Arts. In 1993 he founded the artistic association known as Kunstverein Elster-Park (today Kunstverein Leipzig). Meier’s previous projects include light artworks in Germany and abroad as well as the planning of lighting concepts, work for which he has received numerous awards. He has been the Artistic Director of the Leipzig Festival of Lights since 2007.

Passion for Dance: Mario Schröder

Mario Schröder graduated in dance from the Palucca University of Dance in Dresden. From 1983 to 1999 he was the first soloist in the Leipzig Ballet, from 1991 under the supervision of Uwe Scholz. In 1999 he took on the position of Ballet Director and Chief Choreographer at the Mainfranken Theatre in Würzburg before moving on to the same position at the Theatre Kiel in 2001. Mario took over as the Ballet Director and Chief Choreographer for the Leipzig Ballet in the 2010/2011 season. He has created more than 75 ballets in Germany and abroad, including numerous premieres for the Leipzig Company such as the beginning of the highly acclaimed Orff cycle and the ballet evenings “Chaplin” and “Jim Morrison”.

Blazing New Trails: Leipzig Ballet

The Leipzig Ballet is dedicated to creating innovative impulses in the delicate balance between openness and the preservation of tradition. The company features 40 male and female dancers from a total of 23 different nations who have made their home in Leipzig. A priority of Mario Schröder’s work is to constantly position dance within new artistic contexts. With the dance series “Tanz in den Häusern der Stadt” and the partnership with the Leipzig Festival of Lights, the Leipzig Ballet is proudly presenting new facets of its work outside the walls of the Opera House.

The Musician: Mike Dietrich

Mike Dietrich has worked for almost 25 years under the stage name “DJ Opossum” as a DJ, musician, producer and composer for Hip Hop and Soul music artists from Leipzig, throughout Germany and from around the world. His beginnings stretch back to the 1980s as one of the godfathers of the Leipzig break-dance scene and a Hip Hop activist, a subculture deemed illegal and under constant surveillance by the ruling powers of the day. Mike used his first “western money” to buy professional turntables. Soon he was composing and producing his own songs, a catalogue that has expanded since 1993 to include some 200 compositions. Mike has additionally toured with Herbie Hancock, Saul Williams and Xavier Naidoo.