Artistic Biography
After studies of philosophy, theatre sciences and cultural management in Belgium and Germany Georg started his performing arts activities at the Belgian theatre company AGORA where he co-created about ten visual theatre pieces. Driven by his urge to connect with others through art and generate a concrete impact in the daily life he curated several alternative performance evenings in public space. Being dramaturge for the dance company Ultima Vez/Wim Vandekeybus and co-founder of Les Ballets du Grand Maghreb with which he premiered at the KunstenFESTIVALdesArts brought him even more to body-based stage work. As Artistic Director he first headed a creation place for Performing Arts in Genk before being appointed in the same position at the Dampfzentrale Bern, the biggest independent venue for Contemporary Dance and Music in the Swiss Capital region. In the position of artistic coordinator for “Dans in Brugge” he brought his artistic interest in choreography and the urge for a broad audience encounter together: within the unique alliance of different cultural institutions in the Flemish Region, he curated the season program for Concertgebouw Brugge and Cultuurcentrum Brugge, as well as the international Dance Festivals December Dance and Bits of Dance.
Educational Biography
In 2012 Georg switched into the art education field and joined the DasArts Master program in Amsterdam: As a staff member, responsible for dramaturgy & artistic policy he co-developed the new DasArts Master curriculum and specific Feedback Techniques for creative processes in the arts, both tailor-made to the needs of emerging artists. Over the years Georg gave workshops about artistic feedback in many European countries and overseas. Thanks to his own experience as (co-)developer at the very source of the method he is not only well positioned to teach it but can easily adopt it to different contexts and needs. Thanks to his experience Georg also developed additional formats and made the approach more accessible and flexible. It proved itself as a very effective learning experience in educational contexts.
Based on his experience with feedback Georg also created a set of tools for audience exchange. He finally launched himself as an independent advisor active in different international contexts of performing arts and teaches at Art Institutions, facilitates artistic exchange within theaters and collectives and co-organizes conferences or Ateliers. Feedback and discursive spaces are in high demand for transformational process in big cultural institutions, as City Theatres of Opera’s, where an open space for horizontal and non-defensive artistic exchange needs to be implemented.
Spiritual Journey
My first conscious vertical experience through generations and people, happened during family constellations: During those incarnations of unknown people the connection was surprisingly clear, stable and connecting. My spiritual path brought me first to classic ZEN and Tantra meditation (Tantra Illuminated). Mindfulness became a daily practice as well as shamanists rituals – alone or in group (vision quest, healing ceremonies, etc.). Ellemonk’s „contemporary monastery“ and their energetic and nature-loving approach have become a regular venue for courses, retreats and seminars such as The Lightening Path, The Garden of Eden, Rituals for the Wheel of the Year. The several-week stay in the Amazon region with Shipibo shamans, and their plant medicine was a formative experience that I still draw on today.
That Shipibo-experience was the decisive element to become a cranio-sacral Therapist and practicing on a professional base in Brussels.
Professional Curriculum Vitae
Since 2022 Freelance Artistic & Cultural Advisor
2018 – 2022 Artistic Coordinator Dans in Brugge (B): Curator for the dance section of the two major cultural houses of Bruges (Concertgebouw and City Theatre) as well as the largest international festival for contemporary dance in Flanders December Dance. Tasks: Programme design, strategic direction, application development, dance networks, artists support).
Since 2018 Guest Professor at Antwerp Conservatorium (Master for Choreography), Master for Applied Theatre (Mozarteum Salzburg), Master of Choreography (Codarts Rotterdam & Fontys High School for the Arts Tilburg), Bundesakademie für kulturelle Bildung Wolfenbüttel (D), etc.
2012 – 2016 Artistic Director & Managing Director Dampfzentrale Bern (CH): Head of curatorial team, independently responsible for the annual programme of dance and performance as well as the festivals „Tanz in Bern“ and „Forever Young“; Operational and staff management: 20 people team plus freelancers, approx. 350 events per year, local and international networks for contemporary stage art.
2006 – 2012 Head of of pedagogical tema of DasArts – Master of Theatre of the Amsterdam School of Arts; responsible for the artistic development of the students (directors and choreographers), design of a new study-curriculum for the Master program (and its application), development of innovative artistic feedback-tools and educational formats.
2004 – 2005 Artistic director Tor (Genk/B), production venue for stage art
1996 – 2002 Dance dramaturge with Ultima Vez/Wim Vandekeybus (Brussels/B): overall artistic and production responsibility on tours
1995 – 1999 Cultural initiative Chudoscnik Sunergia (Eupen/B): project initiator & curator of performance festivals (a.o. in public space)
1987 – 1999 Theatre Agora (St. Vith/B): multitasking of an independent theatre collective
Languages: German, French, Dutch, English and some Spanish