Lillian Stillwell

Sexes

Sexuality, power and the end of heroism are the subjects of SEXES, choreographed to Beethoven’s third “Eroica” Symphony. Inspired by psychoanalyst Antoinette Fouque’s theories of female sexuality as a source of equity and self-determination as well as Beethoven’s disappointment at Napoleon‘s obsession with power, SEXES is an erotic, violent and ultimately joyful reflection of the plurality of sex.

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12 – 14 dancers | 50 Minutes

Premiere

February 24, 2024

Grosses Haus | Theater Münster | DE

choreography

Lillian Stillwell

set design

Stella Sattler & Jonathan Brügmann

costume design

Louise Flanagan

light design

Jan Hördemann

dramaturgy

GE Patterson

choreographic assistance

Sascha Pieper, Katelyn Skelley

music

Ludwig van Beethoven, 3rd Symphony, “Eroica”

musical direction

Henning Ehlert

dancers

Lukas Bisculm, Amanda Cruz Portuondo, Yoh Ebihara, Hana Kato, Bartlomiej Kowalczyk, Juan Fernando Morales Londoňo, Mirjam Motzke, Hera Norin, Enrique Sáez Martínez, Giorgia Scisciola, Aline Serrano, Nadja Simchen, Keelan Whitmore, Jack Widdowson and Tanz Münster Studio: Silja Egelund Ellebye, Chun-Wei Peng

"Stillwell immerses herself in the structure of the music with all its contrasts… The sold-out theater was filled with cheers."

Harald Suerland

Westfälische Nachrichten | February 26, 2024

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"SEXES is dedicated to women's sexuality, power and liberation. The sexes collide, egos begin to dissolve...the ensemble shows...an impressive physical performance."

Andrea Kutzendörfer

Die Glocke | February 26, 2023

"Stillwell shows how music becomes visible energy through the dancing body..., lots of cheers, also for an ensemble that faces challenges and masters them with commitment and energy."

Edda Breski

Westfälischer Anzeiger | February 27, 2024

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overview

Oslo

Lillian Stillwell’s choreography takes the historical content of the Oslo Peace Accords (1993) as inspiration for a sparse yet emotionally-charged choreography. Called “poetic” and “brilliantly conceived and danced” by Germany’s most prestigious theatre magazine, Die Deutsche Bühne, OSLO is an 16-minute quartet that both takes us back in time and makes us reconsider the present day.

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Dance Quartett | 16 Minutes

Premiere

October 20, 2023

Kleines Haus | Theater Münster | DE

choreography

Lillian Stillwell

costume design

Louise Flanagan

light design

Jan Hördemann with Lillian Stillwell

dramaturgy

Tom Ryser

choreographic assistance

Katelyn Skelley

music

Minoru Miki, "Marimba Spiritual 1 & 2"

dancers

Yoh Ebihara, Juan Fernando Morales Londoňo, Hera Norin, Jack Widdowson

"A mix of aggression and closeness.... showing how intimacy can turn into violence at any time. The result is full of fascinatingly poetic images... a brilliantly conceived and danced piece."

Ralf Döring

Die Deutsche Bühne | October 21, 2023

"No one could have foreseen that the contribution by Münster's dance director Lillian Stillwell, "Oslo," would hit the mark so precisely... On stage, (the dancers) translate the hardened positions of negotiation with fantastic, brilliant movement sequences to throbbing sounds."

Andrea Kutzendörfer

Die Glocke | October 23, 2023

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overview

Furien

Who are we, what are we capable of? Twelve dancers are driven by rage until a cosmic interaction provokes their transformation. Lillian’s critically acclaimed opening production at Theater Münster was performed to sold-out audiences in an arena setting, recalling ancient Greek theater, to an original sound design.

facts

Dance Evening | 1 hour

Premiere

September 17, 2023

Kleines Haus | Theater Münster | DE

choreography & direction

Lillian Stillwell

sound design

Randomhype / Christian Düchtel

set design

Stella Sattler & Jonathan Brügmann

costume design

Louise Flanagan

dramaturgy

Tom Ryser

light design

Jörg Glashörster

rehearsal director & balletmistress

Stefanie Fischer

dance

Yoh Ebihara, Hana Kato, Bartlomiej Kowalczyk, Juan Fernando Morales Londono, Hera Norin, Enrique Saez Martinez, Giorgia Scisciola, Aline Serrano, Nadja Simchen, Amanda Cruz Portuondo, Jack Widdowson and Tanz Münster Studio: Lukas Bisculm, Maren Katrin Sauer

... the young ensemble [comes] across so convincingly that you watch the scant dozen goddesses of vengeance with fascination. "Furies" is the start of a new dance era in Münster with innovative, green concepts. The dancers' bodies as a resource are also to be spared. If the artistic result turns out like this, it is something to be proud of. Furious!

Bettina Trouwborst

Kultur. West | 11/12

Furien [is] rightly tumultuously cheered at the end... With the turn from individual revenge to the administration of justice by a court, the movement loses its harsh tension, it becomes gentle and light. With arms spread wide, the dancers turn to the audience. It seems like an invitation.

Andrea Kutzendörfer

Die Glocke | September 19, 2022

Lillian Stillwell has developed for the archaic greatness of the feelings, for the wild determination of the group, a movement spectrum of bursting power… it is admirable how Stillwell choreographs the group, how she lets this massive movement chorus structure the space.

Harald Suerland

Westfälische Nachrichten | 19.09.2022

Choreographer Lillian Stillwell has put an exclamation mark on her enthusiastically received opening, creating a striking contrast to [her] predecessors, who were as independent as they were successful.

Harald Suerland

Westfälische Nachrichten | September 19, 2022

Stillwell's commitment is already starting to pay off. Her young company, highly motivated and full of positive energy, takes the audience not only on a short trip into Greek mythology. Drive, virtuosity, elegance, drama, grand gesture, effective use of light, and audience involvement, especially through the intimacy of the arena stage.

Bettina Trouwborst

TANZ Zeitschrift | 11/2022

In time to the electronic music of the sound designer Randomhype, the eleven-member international ensemble shows how variable its movement language is. Swinging, soft arms, elongated, high legs, classical pirouettes can be seen.

Isabell Steinböck

Westfälische Nachrichten | August 12, 2022

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overview

L'Orfeo

In a production praised for being “of European ranking,” critics called Lillian’s choreography “hypnotically beautiful.” The singers move in swarms, magnify small gestures and collect into breathing masses to echo and expand the deep emotions of the protagonists in synch with Monteverdi’s unforgettable harmonies.

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Opera | 2 hours

Premiere

March 3, 2020

Royal Danish Opera | Copenhagen, DK

Revival Premiere

March 24, 2023

director

Jetske Mijnssen

conductor

Lars Ulrik Mortensen

set & costume design

Ben Baur

choreography

Lillian Stillwell

light design

Bernd Purkrabek

choreography assistant

Sol Bilbao Lucuix

revival director

Johanne Holten

Of European ranking… here in Copenhagen they sing with tendness and grace, effortlessly choreographed by Lillian Stillwell to fit the singers like a glove.

Opernwelt | 2020

The music feels eternal in the company of Jetske Mijnssen’s impelling staging, which a reviewer in 2020 described as “hypnotically beautiful.” The performance deals with the healing processing of loss and grief, employing a simple stage set and dreamlike choreography.

Louise Pederson

Via Ritzau | March 14, 2023

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Orfeus, Monteverdi, Royal Danish Opera, Instruktør: Jetske Mijnssen, Dirigent: Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Scenograf: Ben Baur, Kostumedesign: Ben Baur, Koreograf: Lillian Stillwell, Lysdesign: Bernd Purkrabek, Orfeus: Marc Mauillon, Eurydike: Sofie Lund-Tonesen

overview

Anna Bolena | 2022

Video

Maria Stuarda | 2022

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Anna Bolena | Maria Stuarda

In large, opulent moving pictures, Lillians choreography for dancers and opera chorus in the “Donizetti Trilogy,” bring form and scale to the emotional storytelling of the stage direction by long-time collaborator, director Jetske Mijnssen. After wildly successful premieres in Amsterdam, both productions travelled to Valencia, Spain and Naples, Italy.

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Operas | 2 hours

Premieres

May 10, 2022 & May 7, 2023

Dutch National Opera and Ballet | Amsterdam | NL

Teatro San Carlo | Naples | IT

Les Arts de Reina Sofia | Valencia | ES

musical direction

Enrique Mazzola

stage direction

Jetske Mijnssen

set design

Ben Baur

costume design

Klaus Bruns

choreography

Lillian Stillwell

dramaturgy

Luc Joosten

light design

Cor van den Brink

dancers ANNA BOLENA

Alaaeddin Baker, Facundo Bebenegger, Marta Bianchi, Suzanne de Bekker, Ismael del Valle Espinoso, Alina Fejzo, Sho Nakasatomi, Renzo Popolizio, Carolina Verra, Demi Wals

dancers MARIA STUARDA

Alina Fejzo, Lili Kok, Evaldo Melo, Isabelle Nelson, Renzo Popolizio, Laia Vancells Pi, Luigi Vilotta, Demi Wals

The exhausting final scene […] a beautiful white scene is revealed, a surreal ballet around the newlyweds playing in Anna's head. The choral scenes […] embellished with refined choreography, are a feast for the eyes in this production.

de Volkskrant | 2022

...the dancers, artfully choreographed by Lillian Stillwell, function sometimes as multiplied alter egos of Maria, sometimes as revenants of her adversary.

Jürgen Otten

Opernwelt | 07/2023 [on Maria Stuarda]

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overview

Mass

The disciplines come together in Leonard Bernstein’s masterpiece for over 100 performers. Lillian Stillwell’s choreography – life-affirming, rhythmic, and grounded – is characterized by intense movements for the singers, dancers and the children’s choir. For the invisible power of the Holy Spirit, she created an ethereal, light and vulnerable movement language for their wild, uncontrollable and yet calming force.

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A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers by Leonard Bernstein | 2 hours

Premiere

August 26, 2023

Theater Münster | DE

musical director

Thorsten Schmid-Kapfenburg

stage direction

Tom Ryser

choreograper

Lillian Stillwell

choreograpic assistance

Eléonore Turri

dance captain

Roh Ebihara

set design

Stefan Rieckhoff

costume design

Stefan Rieckhoff, Louise Flanagan

dancers

Amanda Cruz Portuondo, Yoh Ebihara, Hana Kato, Bartlomiej Kowalczyk, Hera Norin, Enrique Sáez Martínez

Premiere

March 17, 2017

Theater Lübeck | DE

musical director

Andreas Wolf

director

Tom Ryser

choreograper

Lillian Stillwell

set & costume design

Stefan Rieckhoff

„Lillian Stillwell has developed choreography that could be described as classical ballet with modern elements, to wonderful effect. The four dancers could be described most accurately as God’s Ideas.“

Martin Freitag

Der Opernfreund | March 20, 2017

„Choreographer Lillian Stillwell and director Tom Ryser integrate opera and dance astoundingly. The four dancers on pointe create a second dimension through their otherworldly gestures, which makes the spiritual aspects of the ritual visible. On the other end of the spectrum, the Street-Chorus lets loose with breakdance.

Neue Musikzeitung | 2017

„Lillian Stillwell choreographically brings the masses into a dramatic back-and-forth and uses the cool musical and rock quality of the street ensemble…The idea of assigning three dancing messengers of God to the priest is touching, (who) at the end they are also lying on the ground destroyed."

Claus-Ulrich Heinke

Orpheus | November/ December 2023

„Praise is also due to choreographer Lillian Stillwell, whose dancers blend harmoniously into the often very turbulent action on stage."

J. Gahre

Opernglas | November 2023

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overview

Alive!

ALIVE! was created by a team of four director/choreographers at the height of the Covid-19 Lockdown. Lillian contributed dance films and live choreography for singers as well as performing a duet with the camera herself. One single, live performance took place before the work was subsequently shown online.

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Interdisciplinary / Dance Film | 1 hour

Premiere

June 13, 2020

Theater Lübeck | DE

director / choreographers

Jochen Biganzolli, Milo Pablo Momm, Tom Ryser, Lillian Stillwell

dramaturgy / concept

Katharina Kost-Tolmein, Carsten Jenss

light design

Falk Hampl

videoregie

Konrad Kästner

dancers in film

Musiktheater Ensemble, Theater Lübeck Orchestra | Sarah Hammond, Liliana Torres, Aline Serrano, Sarah Schoch

„A completely new music theater experience has been created by Jochen Biganzoli, Milo Pablo Momm, Tom Ryser and Lillian Stillwell, each of them an alpha director. The differences between the individual signatures harmonize wonderfully.“

Kultur. West | 11/12

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Glück, das mir verblieb

Dance Film by Lillian Stillwell

Pas de Deux with the Camera

Lillian dancing during Lockdown

overview

Afterlife

Is there life after death for those left behind? Based on real events, AFTERLIFE premiered in Basel, Switzerland by SNOW productions in 2021 on a former lighthouse ship with all-local artists and the financial support of Swisslos-Fonds Basel-Stadt and numerous foundations. Its German premiere with Tanz Münster took place in 2023.

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Immersive Dance Production with Live-DJ*anes | 1 hour

Premiere | SNOW productions

November 4, 2021

Gannet | Basel | CH

Premiere | Tanz Münster

June 2, 2023

Stadtbücherei Münster, Colibri Café | Münster | DE

dance

Created with Aline Serrano & Mukdanin Phongpacith

Cast Basel Premiere: Sarah Schoch & Mukdanin Phongpacith

Cast Münster Premiere: Aline Serrano & Yoh Ebihara

live DJ*anes

DJ Duo Schwifi (Ada Fischer & Sophia Schwager)

music

Randomhype, Gaspard de la Montagne, DJ Duo Schwifi

light

Tom Ryser & Jan Hördemann

concept, choreography & art. direction

Lillian Stillwell

co-artistic direction

Tom Ryser

dramaturgy (Basel Premiere)

Anne Schöfer †

costume design

Ada Fisher feat. Chemiserie Plus

choreographic assistance & rehearsal direction

Stefanie Fischer

Shy or high-spirited, intimate or euphoric - what love can offer in terms of emotions is explored here in an exciting mixture of party and contemporary dance… A successful performance, which despite all tragedy still comes up with a ray of hope at the end… The dead are dead, life goes on.

Helmut Jasny

Westfälische Nachrichten | June 5, 2023

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overview

The Four Seasons

This choreography to Vivaldi’s famous score combines rhythmic precision with physical intimacy in repetitive rituals in a movement language that combines the abstract with the emotional. Danger and joy, hope and sorrow are not only seen but felt in the percussive waves and canons of the choreography.

facts

Dance Evening | 50 minutes

Premiere

March 11, 2023

Grosses Haus | Theater Münster | DE

choreography

Lillian Stillwell

set design

Stella Sattler & Jonathan Brügmann

costume design

Louise Flanagan

light design

Marco Vitale with Jan Hördemann

dramaturgy

GE Patterson

music

Antonio Vivaldi

musical director

Thorsten Schmid-Kapfenburg

violin soloists

Midori Goto, Mihai Ionescu

dancers

Amanda Cruz Portuondo, Yoh Ebihara, Hana Kato, Bartlomiej Kowalczyk, Juan Fernando Morales Londoňo, Hera Norin, Enrique Sáez Martínez, Giorgia Scisciola, Aline Serrano, Nadja Simchen, Keelan Whitmore, Jack Widdowson and Tanz Münster Studio: Lukas Bisculm, Maren Sauer

“The never overwhelming music and the movements are wonderfully related to each other. Their flowing character extends not only in individual dancers from their feet to their outstretched arms, but also spreads between them. It is the relationships to oneself and to others from which life is sustained. But where it currently leads remains open. When everyone runs in circles, ambivalent harmony and perplexity appear again in the face of the eternal return of the abyss, before which humanity stands this time as close as never before.”

Hans Butterhof

Tanznetz | March 14, 2023

“’The Four Seasons,’ which at 60 minutes offers the evening’s focus, is fantastic. Dance Director Lillian Stillwell stages a dynamic, highly challenging choreography to the music of Antonio Vivaldi. The 14-member ensemble whirls across the stage in great leaps and with high legs, translating musical facets played virtuosically by the Sinfonieorchester Münster into aesthetically beautiful dance.”

Isabell Steinböck

Westphälische Nachrichten | March 12, 2023

“The greatest scene is the most silent: the (dancers) line up at the edge of the stage, in rows, hardly noticeably sorted into groups like families. One hand on a shoulder, another on a waist. Closeness and near detachment. Serious faces for the photo. Gently pushing someone aside, changing places. The gazes are directed at us, as if from a past or perhaps a future.”

Melanie Suchy

Die Deutsche Bühne | March 12, 2023

"When professional dancers like those at Theater Münster transform "The Four Seasons" by Antonio Vivaldi into movement, it puts the crown on what is probably Vivaldi's most famous work. The audience felt it: they were entralled."

Andrea Kutzendörfer

Die Glocke | March 13, 2023

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TV Interview and Portrait about Lillian Stillwell and her work, “The Four Seasons”

overview

Silberlicht

Two sleeping dancers wake up in a room full of sparkling lights and music. They go on a treasure hunt and discover sounds and unexpected, magical objects.
Audiences of all ages are mesmerized by the harmonic movement language, haptic light elements and sensual sounds from the orchestra musicians.

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Dance Piece with Barock Music for Young Children | 35-minute performance followed by 10 minutes of interactive play

Commissioned by Philharmonie Luxembourg in 2019, the work had its German premiere with Tanz Münster in 2022.

Premiere

Philharmonie Luxembourg | May 23, 2019

German Premiere

Theater Münster | October 29, 2022

Team & Cast German Premiere

choreography & concept

Lillian Stillwell

artistic direction

Angela Merl & Lillian Stillwell

dance

Lucas Bisculm, Maren Sauer

music

Sinfonieorchester Münster

set & costume design

Mayke Hegger

musical selection

Johannes Pramsohler

choreographic assistance & rehearsal direction

Stefanie Fischer

theater pedagogy

Anne Abrahams

light design

Jörg Schwarzer

"Yes, Silberlicht, the dance piece by Angela Merl and Lillian Stillwell, manages to enchant even the youngest audience with the concept of light magic, string music and two dancers. On Saturday afternoon, the dance studio was transformed into a magical world of lights, enhanced by the baroque sounds of the musicians of the symphony orchestra. The magic worked.”

Maria Conlan

Westfälische Nachrichten | October 31, 2022

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overview

On Now

April 30, 2024

SEXES | Dance Production with live Orchestra

Theater Münster | Münster, Germany

May 18, 2024

SEXES | Dance Production with live Orchestra

Theater Münster | Münster, Germany

May 25, 2024

SEXES | Dance Production with live Orchestra

Theater Münster | Münster, Germany

June 6, 2024

SEXES | Dance Production with live Orchestra

Theater Münster | Münster, Germany

38. Annual Choreography Competition Hannover | June 7 & 8, 2024

International Choreographic Competition | Jury Member

Theater at Aegi | Hannover, Germany

June 14, 2024

SEXES | Dance Production with live Orchestra

Theater Münster | Münster, Germany

June 20, 2024

Maria Stuarda | Opera

Teatro San Carlo | Naples, Italy

June 23, 2024

Maria Stuarda | Opera

Teatro San Carlo | Naples, Italy

June 26, 2024

Maria Stuarda | Opera

Teatro San Carlo | Naples, Italy

June 28, 2024

SEXES | Dance Production with live Orchestra

Theater Münster | Münster, Germany

June 29, 2024

Maria Stuarda | Opera

Teatro San Carlo | Naples, Italy

July 7, 2024

SEXES | Dance Production with live Orchestra

Theater Münster | Münster, Germany

April 3, 2024

SEXES | Dance Production with live Orchestra

Theater Münster | Münster, Germany

January 27, 2024

OsloDance Quartett inspired by the Oslo Peace Process

Theater Münster | Münster, Germany

January 20, 2024

Mass | A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers

Theater Münster | Münster, Germany

PREMIERE | February 24, 2024

Eroica | Dance Production with live Orchestra

Theater Münster | Münster, Germany

June 2, 2023

Afterlife | Immersive Dance Production

Stadtbücherei Münster | Münster, Germany

June 11, 2023

Die vier Jahreszeiten | Dance Production

Theater Münster | Münster, Germany

June 15, 2023

Furien | Dance Evening

Theater Münster | Münster, Germany

June 24, 2023

Tanz Münster ON TOUR | Dance Production

Bühnen Bern | Bern, Switzerland

June 17, 2023

Anna Bolena | Opera

Teatro San Carlo | Naples, Italy

Mentorship Kick-Off | September 22, 2023

Initiative for Women in Leadership in Culture and Media

German Cultural Department | Berlin, Germany

"Stillwell immerses herself in the structure of the music with all its contrasts… The sold-out theater was filled with cheers."

Harald Suerland

"SEXES is dedicated to women's sexuality, power and liberation. The sexes collide, egos begin to dissolve...the ensemble shows...an impressive physical performance."

Andrea Kutzendörfer

"Stillwell shows how music becomes visible energy through the dancing body..., lots of cheers, also for an ensemble that faces challenges and masters them with commitment and energy."

Edda Breski

"A mix of aggression and closeness.... showing how intimacy can turn into violence at any time. The result is full of fascinatingly poetic images... a brilliantly conceived and danced piece."

Ralf Döring

"No one could have foreseen that the contribution by Münster's dance director Lillian Stillwell, "Oslo," would hit the mark so precisely... On stage, (the dancers) translate the hardened positions of negotiation with fantastic, brilliant movement sequences to throbbing sounds."

Andrea Kutzendörfer

Bettina Trouwborst

Furien [is] rightly tumultuously cheered at the end... With the turn from individual revenge to the administration of justice by a court, the movement loses its harsh tension, it becomes gentle and light. With arms spread wide, the dancers turn to the audience. It seems like an invitation.

Andrea Kutzendörfer

Oslo
Dance Quartett inspired by the Oslo Peace Process