In the Hidden at the State Theater Cottbus: Dance Between Light and Shadow
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In the Hidden: Dance Between Golden Wounds and Invisible Stories
When the light rises on November 12, 2026, in the Great Hall of the State Theater Cottbus, a two-part ballet evening about the Visible and the Hidden begins. In the Hidden combines choreographies by Inma López and Douglas Lee into a stage experience that transforms body, space, and light into a multifaceted drama.
Golden Wounds: The Beauty of Breaks
Inma López focuses on individuality, vulnerability, and the traces that life leaves on the body. Inspired by the Japanese practice of Kintsugi, her choreography tells of broken forms that are not hidden but visibly joined together. Breaks appear not as flaws but as golden lines of an unmistakable biography.
The staging gains its strength from the connection of dance, set design, costumes, lighting design, and video. Every movement carries a story, each formation alters the perception of space. The art of acting gives way to the precise language of dance, yet the emotional immediacy remains: The body becomes an archive of loss, resilience, and new beginnings.
Fade-Outs: What Happens Behind the Spotlight
In the second part, internationally active choreographer Douglas Lee explores the hidden layers of theater. What remains outside of the line of sight? What processes unfold in the dark while the stage is illuminated? Fade-Outs opens the stage space to the invisible forces that shape each performance.
Music by Nicolas Sávva, a mutable stage design by Pascale Arndtz, and the lighting design by Ulf Kupke and Douglas Lee create an atmosphere between precision and mystery. The dancers of the ballet ensemble move through changing light moods, densifications, and dissolutions. This creates a choreography that not only shows movements but also interrogates the mechanics of theater itself.
A Ballet Evening with Dramatic Depth
The dramaturgy of Corinna Jarosch connects both works through a common motif: The whole emerges from its parts. Inma López discovers the individual story in the fracture, while Douglas Lee finds the premise for the visible in the hidden. Together, the choreographies unfold a panorama of contemporary stage art that combines formal rigor with sensual experience.
The audience can expect a performance of about 105 minutes including a break. The acoustics of the Great Hall, the changing light images, and the physical presence of the ensemble condense into a theatrical atmosphere that lingers even beyond the final applause.
Conclusion: Dance that Leads Below the Surface
In the Hidden invites viewers to look closely: at the golden traces of vulnerability, at the invisible work behind the stage magic, and at the strength that arises from breaks. Those seeking contemporary dance, strong imagery, and a demanding staging will experience an evening full of movement, tension, and poetic afterimages in the Great Hall.
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