Dancer, Choreographer, Facilitator

Artistic Practice & Collective Work: Renate Graziadei was born in Austria and began her dance training in Switzerland. She soon moved to New York, where she lived, worked, and danced for three years, including with the Nina Wiener Dance Company. After returning to Europe, she continued her artistic journey, collaborating with Rui Horta at the S.O.A.P. Dance Theatre in Frankfurt before joining the Hamburg-based dance group COAX. In 1994, she co-founded the artist collective laborgras with Arthur Stäldi. Since then, the collective has produced numerous works and ongoing series focused on artistic research, exchange, and independent production, often in close collaboration with other artists. A standout example is the 2006 production I, Myself and Me Again, which has been recognized as a significant interdisciplinary work in both dance studies and the field of new media.

Long-Term Collaboration & Shared Artistic Responsibility: For over two decades, Renate Graziadei has had a close artistic collaboration with choreographer David Hernandez, which has profoundly shaped her work. From 2008 to 2018, she worked as a guest dancer with Sasha Waltz & Guests. However, her connection to the company began back in 2004 when she served as a rehearsal director and trainer for productions such as Impromptus, Medea, Romeo and Juliette, and Continu in Berlin and on tour. Between 2008 and 2018, she also performed regularly with the company in works such as Jagden und Formen (Zustand 2008), Dialoge 09 – Neues Museum, Dialoge 09 – MAXXI, and Métamorphoses. Over more than 15 years, she contributed significantly to many of the company’s projects, both on and off stage. In 2016, she was a guest dancer with the Susanne Linke Company in Trier and performed in Tokyo in the production Hommage à Dore Hoyer.

Dance Education & Artistic Learning: Passing on movement, body knowledge, and choreographic thinking has always been a core part of Renate Graziadei’s work. Since 1996, she has regularly taught contemporary dance technique, improvisation, and composition. Her teaching has taken her to renowned institutions such as P.A.R.T.S. in Brussels, the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen, and the Opéra de Paris. In addition, she has worked at international festivals and programs in countries including Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Italy, Australia, France, Spain, Colombia, and Korea.

Recognition: Renate Graziadei has received several accolades for her artistic work. In the annual critics’ survey by ballett international/tanz aktuell, she was named “Promising Young Dancer” in 1997 and “Best Dancer” in 2010. With laborgras, she has been awarded, among others, the Kurt-Jooss Prize in Essen (2004), the Kunstpreis Berlin (2015), and a nomination for the German Theatre Prize DER FAUST (2015).

Picture: Phil Dera