Energy

The French dancer Jeanne Baudrier has been a part of the Leipzig Ballet since October of 2015. For the series #marioschroeder10 in celebration of the 10-year-anniversary of the artistic director and chief choreographer Jeanne shares her memories of arriving in Leipzig and working with Mario Schröder.

»Before I came to Leipzig I danced in Augsburg and one of the dancers there had already worked with Mario. She told me about him and the versatile repertoire of the Leipzig Ballet. A company where I could do pointe work as well as pieces on socks was exactly what I was looking for. So, I sent my application to Mario and was invited to audition. But, on the day of the open audition I was scheduled to dance a performance and I was offered the possibility to attend a private audition. For a private audition you already take class with the company and you get to feel the atmosphere of the daily working life. This is actually a big strength of this company: Everyone is incredibly warm and welcoming. After class Oliver Preiss taught me a small excerpt of one of Mario’s choreographies which I then had to show to Mario and the ballet masters. Showing the solo didn’t feel like an audition anymore but rather like a rehearsal. Mario gave corrections and already started working with me. That was very motivating and inspiring for me and I remember walking out of the opera that day feeling very fulfilled. I was super happy when I got offered a contract! «

»It is incredible how prepared Mario starts his rehearsals. Some choreographers start rehearsing and just let the process guide them but Mario is always prepared. That is so much work! Mario has the capacity to share his energy. He motivates us to always give more and he also knows when we can push more and reach our maximum. His energy takes us there. Also, he is able to show anything. There are no excuses to not try something!«

»I really admire the love Mario has for music. You can feel it in every piece he does. He is always offering space for the music. He has a specific way of hearing the music he creates to and he shares with us the possibility to hear the music the way he does it. Sometimes he comes into the studio talking about a very intricate part of the score and we are not able to hear it yet. But Mario is able to because he is already living in the music. «

»In every piece of Mario that I had the chance to dance in are moments that I will never forget. Sometimes it can be the smallest detail but I wouldn’t want to miss them. If I had to decide on favorite pieces of Mario I would choose ›Mozart Requiem‹, ›Le Sacre du printemps‹ and Marios creation for the evening ›Rachmaninow‹.«