by Carl Kruse
The DANCAE dance company invites members of the Carl Kruse Arts Blog to its upcoming performance of “Chasing Nothing,” set within a life size installation by visual artist Dominic Kießling. “Chasing Nothing” is a new three-act ballet set to electronic music, performed by dancers of the Deutsche Oper Berlin.
Performances take place July 5, 7,8, 9 and 10, 2025 at Eichenstraße 4A, 12435 Berlin, Germany
For further information and tickets see: https://dancaeberlin.com
About DANCAE
Founded in Berlin as a collective of classically trained ballet dancers, choreographers, and multidisciplinary artists, DANCÆ is reshaping contemporary performance by merging neoclassical ballet with electronic music, immersive installations, and cutting-edge technology. Their in-house ensemble, Ballet Sur_real, exemplifies this hybrid vision: a platform for cross‑disciplinary collaboration with DJs, visual artists, fashion designers, and spatial sound engineers.
Artistic Trajectory
From its early curated series—such as Labyrinth (2023) and DANCÆ × Quantum (2024)—the collective has explored existential themes, identity, instinct, and the tension between physicality and modern life. Their landmark project, Bodies in Sound (February 2025), staged at Berlin’s MONOM Studios, marked a major evolution: dancers moved among the audience while feeding motion‑capture data into a 4D sound environment by 4DSOUND. The piece underscored their philosophy: dance as immersive, sensory experience.
Key Dancers & Artistic Leaders
Ballet Sur_real’s roster includes elite ballet talents like:
- Jade Albrieux
- Renato De Leon
- Andrea Marino
- Eoin Robinson
- Anna Okuneva
- Soraya Schulthess
- Vera Segova
Among standouts is Shaked Heller, a principal dancer and choreographer who has performed with Zurich Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, and Staatsballett Berlin. A multiple nominee for Dancer and Choreographer of the Year by tanz, Dance Europe, and recognized by The New York Times, Heller brings an innovative edge to Ballet Sur_real’s work.
John Carlsson, a neoclassical and experimental electronic composer, often accompanies their productions live—fusing organic piano and abstract electronica .
Chasing Nothing
Premiering July 5, 2025, at Eichenstraße 4A in Berlin, Chasing Nothing unfolds over three acts. It is set within a kinetic foil‑based installation by Dominic Kießling, whose subtle, air‑driven sculptures mirror dancers’ transient forms. This visual dialogue underscores the theme of ephemerality and human desire.
The audio environment features a three‑dimensional soundscape by d&b audiotechnik, spatially synchronized to performers and visuals for an immersive sound environment.
On stage, Shaked Heller and his Ballet Sur_real colleagues perform alongside John Carlsson, whose live compositions blend neoclassical motifs with experimental electronica.
Anticipated Audience Experience
Chasing Nothing invites viewers into a sensory triptych:
- Visual immersion – the interplay of foil and movement creates a living sculpture.
- Kinetic storytelling – ballet vocabulary reframed through techno rhythms and contemporary sensibilities.
- Spatial sound – audio drifts, pulses, and envelops, heightening emotional resonance.
Its thematic core explores desire—not as pursuit of acquisition or completion, but as the awareness of longing, absence, and memory. The production’s aesthetics underscore transience and emotional subtlety, encouraging the audience to reflect on fleeting yet enduring moments .
DANCÆ stands at the forefront of Berlin’s avant‑garde dance scene, rooted in ballet tradition yet boldly experimental. With a roster of internationally trained dancers, celebrated choreographers, and alliances with leading composers, technologists, and visual artists, their work transcends performance—it’s an immersive artistic ecosystem. Chasing Nothing continues this trajectory, offering Berlin audiences a rich sensory encounter that probes the nature of desire, memory, and impermanence through movement, sound, and space.
As they push the boundaries of what ballet can be, DANCÆ offers proof that contemporary dance can be synesthetic ritual—shifting not just bodies, but perception.
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The Carl Kruse Arts homepage is at https://carlkruse.net
Contact: carl AT carlkruse DOT com
Carl Kruse Arts has covered DANCAE in this other article.
Other dance related articles include It’s Time To Dance and On the Wonders of Classical Music.
Carl Kruse has an old blog here.
