Biografie

Dutch choreographer and opera director Nanine Linning (1977, Amsterdam) consciously leaves the beaten theatrical track. Moving beyond divisions and working across disciplines, combining dance, opera, concerts and installations. Crossing fields of design, video, visual arts and music, her productions are characterized by an explosive movement language and an equally vivid imagery. Linning designs opulent poetic work; her evening-length productions are worlds on their own in their visual and dramaturgical content. Her out of the box concepts make reference to human emotions as well as aspects of cultural history and social criticism. Her close cooperation with diverse internationally known artists and scientists is reflected in the broad spectrum of her projects, which include European co-productions and touring, exhibitions and installations. For over 14 years Linning has worked with artistic advisor and dramaturg Peggy Olislaegers. Linning collaborated for six of her dance productions with haute couture designer Iris van Herpen; and most recently was invited by van Herpen to collaborate with her for her SEIJAKU Couture show launched in Paris. 

Linning received the Philip Morris Prize (2003), a Swan for Best Dance Production for BACON (2006), and was nominated twice for the German ‘Faust’ Award (2012 and 2013) for VOICE OVER and ZERO respectively. Her REQUIEM (2015) for Konzert Theater Bern, gained the Swiss Dance Award. Die Deutsche Bühne named her top 4 Impressive Choreographers of 2017. Magazine tanz mentioned her in the Category Choreographer of the Year 2017. In 2019 she was named Honorary Artist of Parktheater Eindhoven. Her dancefilm LA VOIX HUMAINE won several prizes in Filmfestivals in Venice, Tokyo, London, Lissabon, Amsterdam and New York in 2021-2022.

After graduating Linning founded her own ensemble, Dance Company Nanine Linning. From 2001 – 2006 she was appointed resident choreographer for Scapino Ballet. From 2009-2012 she was artistic director and chief choreographer at Theater Osnabrück, creating 5 evening length productions. Puccini’s MADAMA BUTTERFLY was her debut as opera director in 2010. REQUIEM, a monumental production with more than 90 dancers, musicians and singers, set to Fauré’s Requiem, was performed in several opera houses in Switserland, Germany and the Netherlands. 

From 2012 - 2018, she headed the newly established dance company of Theater und Orchester Heidelberg where she created 7 evening length dance productions set to newly commissioned music and in collaboration with the Symphonic Orchestra and Choir under the baton among other conductors Mirga Grazinyte-Tyla (2014). In June 2014, Nanine premiered her second opera direction; Philip Glass' ECHNATON. In Heidelberg she became a founder of both Festival Tanzbiennale and the Choreographic Centre. In 2018 and 2019 she was appointed as curator of the dance program of Festspiele Ludwigshafen. 

Linning created and produced with her own company evening lenghth productions such as BACON about the painter Francis Bacon, CRY LOVE and ENDLESS SONG OF SILENCE, her acclaimed dance and video production in collaboraAon with Iris van Herpen. In 2019 she created DOUBLE HELIX, an installation based performance in collaboration with Dutch designer Bart Hess. 

In 2019 Stuttgart Ballet commissioned Linning to create REVOLT for string orchestra and 16 dancers, celebrating 100 year Bauhaus. In the same season the Opernfestspiele München and Bayerische Staatsoper commissioned her for a new production, DUO FOR 19 DANCERS AND 9 MUSICIANS, with Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen, with Simon Rattle’s assistent Georg Mayrhofer as conductor. 

L’ORFEO from Monteverdi, produced by the Nederlandse Reisopera premiered to critical acclaim in 2020. Monique Wagemakers, Lonneke Gordijn (Studio DRIFT) and Nanine Linning developed the concept for this opera. They envisoned this opera as a contemporary Gesamtkunstwerk that fully integrates stage direction, choreography and visual art. 

Conductor Teodor Currentzis invited Nanine Linning in 2021 to create Strawinksy’s PULCINELLA SUITE with him and his ensemble musicAeterna for jewelry house Cartier. In addition, he invited her with her own company to perform her iinstallation based production DOUBLE HELIX in his Diagilev Festival in June 2021.

May 2021 marked also her debut in the United States with LA VOIX HUMAINE, Francis Poulenc’s mono opera, which Linning used as music for her first dance film commissioned by Boston Ballet.

ANIMA OBSCURA, a new evening lenght production for Theater Bielefeld set to Ein Deutsches Requiem from Brahms and a new composition by Yannis Kyriakides premiered in October 2021 with Theater Bielefeld. 

Linning’s second work for Boston Ballet was a muti-disciplinairy work for 33 dancers, choir and orchestra under the titel of Debussy’s LA MER which premiered under critial acclaim in April 2023 at the Boston Opera House. In 2026 she will recreate La Mer with soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan into an evening length multi media production with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra.

Together with a team of directors Linning directed the opera Tales of Hoffmann from composer Jacques Offenbach for Oper Graz in 2023. This production was created in co-production with Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf and will be revived in 2025 in Düsseldorf and Doesburg, and in 2026 again at Oper Graz.

Spring 2024 Linning was commissioned to direct her 5th opera, created for the Dutch National Opera; the world premiere of ANTIGONE by the Canadian composer Samy Moussa with great critical acclaim.

As of October 2024 Nanine Linning became the new Artistic Director of Scapino Ballet Rotterdam, a contemporary dance company with 25 dancers based in the Netherlands, commissioning upcoming and established choreographers world wide, co-producing with several European theaters and companies. She will continue to create multidisciplinairy (dance) productions, directiong opera’s and films in Scapino and independantly.

Instagram: naninelinning_official

website: www.naninelinning.nl