Richard Siegal

American dancer and choreographer Richard Siegal is constantly exploring the possibilities of contemporary dance. In co-operation with artists from a vast array of disciplines, he has created an internationally acclaimed body of work that has been showcased through stage productions and performances, as well as in projects with new media or film and publications.

Between 1997 and 2004, Richard Siegal was a dancer in the Frankfurt Ballet, led by William Forsythe. After founding the interdisciplinary research and production platform The Bakery in 2006, Siegal established Ballet of Difference in 2016 – a company that positions itself as an alternative to institutionalised contemporary ballets and challenges the boundaries of what is considered normative in society. From 2019 to 2024, Richard Siegal / Ballet of Difference was based at Schauspiel Köln in Cologne. Starting from the 2025/26 season, Richard Siegal will take over as head of the Ballet department at the Staatstheater Nürnberg.

Siegal has been commissioned by art institutions such as Bayerisches Staatsballett, Staatsballett Berlin, Ballet National de Marseille, Ruhrtriennale, Göteborg Operans Danskompani, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Sao Paulo Dance Company, Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, Festival d'Automne, Munich DANCE Biennial, The Forsythe Company, Ircam, Centre Pompidou, Tanz im August, Ballett Frankfurt, Théâtre National de Chaillot and cooperated with Kolumba Museum Köln.

He was an Associated Artist at The Forsythe Company from 2005 to April 2015, and has also been an Artist in Residence at the Ruhrtriennale, The Baryshnikov Arts Center, ZKM/Karlsruhe, Bennington College, Festspielhaus St. Pölten and Muffatwerk/München. Most recently, Siegal was visiting Prof. at Folkwang University during which time he created the 28 day performance / installation, Lunar Cycle, for Museum Folkwang.

Siegal’s projects have won numerous awards, including the New York Dance and Performance ‘Bessie Award’, France’s S.A.C.D. Prize, the Deutscher Theaterpreis ‘Der Faust’ and the Münchner Tanzpreis 2013. He is also a MacDowell Fellow and honorary member of the Bolshoi Ballet’s ‘Benoit de la Danse’.