Raimund Hoghe

Raimund Hoghe (12 May 1949 – 14 May 2021) was a German choreographer, dancer, film maker, journalist, and author.

Because he was born with scoliosis, his early efforts were focused on journalism.

His writings explored the human condition; a documentation series won him an award by the age of 24.

For the weekly Die Zeit, he portrayed personalities, the well-to-do, the less fortunate, and those shunned by society.

When Hoghe profiled Pina Bausch in the late 1970s, she liked his article and engaged him to write program notes for a production of her dance company in Wuppertal, later called Tanztheater Wuppertal.

After meeting Pina Bausch while profiling her, he served as dramaturge and chronicler of her Tanztheater from 1980 to 1990.

From 1980 to 1990, Hoghe was dramaturge for the company, writing also two books about it.

During his time with Bausch at Wuppertal, he collaborated on a number of pieces, including "1980," "Ahnen" and "Bandoneon."

He made his choreographic debut in 1989, then worked independently.

Beginning in 1989, he developed his own productions there, with dancers and actors.

His works dealt with political circumstances, such as the situation of refugees in Europe, and, in the 1990s, the beginning of the AIDS crisis which was a topic in Meinwärts.

From 1992, he collaborated with the artist and scenic designer Luca Giacomo Schulte.

His first solo production, Meinwärts in 1994, was about the Jewish tenor and actor Josef Schmidt, but also Hoghe's nonormative body.

He produced his first solo, Meinwärts, in 1994, followed by Chambre séparée in 1997 and Another Dream in 2000, as a trilogy about the 20th century.

Hoghe directed several films, also for television, like his self-portrait Der Buckel (The Hunchback) for the WDR in 1997.

His books were translated into several languages.

His productions were presented in France, Germany, Norway, Portugal, United Kingdom and U.S., among others.

He received awards including the Deutscher Produzentenpreis für Choreografie in 2001 and the Prix de la critique Francaise for Swan Lake, 4 Acts in the category "Best foreign production" in 2006.

In 2008, Hoghe was named Dancer of the Year by the reviewers of the Tanz magazine.

In 2019 he became an officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

He was awarded the Deutscher Tanzpreis in 2020, and is regarded as "one of the protagonists of German contemporary dance theatre".

Hoghe was born and raised in Wuppertal, the son of a single mother.

He was born with severe scoliosis.

He dreamed of performing in theatre, but thought that performing would not be possible for him because of his physical limitations.

He worked as a journalist, and was awarded the Theodor Wolff Prize for a documentary series about Bethel written when he was age 24.

He was a freelance writer for the weekly Die Zeit profiling prominent performers like Bruno Ganz, Rex Gildo, and Freddy Quinn, as well as lesser-known persons such as the photographer Helga Paris and Adam Soboczynski, and social outsiders such as cleaners, AIDS patients, and sex workers.

His profiles were also published in several books.

He received the Deutscher Tanzpreis award in 2020.

Hoghe lived in Düsseldorf, where he died on 14 May 2021, at the age of 72.

Hoghe's publications include:

Hoghe's productions include: