The Panorama Dance Theater was founded in 2014 by Tobias Spori and Ann Katrin Cooper. The dancer and the cultural scientist joined forces for the conceptual and artistic development of contemporary dance theatre productions. Their collaboration benefits from different styles, approaches and biographical backgrounds. Tobias Spori has over ten years of stage experience as a dancer and choreographer in Germany, Switzerland, Holland and China. Ann Katrin Cooper studied Applied Cultural Studies and worked for numerous festivals, theatres and orchestras, and is responsible for the concepts and direction of the company’s productions.
The credo of the company is to have the variety of artistic forms of expression in view – a panoramic view in the truest sense of the word. By bringing together different artists and disciplines, we look for impulses and change. Thus the Panorama Dance Theater develops productions that always combine dance with at least one other discipline, whether in performance or in research work. Together with musicians, actresses, visual artists, scientists, composers and other partners, the company produces contemporary pieces and performances in small, professional teams that deal with current social issues and themes. For its productions, the Panorama Dance Theater is looking for extraordinary places and venues that open up new perspectives and perceptions.
We offer workshops for children and young people and teams and organisations that are closely related to the content and forms of expression of the respective production. They are intended to inspire enthusiasm for movement and culture.
Ann Katrin Cooper was born in 1979 in Cologne. Already during her studies of Applied Cultural Studies at the Leuphana University Lüneburg she produced numerous festivals and cultural events (e.g. altstadtherbst kulturfestival, MärzMusik, lunatic Festival, Darmstädter Ferienkurse für Neue Musik). From 2008 to November 2014, she was Head of Communications and responsible for sponsoring the St.Gallen Concert and Theatre. With numerous creative ideas of her own in her mind, she decided in 2014 to become a freelance artist. Together with Tobias Spori she founded the dance company Panorama Dance Theater and choreographed and produced all productions of the company. The lack of rehearsal and performance space for the performing arts in the city gave them the idea of exploring new, partly art-untypical spaces with the series épisodes culturels and bringing together artists of different disciplines there. To date, eight editions have been produced under her direction. As a workshop leader she works with young people, migrants and for the project “Cultural Cosmonauts”, which offers participatory cultural workshops for young people.
Tobias Spori was born in 1983 in Zollikofen near Bern and grew up in St.Gallen and near Munich. After his school days he trained in rope climbing techniques and graduated with a certificate. He studied stage dance and dance pedagogy at the Iwanson School in Munich. From 2009 to 2014 Tobias Spori was a member of the dance company of the St.Gallen Theatre. There he danced in productions by internationally renowned choreographers such as Anton Lachky and Eléonore Valère, Philipp Egli, Linda Kapetanea and Jozef Frucek, Yossi Berg and Oded Graf and Marcel Leemann. He has also appeared in productions by Marco Santi. He showed his own choreographies in the Lokremise St.Gallen with Setobian (2011) and question marks! (2013). Together with Ann Katrin Cooper, he founded the dance company Panorama Dance Theater in 2014 and since then has choreographed various productions, including the full-length productions MODERN PILGRIMS in der Kletterhalle (2015), coincidences (2015) as part of Tanzfaktor 2016 and the site Specific Performance ECHOS (2015) at Alpstein, the solo HOPE (2016), which was shown as part of Tanzplan Ost, and most recently the productions WISDOM OF THE CROWD (2017), BIG BIRD (2018), GREEN, GREEN GRASS OF HOME (2019), SCHATTEN (2019), NOW and 42. (2022). Tobias Spori also works as a dancer for other choreographers, such as Pia Meuten in Alpha, the Zurich choreographer Marisa Godoy and the Bern choreographer Vanessa Cook.
Collaborations Imelda Natter, David Maze, Marcus Schäfer, Rosie Hörler, Willi Brozmann, Son Le, Joya Geiger, Lika Nüssli, Laura Garcia Aquilera, Michal Czyz, Marc Lapuerta Lizana, King San Lo, David Vilarino, Antonio Marino, Marco di Nardo, Vanessa Cook, Sandra Klimek, Maurice Klemm, Emma Skyllbäck, Manuela Kind, Marianne Hofstetter, Pierre Lippuner, Jerome Longhi, Francesco Barba, Hella Immler, Claudia Voigt, Christian Fischer, Jordan Shanahan, Emanuel Riederer, Karl Schimke, Wade Kernot, Robin Pushparatnam, Edwin van Steenbergen, Rolf Irmer, Cecilia Wretemarck, Jasmin Hauck, Andrew Cummings, Jenna Hendry, Rakesh Sukesh, Nelly Büttikofer, Tobias Graupner, Raoul Alain Nagel, Greg Gates, Roberto Forno, Evelyn Pollock, Eva Maria Froidevaux, Willi Häne, Christine Hu, Diane Gemsch, Marc Jenny, Ruhola Moradi, Enrico Lenzin, Sadio Cissokho, Yamoussa Sylla, Mariel Zambellis, Ivan Galluzzi, Pierre Lippuner, Mia Ackermann, Tim Kalhammer-Loew, Peter Grünenfelder, Luzian Hirzel, Oliver Losehand, Philipp Langenegger, Romeo Meyer, Oriol Escursell Domenech, Frank and Patrik Riklin, Andrea Vogel, Johanna Knöpfle, Kristian Breitenbach, Susann Albrecht, Frauke Jacobi, Marianne Bischofsberger, Jan Humbel, Phönix Theater Steckborn, TanzPlan Ost, Wirkraumkirche, Kunsthalle St.Gallen, Militärkantine, Kafi Franz, St.Gallen Volksbad, Lattich, Bibliothek Hauptpost, Canton St.Gallen, Openair Hohen Rätien, Stattkloster, Lesegesellschaft Teufen, Dreifaltigkeitskirche, Drehrestaurant Hoher Kasten, Storchen Kino, St.Margarethen Festungsmuseum, Bollenwees Berggasthaus, Victor Rottier, Egon Gerber, Giulia Tornarolli, Marco Rizzi, Elina Kim, Sebastian Zuber
Panorama Dance Theater
Dürrenmattstrasse 24
9000 St.Gallen, Switzerland