Marco Goecke was released because he smeared dog excrement on a journalist. He should also be banned from the house, the theater said.
Marco Goecke, the ballet director of the Staatstheater Hannover, has been suspended from his post. The reason: He had attacked a journalist and smeared her with dog feces. Probably because he did not agree with a criticism. The case had caused a great stir. As the state theater announced on Monday, Goecke was also banned from entering the building.
The Dance Critic Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), Wiebke Hüster, was the victim of the attack on Saturday at the premiere of the ballet evening “Faith – Love – Hope”. Previously, Goecke accused her of writing reviews with personal attacks, said Hüster. The FAZ describes how the ballet director initially threatened her with being “banned from the house” and then accused her of being responsible for canceling subscriptions in Hanover. According to the report, he was provoked by a review the journalist wrote about one of his ballet evenings. The FAZ writes that crossing borders reveals the disturbed relationship between an artist and criticism.
The Staatstheater Hannover then apologized to the journalist and announced legal action. Marco Goecke’s management promised that they would comment on the incident in the next few days.