curriculum vitae CV.

Niels Lanz

Born in Offenbach, Germany in 1969, Niels Lanz has spent his working life in the fields of the arts and technology. His passion for theatre was sparked as long ago as 1982 when he completed a 3-week work experience internship at Klappmaul Puppentheater. After completing his school education in 1988 he became a permanent member of the ensemble, specializing in technology and stagecraft. At the beginning of 1993 he joined the sound department of Ballett Frankfurt, where he collaborated on a number of successful productions under the direction of William Forsythe. Of particular note in this respect are Eidos:Telos, Endless House, Kammer/Kammer and Decreation.

In addition to his work as a company member he also established a reputation as a music producer. Of note here are the cooperations with Regine van Berkel and David Dawson, for whom he created the music for The Grey Area, which won the Prix Benois de la Danse in Moscow in 2003 and which is still being performed today.

In 2005 he was appointed as the head of the sound and video department at The Forsythe Company Dresden/Frankfurt. Further successful productions followed: Three Atmospheric Studies, I don’t believe in outer space and Yes we can’t. In 2007 Niels Lanz won the renowned New York theatre prize the Bessie Award for the sound composition and design for Three Atmospheric Studies.

In his later years with The Forsythe Company he assumed more and more responsibility, also in his function as the technical director for Choreographic Objects by William Forsythe. At the end of 2012 and a successful collaboration going back nearly 20 years Niels Lanz ended his tenure as a permanent member of The Forsythe Company.

In 2013 he successfully completed advanced training as a master craftsman in event technology, specialising in lighting. Thereafter he became technical director of the Cantate Saal location for the Fliegende Volksbühne company headed by Michael Quast. Parallel to this he utilised his artistic and technical skills in various productions in a freelance capacity; examples here include Hollins University, Architecture Biennale in Venice, Altana Cultural Foundation, LAB Frankfurt and id_Frankfurt.

Since 2016 he has focused entirely on freelance activities, which has also led to a new collaboration with William Forsythe.

For the world premiere of Blake Works I, by Paris Opera Ballett at Palais Garnier in March 2016 he was responsible for the sound design. In the summer of 2016 The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama hosted a workshop on sound design and voice treatment under the direction of Niels Lanz. For the Volkswagen Group Night in Fondation Louis Vuitton at the Paris Motor Show 2016 he developed the audio-visual concept, including the music production.