Skip to content

Portfolio

SEXES | 2024

A Dance Production about Power, Sex
and the end of Heroism.
Learn more

The Four Seasons | 2023

Choreography for 14 dancers and live orchestra about human interdependency and the passage of time.
Learn more

Furien | 2022

Furies is a dance about the collective, its power and its potential to transform.
Learn more

Oslo | 2023

Dance Quartett inspired by the Oslo Peace Accords.
Learn more

Silberlicht | 2019 & 2022

Dance and Baroque Music for Children aged 0–4 and their Families.
Learn more

Mass | 2017 & 2023

A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers
by Leonard Bernstein.
Learn more

Anna Bolena & Maria Stuarda | 2022 & 2023

In the "Donizetti Trilogy", created for three of the world's largest opera houses, the choreography amplifies the emotionality of the epic storytelling.
Learn more

L'Orfeo | 2020 & 2023

Seamlessly integrating movement, music and staging to Monteverdi’s music was the aim in this first of many collaborations between choreographer Lillian Stillwell and director Jetske Mijnssen.
Learn more

ALIVE! Saisonschluss | 2020

An interdisciplinary collaborative production during Covid.
Learn more

Afterlife | 2021 & 2023

An immersive dance production with live DJ*anes about love and loss.
Learn more

Sexes

Sexuality, power and the end of heroism are the subjects of SEXES, choreographed to Beethoven’s third “Eroica” Symphony. Inspired by psychoanalyst Antoinette Fouque’s theories of female sexuality as a source of equity and self-determination as well as Beethoven’s disappointment at Napoleon‘s obsession with power, SEXES is an erotic, violent and ultimately joyful reflection of the plurality of sex.

facts

12 – 14 dancers | 50 Minutes

Premiere
February 24, 2024

Grosses Haus | Theater Münster | DE

choreography
Lillian Stillwell

set design
Stella Sattler & Jonathan Brügmann

costume design
Louise Flanagan

light design
Jan Hördemann

photographs
Jubal Battisti

dramaturgy
GE Patterson

choreographic assistance
Sascha Pieper, Katelyn Skelley

music
Ludwig van Beethoven, 3rd Symphony, “Eroica”

musical direction
Henning Ehlert

dancers
Lukas Bisculm, Amanda Cruz Portuondo, Yoh Ebihara, Hana Kato, Bartlomiej Kowalczyk, Juan Fernando Morales Londoňo, Mirjam Motzke, Hera Norin, Enrique Sáez Martínez, Giorgia Scisciola, Aline Serrano, Nadja Simchen, Keelan Whitmore, Jack Widdowson and Tanz Münster Studio: Silja Egelund Ellebye, Chun-Wei Peng

gallery

The Four Seasons

This choreography to Vivaldi’s famous score combines rhythmic precision with physical intimacy in repetitive rituals in a movement language that combines the abstract with the emotional. Danger and joy, hope and sorrow are not only seen but felt in the percussive waves and canons of the choreography.

facts

Dance Evening | 50 minutes

Premiere
March 11, 2023

Grosses Haus | Theater Münster | DE

choreography
Lillian Stillwell

set design
Stella Sattler & Jonathan Brügmann

costume design
Louise Flanagan

light design
Marco Vitale with Jan Hördemann

photographs
Bettina Stöss

dramaturgy
GE Patterson

music
Antonio Vivaldi

musical director
Thorsten Schmid-Kapfenburg

violin soloists
Midori Goto, Mihai Ionescu

dancers
Amanda Cruz Portuondo, Yoh Ebihara, Hana Kato, Bartlomiej Kowalczyk, Juan Fernando Morales Londoňo, Hera Norin, Enrique Sáez Martínez, Giorgia Scisciola, Aline Serrano, Nadja Simchen, Keelan Whitmore, Jack Widdowson and Tanz Münster Studio: Lukas Bisculm, Maren Sauer

gallery

TV Interview and Portrait about Lillian Stillwell and her work, „The Four Seasons“

Furien

Who are we, what are we capable of? Twelve dancers are driven by rage until a cosmic interaction provokes their transformation. Lillian’s critically acclaimed opening production at Theater Münster was performed to sold-out audiences in an arena setting, recalling ancient Greek theater, to an original sound design.

facts

Dance Evening | 1 hour

Premiere
September 17, 2023

Kleines Haus | Theater Münster | DE

choreography & direction
Lillian Stillwell

sound design
Randomhype / Christian Düchtel

set design
Stella Sattler & Jonathan Brügmann

costume design
Louise Flanagan

light design
Jörg Glashörster

photographs
Christina Iberl

dramaturgy
Tom Ryser

rehearsal director & balletmistress
Stefanie Fischer

dance
Yoh Ebihara, Hana Kato, Bartlomiej Kowalczyk, Juan Fernando Morales Londono, Hera Norin, Enrique Saez Martinez, Giorgia Scisciola, Aline Serrano, Nadja Simchen, Amanda Cruz Portuondo, Jack Widdowson and Tanz Münster Studio: Lukas Bisculm, Maren Katrin Sauer

gallery

Oslo

Lillian Stillwell’s choreography takes the historical content of the Oslo Peace Accords (1993) as inspiration for a sparse yet emotionally-charged choreography.  Called “poetic” and “brilliantly conceived and danced” by Germany’s most prestigious theatre magazine, Die Deutsche Bühne, OSLO is an 16-minute quartet that both takes us back in time and makes us reconsider the present day.

facts

Dance Quartett | 16 Minutes

Premiere
October 20, 2023

Kleines Haus | Theater Münster | DE

choreography
Lillian Stillwell

costume design
Louise Flanagan

light design
Jan Hördemann with Lillian Stillwell

photographs
Bowie Verschuuren

dramaturgy
Tom Ryser

choreographic assistance
Katelyn Skelley

music
Minoru Miki, "Marimba Spiritual 1 & 2"

dancers
Yoh Ebihara, Juan Fernando Morales Londoňo, Hera Norin, Jack Widdowson

gallery

Silberlicht

Two sleeping dancers wake up in a room full of sparkling lights and music. They go on a treasure hunt and discover sounds and unexpected, magical objects.
Audiences of all ages are mesmerized by the harmonic movement language, haptic light elements and sensual sounds from the orchestra musicians.

facts

Dance Piece with Barock Music for Young Children | 35-minute performance followed by 10 minutes of interactive play

Commissioned by Philharmonie Luxembourg in 2019, the work had its German premiere with Tanz Münster in 2022.

Premiere
Philharmonie Luxembourg | May 23, 2019

German Premiere
Theater Münster | October 29, 2022

Team & Cast German Premiere

choreography & concept
Lillian Stillwell

artistic direction
Angela Merl & Lillian Stillwell

dance
Lucas Bisculm, Maren Sauer

music
Sinfonieorchester Münster

set & costume design
Mayke Hegger

musical selection
Johannes Pramsohler

choreographic assistance & rehearsal direction
Stefanie Fischer

theater pedagogy
Anne Abrahams

light design
Jörg Schwarzer

photographs
Sinje Hasheider & Michael Lyra

gallery

Mass

The disciplines come together in Leonard Bernstein’s masterpiece for over 100 performers. Lillian Stillwell’s choreography – life-affirming, rhythmic, and grounded – is characterized by intense movements for the singers, dancers and the children’s choir. For the invisible power of the Holy Spirit, she created an ethereal, light and vulnerable movement language for their wild, uncontrollable and yet calming force.

facts

A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers by Leonard Bernstein | 2 hours

Premiere
August 26, 2023

Theater Münster | DE

musical director
Thorsten Schmid-Kapfenburg

stage direction
Tom Ryser

choreograper
Lillian Stillwell

choreograpic assistance
Eléonore Turri

dance captain
Roh Ebihara

set design
Stefan Rieckhoff

costume design
Stefan Rieckhoff, Louise Flanagan

dancers
Amanda Cruz Portuondo, Yoh Ebihara, Hana Kato, Bartlomiej Kowalczyk, Hera Norin, Enrique Sáez Martínez
Premiere
March 17, 2017

Theater Lübeck | DE

musical director
Andreas Wolf

director
Tom Ryser

choreograper
Lillian Stillwell

set & costume design
Stefan Rieckhoff

gallery

Anna Bolena | 2022

Video

Maria Stuarda | 2022

An interdisciplinary collaborative production during Covid.
Video

Anna Bolena | Maria Stuarda

In large, opulent moving pictures, Lillians choreography for dancers and opera chorus in the „Donizetti Trilogy,“ bring form and scale to the emotional storytelling of the stage direction by long-time collaborator, director Jetske Mijnssen. After wildly successful premieres in Amsterdam, both productions travelled to Valencia, Spain and Naples, Italy.

facts

Operas | 2 hours

Premieres
May 10, 2022 & May 7, 2023

Dutch National Opera and Ballet | Amsterdam | NL

Teatro San Carlo | Naples | IT

Les Arts de Reina Sofia | Valencia | ES

musical direction
Enrique Mazzola

stage direction
Jetske Mijnssen

set design
Ben Baur

costume design
Klaus Bruns

choreography
Lillian Stillwell

light design
Cor van den Brink

phtographs
Ben van Duin

dramaturgy
Luc Joosten

dancers ANNA BOLENA
Alaaeddin Baker, Facundo Bebenegger, Marta Bianchi, Suzanne de Bekker, Ismael del Valle Espinoso, Alina Fejzo, Sho Nakasatomi, Renzo Popolizio, Carolina Verra, Demi Wals

dancers MARIA STUARDA
Alina Fejzo, Lili Kok, Evaldo Melo, Isabelle Nelson, Renzo Popolizio, Laia Vancells Pi, Luigi Vilotta, Demi Wals

gallery

L'Orfeo

In a production praised for being “of European ranking,“ critics called Lillian’s choreography “hypnotically beautiful.” The singers move in swarms, magnify small gestures and collect into breathing masses to echo and expand the deep emotions of the protagonists in synch with Monteverdi’s unforgettable harmonies.

facts

Opera | 2 hours

Premiere
March 3, 2020

Royal Danish Opera | Copenhagen, DK

Revival Premiere
March 24, 2023

director
Jetske Mijnssen

conductor
Lars Ulrik Mortensen

set & costume design
Ben Baur

choreography
Lillian Stillwell

light design
Bernd Purkrabek

choreography assistant
Sol Bilbao Lucuix

revival director
Johanne Holten

gallery

Alive!

ALIVE! was created by a team of four director/choreographers at the height of the Covid-19 Lockdown. Lillian contributed dance films and live choreography for singers as well as performing a duet with the camera herself. One single, live performance took place before the work was subsequently shown online.

facts

Interdisciplinary / Dance Film | 1 hour

Premiere
June 13, 2020

Theater Lübeck | DE

director / choreographers
Jochen Biganzolli, Milo Pablo Momm, Tom Ryser, Lillian Stillwell

dramaturgy / concept
Katharina Kost-Tolmein, Carsten Jenss

light design
Falk Hampl

videoregie
Konrad Kästner

photographs
Olaf Malzahn

dancers in film
Musiktheater Ensemble, Theater Lübeck Orchestra | Sarah Hammond, Liliana Torres, Aline Serrano, Sarah Schoch

gallery

Glück, das mir verblieb

Dance Film by Lillian Stillwell

Pas de Deux with the Camera

Lillian dancing during Lockdown

Afterlife

Is there life after death for those left behind? Based on real events, AFTERLIFE premiered in Basel, Switzerland by SNOW productions in 2021 on a former lighthouse ship with all-local artists and the financial support of Swisslos-Fonds Basel-Stadt and numerous foundations. Its German premiere with Tanz Münster took place in 2023.

facts

Immersive Dance Production with Live-DJ*anes | 1 hour

Premiere | SNOW productions
November 4, 2021

Gannet | Basel | CH

Premiere | Tanz Münster
June 2, 2023

Stadtbücherei Münster, Colibri Café | Münster | DE

dance
Created with Aline Serrano & Mukdanin Phongpacith

Cast Basel Premiere: Sarah Schoch & Mukdanin Phongpacith

Cast Münster Premiere: Aline Serrano & Yoh Ebihara

live DJ*anes
DJ Duo Schwifi (Ada Fischer & Sophia Schwager)

music
Randomhype, Gaspard de la Montagne, DJ Duo Schwifi

light
Tom Ryser & Jan Hördemann

concept, choreography & art. direction
Lillian Stillwell

co-artistic direction
Tom Ryser

dramaturgy (Basel Premiere)
Anne Schöfer †

costume design
Ada Fisher feat. Chemiserie Plus

choreographic assistance & rehearsal direction
Stefanie Fischer

gallery