About

Dance is connection

Lillian Stillwell works internationally as a freelance choreographer and is Dance Director and Chief Choreographer at Theater Münster in Germany.

Her movement language uses classical ballet as a point of reference in a contemporary dance context that relies on humanity, authenticity and diversity. Emotional depth, musical precision and physical virtuosity are core elements of her signature style, which aims to express human potential through form. Music is the departure point for all of Lillian Stillwell’s work.

Following her dance career in the USA and Germany, her work has been seen at institutions throughout Europe including Oper Zürich, Dutch National Opera & Ballet, the Royal Danish Opera, Palais des les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia, the Philharmonie Luxembourg, the Conservatory for Music and Performing Arts in Frankfurt and with her company with Tom Ryser SNOW productions in Basel. She has created numerous dance evenings for Tanz Münster since 2022 that have been critically acclaimed and enthusiastically received by audiences. Recent highlights include DIE SCHWÄNE (“The Swans,” 2026), a new interpretation of “Swan Lake” from the female perspective with which she “brings the ballet classic out of feudalism and into the democratic present,“ (tanznetz.de) and the interdisciplinary production JEANNE D’ARC (2025), described by tanz magazine as “unconventional” and “a magnificent, complete work of art.”

Her choreography has recently been commissioned by the dance conservatories in Frankfurt (2025) and Zurich (2026) and performed at opera houses such as the Teatro San Carlo (Naples, IT, 2024), the Dutch National Opera (2023, 2024) and the Semperoper Dresden in Germany (2026). Under her leadership, Tanz Münster has diversified and increased audiences through new outreach formats, received funding from the prestigious Kunststiftung NRW for interinstitutional cooperation and attracted widespread recognition for its artistic quality and sustainability measures.

She is completing an Executive Masters in Arts Administration at Universität Zürich, is a Mentor in the German Cultural Council’s Initiative for Women in Leadership in Culture & Media, and has been a panelist and jury member for various institutions. Her interest in innovative dance leadership has driven her to establish new outreach formats, initiate interdepartmental collaboration, build institutional partnerships and raise awareness about sustainability in dance at Theater Münster.

Milestones

2026

DIE SCHWÄNE

Lillian Stillwell’s DIE SCHWÄNE (2026) - Sitllwell's Swan Lake to Music by Pjotr I. Tschaikowsky - was euphorically received and quickly gained broad attention in the European dance field for its unique interpretation of the ballet classic. Her first work from the ballet canon, Stillwell tells the story to the original score from the female perspective of the protagonist, Odette. The synchronicity and uniformity of the swans’ existence is questioned as the swans abandon conformity and risk individualization. The love story integrates texts by the renowned Austrian writer Ingeborg Bachmann. Texts from her short story “Undine departs” give voice to a potent female figure exploring the tension between love and liberation.

2024

Sustainability in Dance

Lillian Stillwell is particularly engaged with the topic of sustainability in dance. She has established a research field on the subject at Tanz Münster with initiatives such as the “Sustainable Dance Stage (2022 – 2025),” the outreach format TanzNAH and interinstitutional cooperations, most recently INSIDE/OUT (2025), funded by the prestigious Kunststiftung NRW. She wrote her Masters Thesis, “Dance Programming and Social Sustainability: Is there an “Ideal Formula” for Institutions?” at the Universität Zürich under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Elisabeth Bronfen and Prof. Dr. Christina Thurner.

September 2022 - present

Dance Director & Chief Choreographer

Lillian Stillwell has been Dance Director and Chief Choreographer at Theater Münster since Season 2022/23. Under her direction, Tanz Münster has extended the theater’s long tradition of artistic excellence in dance and built a reputation for its innovation and sustainability. Lillian Stillwell has created multiple new works for the company that have “turned Münster into an inspiring place for dance with her unconventional, interdisciplinary art” (Bettina Trouwborst, tanz, April 2025).

2022 - present

Mentorship & Engagement

Lillian Stillwell has been a mentor, served on expert panels and participated in numerous juries. She wrote her Master’s Thesis on Sustainability in Dance Programming in Institutions at Universität Zürich and initiated the Sustainable Dance Stage Competition at Theater Münster. Since 2022, she has partcipated regularly as a Mentor in the German Cultural Council’s initiative for Women in Culture and Media.

2020 - present

Leadership

Lillian Stillwell has worked in dance leadership both in and outside of institutions since the end of her dance career. She has taught and created works in university settings in Germany, Switzerland and the USA. From 2019 – 2022, she founded and led the company SNOW productions together with Tom Ryser in the Basel freelance dance scene. Since 2022, she directs the Dance Department at Theater Münster. In 2024, she completed an Executive Master in Arts Administration at the Universität Zürich. In 2025, she joined the Board of Directors of the BBTK, the German Association of Dance Directors. In all of her leadership work, Lillian Stillwell is engaged in bringing multiple voices into dialogue, increasing equity and actively representing dance in broader cultural discussions. This work is informed by her experience as a former professional dancer and as a mother.

2013 - present

Freelance Choreographer

Since 2013, Lillian Stillwell has worked as freelance choreographer throughout Europe and in the USA. She has created dance evenings, interdisciplinary productions and experimental projects. Highlights include DIALOGUES DES CARMÉLITES at the Semperoper Dresden and Oper Zürich (2022, 2026), L’ORFEO at the Royal Danish Opera (2020) and Leonard Bernstein’s MASS at Theater Lübeck and Theater Münster (2017, 2023). Her work has recently taken her to Valencia, Naples, Amsterdam, Zürich and Frankfurt.

1998 - 2012

Dancer

Lillian Stillwell trained in classical and contemporary dance before embarking on a 15-year dance career that took her from her home town of Minneapolis, MN, USA to New York City and later to Germany. She began her career as a trainee at the Milwaukee Ballet and ended it after working from 2005 –2012 with Johannes Wieland, both in NYC and at Staatstheater Kassel.