STRAUSS 2225, premiered at the NEST, presented by the Vienna State Ballet at NEST, Vienna State Opera, will be presented at the Royal Ballet in London.

Created in collaboration with choreographer Robert Binet, the production explores the relationship between memory, nature, technology, and time through four distinct choreographic works.

As scenographer, I developed a series of spatial environments that move between historical references and speculative futures. Through the use of transparent materials, reflective surfaces, layered screens, optical illusions, and shifting perspectives, the stage becomes a place where past and future coexist.

The designs investigate how movement, light, and perception can transform theatrical space, creating immersive visual experiences that connect music and time. Rather than functioning as static scenery, the scenography acts as an active partner in the choreography, continuously changing according to the audience's viewpoint and the dancers' movements.

Presenting this work shortly after SHIFT is particularly meaningful. While SHIFT examines the integration of artificial intelligence within the scenographic design process, STRAUSS PROJECT demonstrates how those broader questions of perception, transformation, and future imagination continue within live performance.

Description
Dances for the Future brings together the Vienna State Opera’s Junior Company with young artistic voices in a new ballet by Canadian choreographer Robert Binet. Writers and thinkers from around the world will create four different scenarios of what our future might look like in 2225, 400 years after the birth of Johann Strauss – visions for which four composers will write new dance music. Echoes and reflections of Strauss’ compositions will be heard and felt as we dream of a future where dance is a powerful force.

Contributors
Choreography: Robert Binet
Dance Group: Dancers of the Jugendkompanie of Vienna State Opera
Composition: Annamaria Kowalsky , Gity Razaz , Claire M Singer, Gediminas Žygus
Music Curator: Andreas Vierziger
Set Design: Shizuka Hariu
Costume Design: Thomas Tait
Text: Donald Byrd, Christiana Figueres , Devon Healey, Èbùn Oguntola , Lucy Chen , Monet Hilliard
Co-production and Co-operation partners:
A production by the youth company of the Ballet Academy at NEST in cooperation with Johann Strauss 2025 Vienna