Meditations - A Dance Performance

(Link to Event: Here !)

To all curious supporters,

My name is Max Levy and I'm an independent dancer and choreographer based in Berlin. Today, I am asking for financial support to fund Meditations, a dance theater performance I am organizing and choreographing to be performed in the beginning of July, 2019.

Who is Max?

I am a professional dancer and choreographer based in Berlin with over a decade-long career across two continents. I studied at the prestigious San Francisco Ballet, and began my career at American Repertory Ballet and Charlotte Ballet. I moved to Germany in 2011 as a soloist with Staatsballett Nürnberg, and danced 6 fulfilling seasons with many notable choreographers. In the last year and a half, I have transitioned to being a freelancer to challenge my development as a choreographer. My work has been noted at international competitions in Torino, Hannover, and Gdansk, as well as in festivals in Mannheim and Berlin. With Meditations I intend to take my first step into creating my own evening-length show. More of my work can be seen at: https://www.max-levy.com 

What is Meditations?

Meditations is a dance performance project I'm organizing in Berlin, with its premier scheduled on the first weekend of July at ACUD Theater. It is a culmination of my past years of choreographic research, and is intended as a show in which the audience can connect to a serene world of self-contemplation. Today, the world is saturated with advertising, media, screens, and voices, all fighting for our attention. Even our most intimate moments on the road, in the bathroom, and in bed, are now accompanied by smartphones blaring about what the rest of the world is doing, and we often fail to realize that peace might already be hiding inside us. We suffer from acts of escapism through the use of drugs, substances, and other addictions, muffling a screaming desire to heal ourselves. My work is not intended to attack the rampant pervasion of technology or our escapist tendencies. Instead, it would introduce a counterpoint to this never-ending self-illusion, and focus on the contemplation we forget to take on a daily basis. To try and reach an alternative mystery inside ourselves: a soundless world just underneath our busy minds.

Why should I support this?

As a new presence in the Berlin dance scene, it is difficult to find support or funding, and your support would help me grasp that opportunity. But more than that, you would be helping support the scene in general. Through funding Meditations, you would be helping support the performance venue, freelance performers, videographers, photographers, technicians, and studio owners. In essence, you are not simply funding my artistic goal, but helping enrich and invigorate other artists, studios, and freelancers.

Where is my money going?

In short, your funding supports:

-Compensation for Performers/Collaborators
-Related Travel/Accommodation
-Costs for Documentation Media
-Studio Rentals
-Production Costs (Costumes, Props, Technicians)
-Marketing Costs (Flyers/Posters)
-Overhead
-and more...

The first step of my financial goal is to raise the minimum amount necessary to pay the artists and collaborating personnel. As the arts, and especially dance, is often regarded as a field that is simply thankful for “exposure,” finding work that pays fairly is difficult. It’s my first priority that with your donation I would be able to provide acceptable compensation for our artistic team.

Other concrete costs include fees for potential music rights, insurance fees for dancers, related accommodation and travel costs, and documentation fees for a videographer and photographer. Flexible costs beyond these are studio rentals, props and costumes, flyers and posters, and my own fee as choreographer and project lead. As the person responsible for multiple aspects of this project, I am trying to consolidate as much of its costs as possible by paying myself for one person’s work. I am behind the choreography, organization, music composition and graphic design of this evening.

What can I expect?

Depending on your donated amount, you can expect these little thank-you gifts! Remember: every little bit counts!

-10 EUR: Mention in the credits as a backer

-50 EUR: All above + Limited alternate flyer signed by the cast

-100 EUR: All above + A Ticket to the show + Behind-the-scenes newsletters!

-200 EUR: All above + Signed Poster

-500+ EUR: All above + Personal mention on-stage


Thank you for taking your time to consider this! I hope you'll help me in reaching the full potential of this production, and be part of creating a dance evening that can help everyone find a few more quiet moments in life.

Like and share this campaign, and help spread the word!

All my best,
Max Levy



About the Artists:

The performers are artists of the highest caliber that I have had the fortune of getting to know through my career:

Malcolm Sutherland (Berlin)
Born in Scotland, Malcolm Sutherland completed his dance education in 2007 at the Central School of Ballet, London. After an apprenticeship at Ballet Basel, he spent 7 successful years as a soloist with Staatsabllet Nürnberg under the direcion of Goyo Montero. As a freelance dancer, Malcolm now performs with Joseph Sturdy, Shang Chi Sun, and Jean-Guillaume Weis, and is also a member of Kollektiv 52°07. He works frequently as a choreographer, making yearly full-length productions for the Tafelhalle in Nürnberg, creations at Theater St. Gallen, Stalker Teatro, and the Resolution Festival in London. He recently completed his MA for Choreography with distinction under the tutorship of Robert Cohan.

Kirill Berezovski (Mannheim)
Kirill Berezovski studied stage dance, choreography, and dance pedagogy between 2012 and 2015 in Mannheim. During his studies, he also participated in continued education with the Alvin Ailey School and the Broadway Dance Center in New York. After his graduation in 2015, he danced with the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company in Israel. As a dancer, he has worked Edan Gorlicki, Ashley Wright, Christian Burns (BurnsWorks), Vlasova/Pawlica, Barbara Bess, sowie ZiRu Dance Company (San Francisco), Bay Area Dance Collective (San Francisco), CO<Labs Nürnberg, and SETanztheater Nürnberg. Currently he choreographs and leads his own projects in the metro-region of Mannheim, andrecently created a work with Fullstop Dance Company in San Francisco.

And more collaborators to be announced in the next months...

About the venue:

Since 1990, ACUD Theater has been a place for innovative and experimental work that builds bridges between disciplines in the performing arts. Its home in the Mitte district of Berlin offers 120 performances annually in a 70-seat theater, that include dance, physical theater, butoh, and mixed experimental performing forms. The large majority of ACUD's shows are new productions, Berlin premieres, or world premieres. As an independent theater, ACUD supports national and international theater pieces, making daring experimentation possible. ACUD organizes festivals, initiates international exchanges, multicultural events, facilitates community engagement through theater, and hosts literary readings, workshops, master classes, and laboratories. More information at: https://www.acud-theater.de/

Involved parties, dates, or specifics may be subject to change.