MichaelDouglas
Kollektiv

Michael Maurissens and Douglas Bateman founded the MichaelDouglas Kollektiv in Cologne in 2009. The productions are created in regular collaboration with invited choreographers, artists and theorists (e.g. Gob Sqad, Stefan Dreher, Angela Schubot & Jared Gradinger, Stefanie Thiersch, Georg Reischl, Vivienne Newport, Fabrice Mazliah, Prue Lang, Özlem Alkis, Dana Caspersen).

The collective’s focus includes research on collaborative art production and the development of collective creation methods in the performance context. By means of an independent and responsible structure, the collective faces the challenges of its artistic decisions, such as working as a non-hierarchical structure, reducing the usual temporal parameters for artistic process development (One Week Stand), and advancing a dialogue and fostering exchange at the interfaces to disciplines and themes such as communication, architecture, sociology, psychology, and conflict resolution.

Adam Ster is a dance artist and yoga teacher based in Cologne. He was born in Budapest and graduated from the classical ballet department of the Hungarian Dance Academy. After his studies he was engaged by dance companies such as Jeune Ballet de France in Paris, Scapino Ballet Rotterdam and Pretty Ugly Dance Köln. As an independent artist he created and performed works with Stefan Dreher and Fabrice Mazliah.

In 2008 he took on Electronic Music Production studies at the SAE Institute, Cologne. Since then he has created commissioned soundscores for dance productions by Lucas Jervies (AU) Edan Gorlicki (DE) and within the frame of the MD Kollektiv.

Adam is a certified Hatha and JM Vinyasa yoga teacher and teaches yoga in Cologne and at SEAD (Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance).

Michael Maurissens has more than 25 years of expanded practice as a dancer, choreographer and lecturer, evolving both in private and state institutions and as an independent artist since 2009.

He is founding member and co-artistic director of the MichaelDouglas Kollektiv and the Profitraining Köln e.V.

For several years now, Michael Maurissens has been working with media in the fields of graphic design, photography and film (as filmmaker, cameraman and editor) and in 2013 he completed his postgraduate studies at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne with best mention; his studies focused on scenography, applied fine arts and documentary filmmaking. Today he directs and produces films, experimental video works, documentaries, participates in joint visual art projects and leads screendance workshops across the globe.