Oleg Stepanov

Oleg Stepanov actually has a degree in physics. But  while he was still working in a laboratory in Russia, he was already  dreaming of dance and theatre. He was lucky to join a small dance  theatre group in Ekaterinburg, where he first saw a video recording of  Pina Bausch’s work. Such VHS tapes were rare in Russia, but Pina Bausch  was a well-known star and greatly admired in the theatre field.
Born  in 1983, Oleg Stepanov grew up in the Urals, an industrial region in  the east of the former USSR. For many residents there was only one goal,  namely to work in the large steel factory. His parents also wanted that  for Oleg. He studied for five years at the State University of the  Urals and then worked at the steel plant. But he longed for something  different. Until then, his only dance experience had been ballroom  dancing as a hobby.
At the age of 23, he started taking dance  classes and workshops in classical and contemporary dance – anything  besides working at the factory. Eventually an opportunity opened up to  join a contemporary dance company in St. Petersburg and he quit his job.  “My parents thought I had made a wrong decision. But I felt with my  body and mind that I wanted to dance, that it was my destiny”, he says  today.
Later, he auditioned for the Provincial Dance Theater in  Ekaterinburg and was accepted into the company, finally returning home.  He stayed in Ekaterinburg for five years, before moving to Europe to  work with a greater range of choreographers. His first job was with the  GöteborgsOperans Danskompani in 2013. There he met Adolphe Binder, who  would later become the Tanztheater Wuppertal’s artistic director. After  she had left Gothenburg, he stayed in Sweden for one more year, taking  the chance to audition in Wuppertal in 2016.
Since 2016, he has  danced in nine pieces by Pina Bausch. Oleg Stepanov enjoys collaborating  with dancers from different generations in the company. “It is a luxury  here and you can learn so much.” He is fascinated by and admires his  older colleagues “for their qualities, their dedication”. Now that his  dream of being part of the Tanztheater Wuppertal has come true, he has a  new dream: to perform with the company in Russia. The Tanztheater has  not been there since Pina Bausch’s death in 2009.

Source: Tanztheater Wuppertal

More information: www.tanzrauschen.de