Willi Dorner - born 1959 in Baden, Austria - studied dance, dance pedagogy and dance therapy at the ‘Austrian Society for Dance Therapy’ and is a certified Alexander technique teacher. From 1983 until 1986 he was a student at the Vienna Conservatory for Music and the Performing Arts. He studied at Erick Hawkins Studio in New York and at the School for Body-Mind Centering in Developmental Movement. Further work was with Andrew Harwood, Dani Lepkoff, Irene Hultman and Stephen Petronio. Dorner was a member of Nina Martin’s company in New York and I.D.A. - Mark Tompkins Company in Paris.

He started to choreograph his own productions in 1990: Alien (1990), and now (1992), intertwining (1997), mazy (1999), back to return (2000), threeseconds (videoroom installation 2001), [...] (2003), the not at all (2002), Hanging Gardens (interdisciplinary 2004), 404 (2005), Inbetween (2006),dance karaoke (club project 2006-2008), bodies in urban spaces (2007)

Together with photo-artist Lisa Rastl, he created FEET, a photodisplay of the most important contemporary choreographers’ feet. Films: Treid (1999, director: Constantin Wulff), Mazy the films (2003, together with video artists Johannes Hammel, Norbert Pfaffenbichler, Michaela Schwendter).

Besides his international touring dance performances Willi Dorner is keen on creating events that give the audience the opportunity for new experiences, insights and a different perception of every day’s life. Cie. Willi Dorner’s stage performances and side specific works are presented in festivals and venues in Europe, Africa, North and South America and China. He worked as guest choreographer for the Ballet of the Vienna State- Opera, the Dance Theatre Ireland in Dublin, the Transitions Dance Company London and the Scottish Dance Theatre.

Prizes: the Eurodans prize in 1998, the Tendances award in 1999, the Austrian Dance Production award in 2000, Pearls07 for mazy the films (best editing)2007.