Jo Verlei

Born in Wuppertal in the mid-1950s, Jo Verlei studied architecture at the Technical University of Dortmund after school and a number of trials and tribulations. Rather by chance, he landed a student job at the Wuppertal Opera House, where he got his first taste of the stage and never looked back. He was and still is fascinated by the work of Pina Bausch's dance theatre. The simplicity of the means of creating spaces - using a few natural materials, fabrics and light and letting the dancers animate them into spaces for action, play and living. From 1995, Verlei was permanently employed in the lighting department at the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch and worked there as Head Electrician until he reached retirement age in 2021. Today, Verlei supports the Pina Bausch Foundation in passing on Pina Bausch's work to other major theatres and companies as far as lighting design is concerned.