Ballet Director Accused of Smearing Dog Feces on Opera Critic’s Face

• A ballet director in Germany is accused of smearing dog poop in the face of a dance critic.
• Choreographer Marco Goecke was upset by Wiebke Hüster’s negative review of his work, per German media.
• The Hanover Opera House suspended Goecke, and said his actions had stained its reputation.

A ballet director in Germany is accused of smearing dog feces on the face of a dance critic who wrote a scathing review of his work.

The Hanover State Opera said in a statement on Monday that it had suspended ballet director Marco Goecke after a confrontation between him and critic Wiebke Hüster on Saturday evening.

Goecke had approached Hüster on the opera foyer, threatening to ban her from the premises and saying audience members canceled their ticket subscriptions because of her negative review, reported German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, which Hüster writes for.

Hüster had earlier blasted Goecke’s new show “In the Dutch Mountains,” comparing it to being “driven insane and killed by boredom.”

As Goecke confronted Hüster on Saturday, he became more and more irate until he pulled out a paper bag with animal feces and “smacked the face of our dance critic with the contents,” FAZ wrote.

“After that, he was able to go on his way unhindered through the crowded foyer,” the outlet added.

“Police investigations into this outrageous incident are ongoing and criminal charges have been filed immediately,” it wrote.

A spokesperson for the state opera house confirmed to German media that the bag of poop contained dog feces.

It’s not immediately clear how Goecke came into possession of dog poop while at a state opera house, but the director is known for owning a pet dachshund named Gustav.

The Hanover State Opera said it apologized to Hüster, who’s been a dance critic for 25 years, and added that her “personal integrity was violated in an unspeakable manner.”

“With his impulsive reaction to the journalist, Marco Goecke violated all the rules of conduct of the Hanover State Opera,” the state theater wrote in its statement.

It said Goecke had caused “massive damage” to the opera house and its ballet program, and that he is banned from its grounds until further notice.

Goecke, who has held the role of ballet director since 2019, is celebrated in Europe as an award-winning ballet director and choreographer.

Representatives for the Hanover State Opera, Goecke, and Hüster did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment.