Director Seeks Forgiveness After Dog Poop Incident

• A German ballet director issued a public apology after smearing dog poop on a critic’s face.
• Marco Goeke said he got caught up in the heat of the moment during the Saturday incident.
• But Goecke’s apology also attempted to justify his reasons for the bizarre act. 

The German ballet director who made headlines this week for an absurdist response to a negative review issued a stunning statement on Tuesday, publicly apologizing for smearing dog feces in a critic’s face, while also attempting to justify his reasons for escalating the excrement-filled encounter.

The Hanover State Opera suspended choreographer Marco Goecke from his role as ballet chief on Monday following the confrontation between him and critic Wiebke Hüster in the institution’s foyer on Saturday. The theatre had called on Goecke to publicly apologize, accusing him of causing “massive damage” to the opera house and its ballet program.

“I would like to apologize sincerely to all concerned, first and foremost to Ms. Hüster, for my absolutely unacceptable act,” Goecke said in a statement obtained by German media outlet NDR. “In retrospect, I am clearly aware that this was a disgraceful act in the heat of the moment and an overreaction.”

But in his apparent apology, Goecke quickly pivoted to critiquing members of the media, asking them to “rethink a certain form of destructive and hurtful reporting that damages the whole cultural sector.”

The choreographer said he felt personally attacked by Hüster’s repeated criticism of his work, saying her “often nasty” reviews have been a staple of his life for 20 years.

“I don’t think any hard-working person would put up with that for long and I really stand behind that,” Goecke said. 

He also blamed nerves resulting from staging two successive premieres in a short period of time as a reason he “finally blew [his] top.” 

“I also ask for a certain understanding at least for the reasons why this happened,” Goecke wrote. 

His Tuesday statement also elucidated one of the more bizarre mysteries of the incident as Goecke explained why he had dog feces on him in the first place. 

“My old dachshund made a pile and I put it in a bag and wanted to dispose of it outside,” he wrote.

The director said he then met Hüster during the break of a ballet evening to confront her. As the conversation quickly escalated, Goecke pulled the bag out and smeared it on Hüster’s face, he said, acting in the heat of the moment.

Hüster maintained the attack was premeditated, telling NRD that Goecke’s apology was “highly unacceptable,” and arguing that there was “no excuse for the physically brutal violence” she said she endured. 

German media reported that Hüster filed a criminal complaint and Goecke now faces an investigation into allegations of bodily harm and slander. 

The subject of Hüster’s scathing review was Goecke’s new show, “In the Dutch Mountains,” which the critic compared to being “driven insane and killed by boredom.”

Before shoving feces in her face, Goecke reportedly threatened to ban Hüster from the premises and accused her negative write-up of contributing to ticket cancellations at the Hanover State Opera.