In memoriam: Valentin Fanel Badiu
The Dance Department of the HfMDK Frankfurt mourns the loss of teacher, dancer, choreographer and visual artist Valentin Fanel Badiu, who passed away unexpectedly on April 7th in Frankfurt.
Born in Romania and raised in Florence, he received his diploma as a classical dancer after ten years of training at the Liliana Cosi - Marinel Stefanescu School of Classical Ballet in Reggio Emilia, Italy. At the same time, he completed his five-year visual art studies at the "Istituto Statale d'Arte Gaetano Chierici" (School of Applied Arts) in Reggio Emilia. He has performed a variety of leading male roles from the classical ballet canon as a soloist with the Royal Ballet of Flanders and as soloist at the Mainz State Theatre.
His flair for visual composition and his own experience with movement led him to make a name for himself as a dance photographer. Since 2010, he has photographed all of BAtanz's performance series and played an important role in the program's public image. He was also responsible for the video documentation of these performances. He followed the development of the students with great interest, accompanying them throughout their studies.
Since the winter semester 2012/13, Valentin Fanel Badiu has been teaching Pas de Deux, Male Variation and the new subject Jumps, Turns, Stamina to students, passionately conveying a strong classical repertoire with enthusiasm and humour.
By participating in performances at his own ballet school in Frankfurt, which he ran with his wife Anastasia Dirksen-Badiu, he enabled countless students from the Classical Ballet Emphasis to explore the artistic material in depth and strengthened their stage presence.
We are deeply saddened by his unexpected death and have lost a highly committed lecturer, colleague and companion to the dance department.