Jens
Hermes-Cédileau

Even as a child, Jens Hermes regularly accompanied his grandmother to performances of the Divertissementchen. Like much of the audience, he would sit up especially attentively during the ballet performances so that he could follow everything closely. At the time, he would never have believed that he would one day dance in the ballet under the direction of Peter Schnitzler. During his first costume rehearsal on the stage of Oper Köln, he almost forgot his steps because of his excitement, even though he had already gained stage experience by then. From 1986 to 1997, he danced with the “Kammerkätzchen und Kammerdiener”, first in the youth group and later in the adult ensemble.

He first came into contact with Peter and Hilde Schnitzler at an audition for the Blaue Funken in the spring of 1997. He subsequently served as a dance officer for five years in Cologne’s second-oldest traditional carnival corps, of which he remains a member to this day.

This unique experience was followed by another: Peter and Hilde Schnitzler invited him to join ballet training at the “Zillche”. From 2003 to 2007, he enjoyed an exciting time both on and off stage, from “Olympia am Rhing” to “Von nix, kütt nix”. During this period, Peter Schnitzler gradually entrusted him with training the traditional carnival corps under his supervision.

Today, he choreographs and trains the Blaue Funken, Ehrengarde, Prinzen-Garde and Bürgergarde. He has also choreographed the Ehrengarde’s board dance and the “Neuner-Tanz” performed by the dance couples of Cologne’s traditional carnival corps on several occasions. In 2014, he fulfilled his personal carnival dream by portraying the Virgin in the Kölner Dreigestirn.