On Saturday night in Hanover’s main opera house, Marco Goecke, a renowned German choreographer, smeared dog feces from his aging dachshund, Gustav, on the face of a dance critic.

Now, five days later, Mr. Goecke, 50, has lost his job as ballet director there. On Thursday at a news conference in Hanover, Laura Berman, the opera house’s artistic director, announced that Mr. Goecke was leaving his post “by mutual agreement.”

That decision might be expected to draw a line under the bizarre affair, which has made international headlines and shocked the dance world.

But Mr. Goecke’s career is far from over. In a telephone interview, Ms. Berman said the Hanover State Ballet would continue to perform his work; on Feb. 24, his piece “Hello Earth” will be part of a triple bill. Mr. Goecke’s works are “incomparable,” Ms. Berman said, and his art should be viewed separately from the unjustifiable incident.

“I do not believe in cancel culture,” she added.

And Mr. Goecke will retain his position with the Nederlands Dans Theater, an acclaimed Dutch company, for which he is an associate choreographer. On Tuesday, in a statement posted online, the company said that Mr. Goecke’s behavior was “contrary to our values” but that he had apologized.

[Oh, there is DEFINITELY a “them” and “us” difference. And the critic who got the dachshund poo to the puss? A woman. How ’bout them apples? These are our self-anointed, posturing moral superiors.~ Beege]