Dance - Dance Scene and Trends

Eva Meyer-Keller „Pulling Strings“; © Eva Meyer-Keller

The Dance of Things

On contemporary stages, it is not only dancers who dance. Things are also set in motion, thus shifting the dividing line between subject and object.More ...

Paula Rosolen „Libretto“; photo: Jörn Lund

An Old Ally – Contemporary Inter-Relations in Dance and Music

The engagement with music has become a new source of inspiration for many choreographers.More ...

CHOR(E)OGRAFIE / JOURNALISMUS: „kurze Stücke“ (i.e. CHO(I)ROGRAPHY / JOURNALISM: short pieces) by VA Wölfl; © VA Wölfl

Neuer Tanz and “kurze stücke / short pieces” – Installations for the Stage

With VA Wölfl everything revolves around the audience. Its reaction to what is happening becomes an active component of the performance.More ...

Jérôme Bel „Disabled Theatre“; © Theater Hora, Photo: Michael Bause

Dance as an Emancipatory Act

With the appearance here of different bodies, which do not comply with the prevalent concept of normality, the image that our society has of itself also changes.More ...

„Experience #1“ by Isabelle Schad; photo: Kailai Chen

Collectivity and Representations of Community in Dance

With its streams of data and traffic, the present age is creating new forms of community. Contemporary choreographers take them up, seeking the essence of togetherness.More ...

Screenshot of the homepage of Dance Heritage Fund

History is Made – the Heritage of Dance

For some years, there has been growing interest in the cultural heritage of dance – and funding policy, artistic practice and the New Media are playing together.More ...

„Clouds“ by William Forsythe; © Dominik Mentzos

What is Choreography?

Our understanding of choreography has changed, and that change coincided with the advent of “conceptual dance“.More ...

Alain Franco in “Anarchiv #3: Songs of Love and War” by Deufert and Plischke; © Anja Beutler

The Pulse of Music and that of Dance – An Interview with Alain Franco

Alain Franco adapts music for dance theatre. In the interview he talks about how dance and music inspire each other.More ...

Laurent Chétouane and Jérôme Bel; © Gudrun Pawelke

The Humanity of Man – an Interview with Laurent Chétouane and Jérôme Bel

Two seminal theatre productions are breaking new ground – not only are they undermining established theatre forms, they also wish to infiltrate society.More ...

„You Made Me a Monster“ by William Forsythe; © The Forsythe Company; photo: Marion Rossi

Bodily Dance – from the Perspective of Phenomenology

The dancer does not think, the thinker does not dance – as long as the Cartesian separation of spirit and body prevails.More ...

„Nijinsky“, Ballet by John Neumeier (2000), Hamburg Ballett; photo: Holger Badekow

Three Masters and three reasons to celebrate: Van Manen, Madsen and Neumeier

Hans van Manen, Egon Madsen and John Neumeier have been some of the German ballet scene’s most influential and highly respected artists. They all were celebrated in 2012.More ...

“On the Mountain a Cry was heard” by Pina Bausch, dancer: ensemble, April 2002; © Ursula Kaufmann

A “Future Workshop” for the Tanztheater Wuppertal

Pina Bausch choreographed 46 pieces for the Tanztheater Wuppertal. To preserve them an archive is being compiled in Wuppertal for 1.4 million euros.More ...

Sasha Walz & Guests „Métamophoses“; © Sebastian Bolesch

Dance with Me! The Working Conditions of Dancers in Germany

For some, it is a European dance El Dorado, for others, the headquarters of self-exploitation. Germany’s dance scene is as varied as the efforts to create structures and security for performers.More ...

Meg Stuart „Built to last“, Münchner Kammerspiele; © Julian Röder

The Body as Discourse: Dance and Image of the Body

Like every line of thought in philosophy, every cultural practice develops its own distinct concept of the body. What image of the body is produced when we understand it as being the result of discourse?More ...

„Sylvia Pas de deux“ by George Balanchine, with Daria Sukhorukova and Lukáš Slavický, Bayerisches Staatsballett; photo: Charles Tandy

How Ballet Critique Became Dance Critique

Critique was a male prerogative. Thoughts on dance critique in Germany from a female perspective on the occasion of the death of Horst Koegler.More ...

Notationinstructions at Folkwang University of the Arts; photo: Heike Kandalowski

Notation and Movement Analysis in Contemporary Dance Training

Dance training at Folkwang University of the Arts has been closely associated with the tradition of the theory of movement analysis which was influenced by Rudolf von Laban and Kurt Jooss.More ...

Dance as the Poetry of Action and Negotiation – Dancer and Choreographer Antje Pfundtner

For the Hamburg dancer and choreographer Antje Pfundtner, dance is an assurance of life.More ...

Transculturality instead of Multiculturalism – Careers in dance have always been cross-border affairs

In the 21st century dancers and choreographers are at home everywhere and nowhereMore ...

Annette Reschke, 2012; © J. Strickstrock

Authors’ Rights and Choreography

Annette Reschke works at the Verlag der Autoren in Frankfurt. One of her areas of responsibility is choreography. In an interview, she explains the tasks her work involves and the legal situation of choreographers.More ...

Eszter Salomon „Dance for nothing“; © Alain Roux

Dancing is thinking – on the relationship between philosophy and dance

At first glance, dance and philosophy seem to be a contradictory pair. Yet both disciplines share a troubled history.More ...

„Orlando“, Choreografie: Marco Goecke, Tänzer: Friedemann Vogel und Ensemble; Foto: Ulrich Beuttenmüller

Stuttgart Ballet – Company of the Year 2011

In the year of its 50th anniversary Stuttgart Ballet has been elected “Company of the Year 2011” by the European dance critics in the traditional survey of the journal “tanz”.More ...

„20 minutes: I can't give you anything but love, baby“ (1997); © David Baltzer

Detektor – Frauke Havemann and Mark Johnson

From 1993 to 1997, Compagnie Detektor created stylistically ground-breaking projects in Berlin at the intersection of dance, theatre, performance and video art. A retrospective.More ...

William Forsythe „city of abstracts“; © Julian Gabriel Richter

Interplay of Art and Dance

For some time now, galleries and museums have been making room for choreographers and dancers. Theatres and concert halls are opening for installations and visual arts performances.More ...

Making dance in response to contemporary realities – a work exchange between choreographers

The Choreographers from Cambodia, Indonesia, and Thailand came together to learn from and about each other.More ...

Grupo de Rua, Niterói; Copyright: Bruno Beltrão

Bruno Beltrão: “We are interested in the formal elements of street dance, but we don’t worship them.”

The Brazilian choreographer Bruno Beltrão reflects on the west’s obsession with documenting.More ...

The German Dance Prize

Since 1983, the Essen-based Deutsche Berufsverband für Tanzpädagogik (German professional association of dance) has been awarding the German Dance Prize.More ...

Antonia Baehr: “For Faces” | © make up productions

Subversion with wit and intellect: Up-and-coming contemporary German choreographers

They push the boundaries of dance to include so-called “laugh concerts” and explorations of nothingness – and never without a healthy dose of humour.More ...

„Planning for panoramix in my notebook“ (2003); from „La Ribot“, Centre national de la danse/2004; © Centre national de la danse

Dance Dramaturgy – a Critical and Discursive Practice

In the focus of reflection. The term dance dramaturgy seems to be helpful when describing a new, multi-disciplinary and complex practice in contemporary dance.More ...

“Tanzplan Deutschland” is being phased out: an end and a new beginning!

After five productive years “Tanzplan Deutschland” is drawing to a close – a farewell that leaves the creative operators themselves in charge of their affairs.More ...

William Forsythe with Project co-Directors Maria Palazzi (L) and Norah Zuniga-Shaw (R); Photo: V. Ragunath

“Motion Bank” – A Data Bank For Dance

The choreographer William Forsythe has initiated a project named Motion Bank. The intention is to present choreographies as visual data on the internet.More ...

„Paperdance“ out of „Parades and Changes“, Stockholm 1965; Photo: Coni Beeson. - The book-cover of „Anna Halprin – Tanz Prozesse Gestalten“ by Gabriele Wittmann, Ursula Schorn, Ronit Land, K. Kieser Verlag 2009

Whoever studies breath seeks movement – and finds dance

For Ilse Middendorf, “the experience of breath” became the source of all being. Anna Halprin sees dance as “breath made visible”. Impressive films have been made about these two pioneers.More ...

Martin Schläpfer – director of the Ballett am Rhein since 2009 and choreographer of the Year 2010; Photo: Gert Weigelt

Martin Schläpfer – Choreographer of the Year 2010

European dance critics selected Martin Schläpfer as Choreographer of the Year 2010. The 50-year-old Swiss has directed Ballett am Rhein, which he established in Düsseldorf/Duisburg, since 2007.More ...

The choreologist Georgette Tsinguirides of Stuttgart Ballet Georgette Tsinguirides, awarded with the German Dance Award 2010; photo: die arge lola

Choreologists and Kinetographers Notate Dance

The presentation of the German Dance Award 2010 to choreologist Georgette Tsinguirides draws attention to a hot topic: how can masterpieces be passed on to later generations?More ...

'Explorations 09': Urheben Aufheben - Ein (Selbst)Versuch (i.e. Lifting the Copyright – An Experiment (on Oneself)), a contribution by Martin Nachbar; photo: Dirk Rose

Acquiring Knowledge While Flying Blind – “Explorations 10” at PACT Zollverein

The “Explorations 10” symposium at PACT Zollverein shed light on the potential of not knowing in the fruitful area between art and science.More ...

Indonesien | Fitri Setyaningsih, scene from “Colors from the Inner Earth”; photo: Goethe-Institut

Tanzconnexions: An Innovative Joint Dance Project in the Pacific Region

Tanzconnexions has set itself the target of giving impetus to the dance scene in a region that to date has given little or no support to contemporary dance.More ...

Samir Akika “Extended Teenage Era” (2007); Photo: Till Botterweck

Hip-hop and Classical Dance – No Contradiction!

Hip-hop proved long ago that it has no need to fear artistic comparison with other dance genres. Storm, a German dancer, is one of France’s most popular breakers.More ...

‚Sans-Titre‘ – a piece for Faustin Linyekula by Raimund Hoghe; Festival Montpellier Danse (2009); With: Faustin Linyekula and Raimund Hoghe; Foto: Rosa Frank

Raimund Hoghe – in France adored, in Germany ignored

Throughout Europe, especially at France’s festivals, Raimund Hoghe is given rapturous reception. In Germany he does encounter a rather tepid response.More ...

'A Mary Wigman Dance Evening', Fabian Barba, K3 / Tanzplan Hamburg; copyright: Bart Grietens

Reconstructing dance: cultivating our dance historical heritage

Contemporary choreographers are all fired up about the avant-garde – both yesterday’s and yesteryear’s. Reconstructions and recreations sit well with modern dance’s notion of hybridity.More ...

'Das mechanische Ballett' (The mechanical Ballet), idea: Kurt Schmidt and Georg Teltscher (1923), revised version: Theater der Klaenge, Duesseldorf 1987; directed by J. U. Lensing, copyright: Theater der Klaenge; photo: Oliver Eltinger

Dancing at the Bauhaus

The Bauhaus school of art, design and architecture was founded in Weimar in 1919. It was based in Dessau from 1925 to 1933 until the Nazis forced the closure of the school that had such a major influence on style. Now, 90 years on, the Bauhaus dances are being declared classics.More ...

Dance and the Metaphysics of Movement(s)

In our imagination, dance and movement are inextricably linked. But are they really the same thing? If one wishes to grasp the differences between dance, movement and art, metaphysics comes into play.More ...

“I don’t believe in outer space”
Dancers: Fabrice Mazliah, Tilman O‘Donnell, Christopher Roman
Photograph: Dominik Mentzos

Familiar, Yet Alien: New Works by William Forsythe

The dance goes on. The cities of Frankfurt am Main and Dresden and the German states of Hesse and Saxony have extended the Forsythe Company’s contract until 2013. A premiere has been staged at the Bockenheimer Depot.More ...

Dance Scene and Trends in Germany

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