Tanzfonds Erbe Projekt "Transforming Acts"

A project of the International Theatre Institute (ITI) and the Mime Centrum Berlin –
In cooperation with the Academy of Arts and the German Dance Film Institute Bremen

 

Artistic Direction: Penelope Wehrli and Detlev Schneider
Ausgangspunkt: Transformationen zwischen Tanz und Theater

Since the 70’s of the previous century, dance has become a striking source of impulse for artists who searched for a future-orientated means of expression and in doing so crossed the boundaries between genres, and became a profound influence on Avant Garde theatre.

Its highly artificial movement vocabulary, the choreographed group movements, the composition of performers as images in space, repetitive action, the physiologically expressive aspect of dance, as well as the virtuosity of the language of ballet became shaping impulses for directors, who searched for a renewed and increased art, apart from mimetic realism.

Heiner Müller and Einar Schleef, in their search for a contemporary scenic images of tragedy, explored just how exemplary Pina Bausch’s choreographies were for shaping artistic thought.

At the same time in central Europe, the synergies of dance, tone, and visual space came into effect, with which Cage and Cunningham and the New Yorkers Judson-Church-Protagonisten had been working since the 60’s. The earlier choreographies of Anna Theresa de Keersmaker, Jan Fabrea and other activists of the dutch-flemish scene of the time took inspiration from this and in turn themselves became inspirations for young choreographers and directors.

Similarly, on the one hand, dance began to use the specifics of other dance forms, - dramaturgic thought in multi-layered narratives, spoken and written textures as well as the swiftly growing appropriation of electronic image and sound media and its imaginative potential, - and thereby increased its influence and attraction.

Our project will show these inspiration and transformation processes from the last three decades of the previous century through insightful productions of exemplary protagonists and in a media installation: Pina Bausch, Lucinda Childs, Merce Cunningham, Jo Fabian, Jan Fabre, William Forsythe, Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker, Johann Kresnik, Thomas Lehmen, Alain Platel, Einar Schleef, Meg Stuart, Robert Wilson, VA Wölfl, Xavier LeRoy - in alphabetic order.