Thursday, August 11, 2011

Tanz im August 2011 - International Dance Festival Berlin

It is time once again: from next weekend Berlin transforms into an immense dance floor.For the 23rd time, TANZ IM AUGUST – INTERNATIONAL DANCE FESTIVAL BERLIN will be presenting over 220 productions from 132 countries between August 12th and 28th.

As in past years, the program includes – in addition to newcomers and frequent guests – big names such as Lucinda Childs and Édouard Lock. This time, a focus is placed on contemporary dance from African countries, as well as formal crossovers between classical ballet, urban and contemporary dance.

The famous “New Work by Édouard Lock” is one of these crossovers. With breathtaking pas-de-deux and turns so fast that you won’t believe your eyes, Lock celebrates, exaggerates and deconstructs the art of classical ballet. Hiroaki Umeda also connects contemporary elements with ballet and hip hop: abstract and technologically influenced solos with impressive soundscapes and video animation generate great tension between real physicality and media-based disembodiment.

The Brazilian choreographer Guilherme Botelho creates an entire universe of formal variations: 14 dancers weave a web over the stage, move among it with an increasingly hermetic feeling for their body and time and in the end are naked – literally and metaphorically. Botelho sees this hypnotic action as a fascinating– allegory for the human condition as such: the flow of life.

In addition to the supporting program with talks, workshops, lectures and discussions, a special highlight for this year is the “1. Berliner LangeTanzFilmNacht”, which will show a wide range of contemporary dance films. Finally, the sommer.bar will once again offer free performances by festival artists, films and concerts.

Photo credit 1: Margarida Dias
Photo credit 2: Christian Rausch
Photo credit 3: Philippe Gramard



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