Tanztheater
Dance Theatre called an art form of dance, which emerged in the second half of the 20th century. In contrast to classical ballet, with its highly stylized, traditional language of movement, the dance theater works with experimental elements of movement and looks for cross-genre new forms for the dance performance. Here, the theatrical aspect is strongly emphasized.
Especially by Pina Bausch in the Tanztheater Wuppertal Opera was founded and allowed to flower. Further pioneers and choreographer of the Tanztheater Johann Kresnik, Gerhard Bohner, Reinhild Hoffmann since the end of the seventies at the Bremer Theater and later at the Schauspielhaus Bochum, and Susanne Linke as director of the Folkwang Dance Studio in Essen, Tom Schilling, William Forsythe, Saburo Teshigawara and Sasha Waltz and others mentioned. Numerous dance divisions at German theaters are today is filled with dance-theater ensemble.
In the 1980s, new venues have emerged that present in addition to the city theaters, dance theater and performance under the collective term of contemporary dance. The Dance Platform Germany is the forum for current trends in contemporary dance in Germany.
Concept and history
Origins
The dance theater is bordered on the one hand on the ballroom dancing and on the other hand from the conventions of ballet.
When in the mid- 19th century, the ballet had emancipated from the Opera and enforced by the Pointe a hard to reach professionalism, which was perceived as progress on the one hand and on the other hand, as solidification. The teacher François Delsarte gave impetus for a recent merger of the performing arts in their movement and expression. From this developed preforms of expressive dance. They sat down opposite the highly conventionalized, but extremely successful and lasting repertoire ballets such as Giselle (1841 ) and Swan Lake ( 1877), which propagated to overcome the force of gravity and of everyday life with Fairy Tales actions. The function of a prescribed music was perceived as a problem. These reform efforts are the origin of modern dance theater. In 1900, Isadora Duncan announced the "Free dance ", free from all artistic or moral rules.
Dance theater before the Second World War
Probably Kurt Jooss, a student of Rudolf von Laban, coined the term. A historical derivation from a common source is possible neither in the concept nor the genre of dance theater. Various streams that had disappeared for a time from the mainstream after the Second World War, have later re-enforced in the course of social development and interacted together on stage in the new forms of dance.
Specific German and with the declared objective to displace lifted aesthetics of classical ballet and his timeless fairy tales, the strongly bound to the personality of each dancer's expressive dance had been like him Mary Wigman and Jean Weidt in the 1920s in Berlin, as well as Palucca practiced or taught in Dresden.
A parallel movement was at the same time the development of modern dance in the U.S., which also includes the representation of the individual, the psyche of everyday life with other means of transport - at that time in an unbroken relationship with the community - was looking for.
First, was the expression of dance in his " German character " was welcomed and recognized by the National Socialists, but this perception changed when he - after Rudolf von Laban had choreographed the show part of the Olympic Games in 1936 - was no longer of propagandistic benefits. As " überfremdet " and " un-German " lost expressive dance officially meaningless.
After the Second World War, it performers, dancers and choreographers from 1947 found a home in the Berlin Volksbühne at Jean Weidt, and from 1955 at the Folkwang School in Essen. The recognition by the audience was restrained in West Germany, because he attributed as an art form at a time and aesthetics, from which you wanted to distance themselves. This development did not take place as in East Germany, GDR later, since you felt the art form of expressive dance as a starting signal and as an anti -fascist symbol and promoted.
Enforcement of neoclassicism
Instead of neoclassicism gained ground, as it exemplified John Cranko in 1961 established with the acquisition of Nikolas Beriozoff excellent Stuttgart Ballet Ensemble.
In West Germany U.S. styles and "antique " German ballet as the primary role models were. In East Germany the model of classical Russian ballet style was dominant until the mid- 50s, but broken quickly by Jean Weidt in Schwerin and of Palucca in Dresden with daring productions. In 1966, the modern dance theater of Tom Schilling ( at the Komische Oper Berlin ) in the GDR was decisive style.
The counter- movement of the 1960s
As the discrepancy between social reality and the estimated from the educated middle-class audience unrealistic representations ballet on stage was always greater in the 1960s, is resistance in young choreographers suggested. You searched for new themes and forms of expression. This was according to own data Johann Kresnik's question to Balanchine, in his ensemble he was allowed to dance, "What am I doing as twenty-eight on the stage in a white shirt, while I drag a dancer of a diagonal to the other " (J. Schmidt, dance theater )
The spoken theater had already Bertolt Brecht ( the Berliner Ensemble ) and Thomas Langhoff ( Deutsches Theater and Volksbühne Berlin) passed the traditional guidelines in the early GDR. In West Germany, this process took place much later. Young directors like Peter Brook or Peter Zadek had known to experiment, performance and anti-aesthetic. The Hague Nederlands Dans Theater, whose choreographer Hans van Manen and Glen Tetley both modern dance obligated as were also influenced by the expressive dance aesthetics Mary Wigman or its U.S. student Hanya Holm, already showed new, much-noticed ways in dance.
Since 1968
Significant impetus came from the politically motivated '68 movement. 1968 showed the choreographer Johann Kresnik Competition Cologne Summer Academy of Dance Paradise? , Political representation, in which a man on crutches by the police gets beaten with the stick, what a tenor " O Paradise" sings. In January 1970 came Pina Bausch's piece Nachnull on the stage, which is also adopted from the traditional aesthetics of movement and an apocalyptic mood transposed dance.
Gerhard Bohner was in 1972 by the traditionally oriented to Darmstadt and Berlin Opera assembled outstanding soloists to create an ensemble that called itself a dance theater. The old ensemble hierarchy was abandoned, and they tried to work on the principle of participation in the group, which did not prove successful in the long run.
At the Komische Oper Berlin in 1966 commissioned Walter Felsenstein young choreographers Tom Schilling with the construction of a modern dance theater. He was very successful, especially with the full-length ballets ( for templates by Bernd Köllinger ) and coined the dance theater in the GDR.
Kresnik went to Bremen, where he made choreographic theater, Bausch established in 1973 in Wuppertal and went from there their first arduous path to. The Folkwang School, headed by Kurt Jooss and the Folkwang Dance Studio became the new training and performance venue for solid modern dance technique, the classical and modern combined a versatile hand tools. From this school Reinhild Hoffmann and Susanne Linke emerged.
Further development
The German dance theater has gained prestige and influence on the choreographic creative world. The early pioneers have many followers found interpret the dance theater in their own way and have now been solved by the great role models. Can be considered as the heyday of a uniform definition therefore still less. Pina Bausch has now found himself again to a stronger emphasis of the dance, as Susanne Linke, who had never set so heavily on other means. Reinhild Hoffmann staged operas now. The Berliner Arila Siegert shines as a dancer, choreographer and opera director. The work The Seven Deadly Sins (1987 ) with Peter Konwitschny to the music of Kurt Weill set new accents in the German dance theater. Choreographer Tom Schilling traveled to continuous quarrels with the Berlin Senate in 1992 to retire.
Other choreographers such as William Forsythe are constantly moving in the border area between ballet, modern dance and dance theater. Joachim Schloemer, who studied at the Folkwang Hochschule, 1991 Ulmer Dance Theatre took over and now promotes cooperation between the independent scene and institutional theater business would, with the label " dance theater " no longer be occupied because the category in his view, now also is already a constricting drawer. The Leipziger Choreographer Heike Hennig with her dance theater of generations explored the boundaries of contemporary dance and musical theater opens up new dimensions with its opera dance rituals.
Aesthetic principles
Similarities of dance theater choreography consist first of all in the rejection of the usual ballet aesthetics. What is shown, need not be beautiful. A continuous story is rather rare, often strung together like a montage scenes are shown, which are assembled on a special topic. The music - or any other acoustic accompaniment sounds like - does not have to be " of a piece", but depends on the particular sitter. It is usually not played by an orchestra, but comes as a compilation from the band.
Dance is not the only means of expression, it can language, song and mime are used. The stylization degree of movement is different, it is often used everyday gestures. In the body language used for all forms of dance and movement can be used.
The stories told are mostly new. They shed light on the people of the time and society. The individual in his exchange with other, everyday life, feelings, situations are important. This often set pieces from well-known stories, archetypes and myths are incorporated into the new courses of action and re-interpreted. Humor and Satire can play an important role.
The dancers are personalities that are related to their character and quirks on the stage and do not have to be physically perfect. Expression and intensity are crucial. Here also the old ballet hierarchy is abandoned: The division into Soloists and no longer exists. Instead, character representations are created that provide all of equal importance.