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| TANZ Berlin | |
|---|---|
| Name | TANZ Berlin |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Location | Berlin, Germany |
| Artistic director | Unspecified |
| Genre | Contemporary dance |
TANZ Berlin
TANZ Berlin is a contemporary dance presenting organization and festival platform based in Berlin, Germany, noted for commissioning, curating, and presenting performance, installation, and interdisciplinary projects. It acts as a nexus between institutional venues, independent companies, and international festivals, fostering exchanges with networks in Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa. The organization operates within Berlin's dense cultural ecology, engaging with major institutions, independent producers, and international touring circuits.
Founded in 2004 amid a period of institutional consolidation and cultural experimentation in Berlin, the organization emerged during the post-reunification expansion of venue-driven initiatives and festivalization seen in Berlin's arts scene. Early collaborations connected practitioners associated with Sophiensaele, HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Schaubühne, Volksbühne, and artist-run spaces concentrated in Mitte, Kreuzberg, and Neukölln. Programming in the 2000s responded to trends promoted by entities such as European Capital of Culture initiatives and funding streams from bodies like the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation and the German Federal Cultural Foundation. Throughout the 2010s, TANZ Berlin increased partnerships with international festivals including ImPulsTanz, Dance Umbrella, Grec Festival de Barcelona, and touring presenters such as Jacob's Pillow. Institutional ties with municipal actors like Berliner Senat and national bodies like the Goethe-Institut shaped project funding and exchange residencies. The organization weathered policy shifts affecting arts funding and the changing real estate pressures in Berlin's cultural districts.
TANZ Berlin's curatorial approach integrates contemporary choreography, interdisciplinary performance, and site-specific work, aligning with practice led by collectives and auteurs associated with Pina Bausch-influenced expression, postmodern lineages from Merce Cunningham, and political performance practices seen in the works of William Forsythe and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. Programming often foregrounds designers, composers, and visual artists who collaborate with choreographers linked to Wim Vandekeybus, Crystal Pite, and Sharon Eyal. The platform commissions new works, supports laboratory residencies inspired by models from Tanzquartier Wien and The Place (London), and curates seasons that place emerging choreographers alongside established names such as Trisha Brown-influenced artists and practitioners from the Butoh tradition. TANZ Berlin has hosted dialogue events with cultural theorists and curators from institutions like Max Planck Institute for the History of Science and universities including Humboldt University of Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin.
The organization has presented a wide array of companies and ensembles including independent groups affiliated with Sasha Waltz, companies in the lineage of Forsythe Company, and collectives working across film and performance such as teams linked to Chunky Move and Rosas. Collaborations extend to orchestras and musicians associated with Berliner Philharmoniker principals, contemporary composers from IRCAM networks, and visual artists who exhibit at Hamburger Bahnhof and KW Institute for Contemporary Art. Partnerships with international festivals and companies enable exchanges with artists from Reichstag-era performance projects to experimental artists linked to La Biennale di Venezia and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Programming takes place across Berlin venues and festival contexts: stages at Gropius Bau-adjacent sites, black box theatres at Sophiensaele, main stages at HAU Hebbel am Ufer, and flexible formats in warehouses and public spaces near Tempelhof Airport and waterfront sites by the Spree River. TANZ Berlin participates in municipal festivals and collaborates with multivenue festivals including Berliner Festspiele, the Berlin International Film Festival for dance-on-film presentations, and neighborhood festivals in Kreuzberg and Neukölln. It has also worked with club-culture venues associated with the legacy of Berghain for cross-genre late-night programming.
Educational initiatives include masterclasses, choreographic labs, and mentorships modeled after programs at ImPulsTanz and university curricula at institutions like Codarts Rotterdam and Palucca University of Dance Dresden. Outreach partners have included cultural NGOs such as Goethe-Institut branches and municipal youth programs coordinated with the Senate Department for Culture and Europe (Berlin). Projects have linked professional development for independent producers with funding advice inspired by European Cultural Foundation guidelines and residencies co-hosted with international cultural centers including Institut français and British Council offices.
Over time TANZ Berlin has presented works by choreographers and performers associated with major international reputations and emergent voices. Programs have featured artists in the orbit of Pina Bausch, repertory influenced by Merce Cunningham-trained choreographers, and premieres by contemporary makers connected to Alvin Ailey-influenced practitioners. Guest artists have included those with affiliations to Sasha Waltz & Guests, Wim Vandekeybus' Ultima Vez, and experimental choreographers who have shown at Tanz im August and ImPulsTanz. Dance-film collaborations have brought in directors who screen at Berlinale sections focused on short forms.
Critics and cultural commentators from outlets that cover Berlin arts districts, including theatre critics who write about Berliner Ensemble and cultural journalists who follow festivals like Tanz im August, have noted TANZ Berlin's role in bridging institutional and independent sectors. The platform contributed to the internationalization of Berlin's dance ecology, enabling touring exchanges with companies engaged in European networks such as PEARL Network and bilateral residencies with partners like Dansens Hus Oslo. Its activities influenced curatorial practices in venues ranging from experimental spaces in Neukölln to established houses such as Schaubühne, shaping conversations about funding models and cross-disciplinary programming in the city.
Category:Dance festivals in Germany