Overview of Texts

After years of supposed development and support, ‘environmental stage’ is still an emerging category. Choreographed by Ini Dill, Street Fabrik was viewed at Haus der Statistik on 28 May 2023.

Mossbelly, which can be seen until 28 May 2023 at HAU2, is the culmination of Angela Schubot’s many years of exploration with moss and the trituration of plant material. A connection with her grandfather, whom she never met, emerged out of this project and prompted her to change her artist name to Angela Vitovec.

Following MOVE OUT LOUD (2021), choreographer Modjgan Hashemian returns to work with the ensemble of Theater Thikwa, which consists of disabled and non-disabled artists: Dance Loves Music Loves Dance is an interactive quiz-dance show that brings Thikwa dancers together with guest dancers. The work premiered on 17 May 17 2023 in Theater Thikwa and can […]

Against the Grain is a night of short dance works that champions diversity and, as organiser Manuel Meza states in the introduction to the evening, aims to “open doors” for those otherwise excluded from dance because of gender, race, ableism, body characteristics or other exclusionary factor, presented on 20 May 2023 at Theaterforum Kreuzberg.

In Pumpitopera Transatlantica created and performed by Mexa and showing at HAU2 on 19 and 20 May 2023 as the initial stop of the collective’s first international tour, absences and gaps in understanding are not mistakes. They are the lifeblood of a performance that rewrites the future without losing sight of the material reality of past and […]

The ensemble piece “Yum Yum” by Haus Sommer, led by choreographer and dancer Dasniya Sommer, playing from 12-14 May 2023 in Ballhaus Ost, confounds the supposedly unrelated while unraveling the possibilities of artificiality.

In “Foreland – Bach and Britten”, a supplementary program to soundance festival berlin, choreographer and dancer Nitsan Margaliot and cellist Isaac Lottman embody two suites from composers Johann Sebastian Bach and Benjamin Britten. The German premiere took place on 23 May 2023 in the St. Matthew Church.

A.PART Festival 2023 … macht Radau, taking place at ada Studio from 5-7 and 12-14 May, presents works by Berlin’s dance students and alumni. Each weekend introduces works of a different group of artists. Inky attends the opening night, which consists of five performances and a feedback circle. 

In “K L O F. cyberographies of folk,” choreographer Irina Demina uses artificial intelligence to develop a new kind of folk dance: an attempt to reflect contemporary digitalized everyday life. The remount runs at DOCK 11 until 7 May 2023.

The trio “Weaver” choreographed by Anne-Mareike Hess, attempts different weaves of connections of formations for female togetherness. The performance is shown at DOCK 11 from 27 to 30 April 2023.

In “Blazing Worlds”, Sergiu Matis reworks a 350-year-old science fiction text among others, for its premiere at Radialsystem (20-23 April 2023), part of the collaboration :LOVE: with Tanzfabrik Berlin. 

Liz Rosenfeld’s “URSA-X”, playing in the fourth and final installment of the spring festival series Queer Darlings at Sophiensæle from 20-23 April 2023, is a meditation on the hole at all scales, from the microscopic to the planetary.

“Virtual S*Exploration” (for ages 14+), conceived by Jakob* and Christo Schleiff, utilises technology and VR to discuss the topic of sexuality. It premiered at FELD Theater für junges Publikum on 15 April 2023 with further performances until 18 April. 

In “Am I two?” Vasundhara Srivastava and Hannah Heyde explore their experiences with society’s expectations of women. This search for updated definitions was presented at the ACUD-Theater from 13-15 April 2023.

“Messa da Requiem” is a 2016 work setting ballet to Verdi’s choral and orchestral score. Choreographer/director Christian Spuck revives the work with the Staatsballett Berlin and Rundfunkchor Berlin, for this premiere on 14 April 2023 at Deutsche Oper.

In “HIGH TIDE,” choreographer and performer Pauline Payen addresses the haunting power of grief. The 60-minute dance performance can be seen until 2 April 2023 in DOCK 11.

What happens when a monk, a priest and a rabbi walk into a bar? Scratch that…you probably know that one already. Okay, what happens when a Jewish performer walks up to their grandmother’s cupboard of antiques? . . . . Where do you think this was going? Is there space for this joke in a […]

Claire Vivianne Sobottke’s new work “à mort — A choreographic song cycle for three voices,” running from March 22 – 25 2023 at Sophiensæle, is a conglomeration of countless musical, physical, stage and costume design details, behind which lies an impressive ensemble performance. The piece recounts explicitly and with relish the futility of every attempt […]

Questions of time, space, and mathematics dominate in “Deepspace”, a choreography based in scientific collaboration and research from James Batchelor, viewed at Trauma Bar und Kino in Berlin-Moabit on 14 March 2023.

The two-part, nearly two-hour evening “Beethoven 7” (Sasha Waltz & Guests) premiered on 11 March 2023 in Radialsystem. Choreographer Sasha Waltz asks questions about freedom and social constraints, set to the music of contemporary composer Diego Noguera and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony.

“Time Out of Joint” is a concept and choreography from Jule Flierl and colleagues, targeting the perception of female* politicians speech. Premiering 8 March 2023, International Women’s Day, at Sophiensæle.

“LUFT” is a dance performance for the audience from age three and up, created in collaboration between Nir de Volff and Theater o.N. It premiered at DOCK 11 on 2 March 2023. The theatre bustles with the energy of excited children on the Sunday afternoon of 5 March, when Inky attends the last show.

Philippe Quesne’s “Fantasmagoria”, in its German premiere at HAU2 on 2 and 3 March 2023, looks at new materialism through the theatrical lens of eighteenth-century storytelling and scientific experimentation, searching for a vital spark.

“Oiseau” from Berlin-Paris company La Cage undertakes a detailed movement examination of birds, under the direction of Aliénor Dauchez and viewed at Kultur Büro Elisabeth in Berlin-Mitte on 26 February 2023.

What does it mean to be a hero? With “I NEED A HERO,” Camilla Pölzer presents a journey through the expectations and norms of the character of the superhero. The 50-minute performance for all ages nine and up premiered on 22 February 2023 at TANZKOMPLIZEN in Podewil.

Two Swedish choreographers of two different generations, Mats Ek (b. 1945) and Alexander Ekman (b. 1984), share a total of six evenings of performances (Three in February and three in March) at Deutsche Oper. “A Sort Of…” by Ek and “Cacti” by Ekman is performed by Staatsballett Berlin and premiered on 16 February 2023. 

“Rhythm Is The Place” certainly has a sense of humour. Developed by clown-cowboy-dancer Juan Domínguez at Radialsystem and viewed on 16 February 2023, the performance has an array of eccentric and esoteric nods and winks – almost as if the performer is undertaking some kind of deadpan dad joke.

In “Beyond Love,” the final installment in her trilogy about the economic and technological interpenetration of emotions running from 8 to 11 February 2023 at HAU3, the choreographer Dragana Bulut focuses on hybrid forms of love and desire between humans and machines.

Makisig Akin’s “Asian/LOVE”, premiering at DOCK 11 on 3 and 4 February 2023, is a gift—if one you may have to work for.

With “Zur Zartheit von Rissen” (The delicacy of cracks, 3 – 5 February 2023), Lea Martini and Bella Hager present a finely crafted blend of sensory expedition, performance and retreat, and a quiet homage to Uferstudios’ Heizhaus.

TANZTAGE BERLIN 2023 >>> Bully Fae Collins’ “Songs of the Dopamine Carousel” and Liina Magneas’ “She’s constructing the exit” present true orgasms and fake excess (and vice versa) at the close of the festival and deal with the performance struggles of our time.

 TANZTAGE BERLIN 2023 >>> On the double bill “Songs of the Dopamine Carousel” by Bully Fae Collins and “She’s Constructing the Exit Signs (Hope & Delusion)” by Liina Magnea at Sophiensaele.

Constanza Macras and the team of DorkyPark have created a funny beast in “DRAMA” – a smorgasbord of performance styles within an absurd satire, premiering at Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz on 19 January 2023.

The 7th edition of PURPLE – International Dance Festival for Young Audiences includes the world premiere of “In Future I am a Comet” by Yotam Peled at Theater Strahl for spectators age 13 and older.

TANZTAGE BERLIN 2023 >>> Artist Slina da Soledade aka Slim Soledad and her guests premiered their new work on 14 January 2023 at the Sophiensæle. Two texts by Diana Schümann and Elina Pantsyr

TANZTAGE BERLIN 2023 >>> Is there no way out in choreographer/performer Kévin Bonono’s “A Sensation of a Truth”, played over 13 and 14 January 2023 at Sophiensæle?

TANZTAGE BERLIN 2023 >>> In “Matria – Motherland” by Rocío Marano and “To be a fish in a Raki bottle” by Elvan Tekin, two choreographers rotate staunchly around concepts of masculinity, identity, and political engagement. Text: Anna Chwialkowska

TANZTAGE BERLIN 2023 >>> In “Matria – Motherland” by Rocío Marano and “To be a fish in a Raki bottle” by Elvan Tekin at Sophiensæle, two choreographers negotiated geopolitical references in different ways. Text: Vera Knolle

TANZTAGE BERLIN 2023 >>> “Pariyestan: Tails of Sisters, 青蛇+白蛇: 緣起” by Parisa Madani invites the viewers into the world of dreams and fantasies. This “durational collective dream meditation” took place at Sophiensæle from 10 p.m. on 7 January to around 5 a.m. on 8 January 2023 in the frame of Tanztage Berlin.

TANZTAGE BERLIN 2023 >>> Marga Alfeirão and collaborators’ premiere “Lounge”, the second performance on opening night of Tanztage Berlin at Sophiensæle on 5 January 2023, blurs the lines between self and other in an erotic exploration of resting.

TANZTAGE BERLIN 2023 >>> In Xenia Koghilaki’s “Bang Bang Bodies”, the opening performance (5 & 6 January 2023) of Tanztage Berlin at Sophiensæle, a force builds slowly and insistently, pulling the audience into the performers’ orbit.

All reviews can be read here >>> From 5 to 21 January, the 32nd edition of the Tanztage Berlin, organised annually by the Sophiensæle, brings together 10 performances by upcoming Berlin-based artists, accompanied by knowledge-sharing formats. Authors and guest authors from the Tanzbüro Berlin’s online review portal tanzschreiber are reviewing the 10 pieces selected for […]

Parvathi Ramanathan writes a letter to a girl on the tram after watching “Her Noise” by the Company Christoph Winkler which premiered on 29 December 2022 at Radialsystem. 

In “AWAL / BEGINNING” created by choreographer Ruben Reniers and collaborators at the Rumah Budaya Indonesia Berlin, an explosion of performative pedagogy blends traditional and contemporary choreography in a phantasmagoric performance event taking place over three days from 16 to 18 December 2022.

TANZTAGE BERLIN 2023 >>> On 10 & 11 December 2022 at Flutgraben, “Bicho Raro”, a video and performance work by dancer and choreographer Danilo Andrés, examined the strange world of bodybuilding. Another version of the piece will be shown under the same title during the Tanztage Berlin festival in January 2023.

A certain ‘sliding doors’ approach to interpersonal relationships and the realities they create marks Sita Ostheimer Company’s premiere “The Inevitable and You”, playing at DOCK 11 from 8 to 11 December 2022.

Tomi Paasonen’s “Pas de Q”, which takes place from 1-4 December 2022 at Sophiensæle, is a radical performance of community that gives the impression that drag and classical ballet have always been meant for one other.

Actually… what is taxation? “Die Steuer-Erklärung” by hannsjana premiered on 22 November 2022 at Sophiensæle, and took a languid look at the absurdities of the tax system, with curious results.

Cia Vero Cendoya’s “Bogumer (or Children of Lunacharski)” was shown at HAU1 on 17 November 2022, as part of the NO LIMITS – Disability & Performing Arts Festival Berlin. It asks the question: once the boss has been fired (literally), who is left running the show?

“between,” the choreographic debut of Jules Petru Fricker (LEGZ) which ran from 11-13 November 2022 at DOCK 11, navigates with remarkable grace the spaces between artistic disciplines, queer performance practices, and narrations of the self—and births magical, touching moments in the process.

What happens when we peer into the violent void? Based on extensive artistic research, Min Yoon‘s “Dancing with Violence” shown at Hošek Contemporary on 12 November 2022 invites us to “evolve the perpetrator and victim archetypes” and glimpse at the atrocities around us.

“No Gambling” a performance by Simone Aughterlony and Julia Häusermann, was shown at HAU2 as part of the NO LIMITS – Disability and Performing Arts Festival Berlin (9-19 November 2022). Through an assemblage of moving installations, the performance explores ideas around hope, desire, and addiction.

In Sergiu Matis’ “UNREST”, shown from 02 – 05 November 2022 as part of the FEMINIST FUTURES FESTIVAL from Tanzfabrik Berlin, ancient myths resonate through a cavernous industrial space, and are taken up as a material to question both the nature and the future of humanity. 

A part of Ballhaus Naunynstraße’s PORTRAIT series, “Pepe Dayaw: a portrait performance”offers the performer’s unique set of skills and performance research as a means to dissect contemporary performative paraphernalia.

Ligia Lewis poses questions about destructing pre-existing plots and reconstructing new ones in “A Plot / A Scandal”, which premiered on 20 October 2022 at HAU Hebbel am Ufer.

Clébio Oliveira and Zula Lemes’ new solo “DARK RED,” playing 20-23 October 2022 at Acker Stadt Palast, exposes the many emotional shades of the post-pandemic body, shaped by loss.

Christina Ciupke and Darko Dragičević’s “Take me somewhere nice” offers a deep spatial contemplation of travel – transforming Uferstudio 5 into a dark portal, filled with conceptual water, for the 13 October 2022 premiere as part of Tanzfabrik Berlin’s Fold – New Works.