After two years of a compromised festival due to pandemic restrictions, this Tanz im August 2022 festival edition finally brings all the international dance artists back to Berlin to celebrate the art of contemporary dance. We made a list of the pieces we really look forward to watching.
photos: Julieta Segura.
No matter how happy or miserable, wealthy or poor, we all came from the same place – the vulva. Performer Dani Brown states in her newest Performance “The Pressing” at Radialsystem this weekend the question how our world would be if the female sexual and reproductive organ would be on center stage.
photo: Das Techno Team.
Are you looking to spice up your workout routine with some techno-inspired exercises? Or maybe you need to refresh your dance moves before a triumphant return to the club? In either case, the videos of the Berlin-based Das Techno Team are sure to make you chuckle!
Das Techno Team, the self-described “Techno Fitness made in Berlin”, posts videos combining ravers dancing to awesome electronic beats with a humorous, yet surprisingly accurate description of their moves. With this simple yet ingenious concept, the online sensation is already taking Tiktok and Instagram by storm. Read on…
Photography by Rita Couto ©, Berlin 2021
Finally, Berlin is getting its open-air dance floors back this weekend. Yet there was one particular dance movement that brought people together with electronic music even during the lockdown. If you haven’t heard about it yet, it’s really time you find out about Dose of Pleasure, because once you tried it you will be addicted to it. I promise.
Basically, Dose of Pleasure is a collective dance meditation that starts usually quite softly, gets energetic with time, and lets you groove to electronic music in a completely different way than you would do in a “normal” night out in a club. The method behind the movement of Dose of Pleasure was created in March 2020, when the first lockdown hit Berlin and the world. Based on his experience with the Berlin night live, the dance teacher Alvin Collantes created a way to move with yourself and get deep into the groove.
Last summer, the movement had regular raves happening in different locations all over town. This Saturday 19th there will be the first public dance demonstration again happening at Tempelhofer Feld. You can find more about the event and the schedule over here.
photos: Arata Mori.
There are so many wonderful creatives making art in Berlin, and it’s always a joy to see two of our favorites collaborating. This week, two of them, artist Chiharu Shiota and the dance company Sasha Waltz and Guests, are collaborating in an online event that you definitely don’t want to miss. A stunning installation and a dance performance will be fused together at the iconic König Galerie and you can join in online.
As a 27-year-old night owl in Berlin, who once devoted himself so dearly to the nightlife and party scene, sometimes I question myself how I ended up spending my Friday night taking an online quiz to find out which döner sauce I am. Now I’m sure most of you can already relate. Corona forced our boundaries of mundane activities to a whole new level. You won’t be surprised to find out you’re not the only one watching an old show on TV and find yourself wondering how the actors are so close to each other without wearing a mask. While we are adapting to the new normal, artists and performers are working hard to bring us the best on digital platforms to keep us connected to the world and we can’t thank them enough. You will be extra happy if you love immersive experiences, dance, theater, opera, digital art, and drag shows! Here is a list of online events you can book right now!
Do you miss experiencing and cheering at a proper Voguing Ball as much as I do? There have been many cancellations in the Berlin ballroom scene, but the Charity Voguing Ball of Superheroes does it differently! The ball is hosted by David from the Kiki House of Angels and European Father of the House of Milan and will be brought to you guys as a shared experience with drinks and snacks to enjoy together with fellow ballroom fans as a Livestream screened at Neuzeit Ost followed by a secret queer movie screening.
You’ve never been to a voguing ball? Then this is the perfect event to get to know the heart of it. Our author Valerie explains the Voguing scene in more detail here. To get a visual taster you should check out our colorful animated photo sets from last year’s Pride Ball and Ocean Ball that should give you an impression of what a Voguing Ball feels like. If you want to understand more about the different categories, have a look at our Ballroom Guide.
Summer is slowly awakening Berlin from the long winter sleep and many people miss the long nights out with their friends in their favorite clubs. While many clubs are now proposing outdoor beer garden concepts, this might not be the perfect solution for the passionate raver and dancer among us.
It’s not a surprise that the amount of illegal raves at Hasenheide and in the forests surrounding the city has increased dramatically over the last weeks. Many might not feel comfortable with the idea of throwing themselves into a big crowd of strangers. Others can’t suppress their desire anymore for a night out with music and dancing. It feels a bit twisted that something so natural like dancing together has to be postponed to an unknown future. Yet the Pandemic is not over and the international development of numbers shows that the world is still in a fragile state.
photo: Jubal Battisti.
At the end of August, the operas and theaters of Berlin will be able to reopen again after the lockdown. We are really happy about this but it’s not going to be the same with a lot of restrictions on stage and behind the scenes, as well as way fewer seats in the audience room. A lot of the new productions we were looking forward to were scrapped because they either didn’t comply with distance rules or could simply not be rehearsed due to the restrictions.
For a few months now the dancers of Staatsballett Berlin were not able to perform nor practice together. In an earlier stage of the lockdown, we already shared a really wonderful video initiated and edited by Principal Dancer Ksenia Ovsyanick that showed the dancers performing in their homes and gardens during self-isolation. Now, a few months later, the dancers were able to leave their houses and practice again, but still not together like they were used to. Following the big success of the first video, they now released two more videos that we want to share with you here.
photo: Sasha Waltz & Guests.
It’s been just two weeks since we showed you the cute video of the Staatsballett Berlin dancing from their home. You guys really loved this video, so we thought we could give you a bit of an encore today. In the past couple of weeks, the ballet dancers were not the only once who kept dancing while all shows are canceled and theaters closed. In fact, a lot of contemporary dancers also used the offtime to record some small performances and improvisations.
It’s been quite the adjustment for all of us to suddenly experience things only through our computer stream. It feels like a restriction at first, but as with any new circumstance, people will get used to it and adapt and find new ways to express themselves. Especially for those of us who are used to working in teams, such as dancers who perform with an ensemble, suddenly finding themselves without their teammates might be a challenge. But again, a new experience doesn’t have to be a bad one.