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.
We’ve compiled a little selection of dance videos recorded by various members of different dance ensembles from Berlin during the isolation period. We hope they can give you a new perspective on the dance scene of Berlin. Enjoy!
Sasha Waltz & Guests
Berlin’s most famous contemporary dance company Sasha Waltz & Guests would have had a retrospective at Volksbühne right now with some of their iconic pieces. Sadly, this has all been canceled. Also, a piece from one of their guest choreographers, Andrew Schneider, was supposed to have a run of a few shows back in March, but only the premiere happened on the last day before all theaters had to close. But the company is far from inactive. To stay connected with their fans they started the series Tanztagebuch (dance diary) where they show fragments of their previous shows performed by ensemble members in their homes. Here are a few of our favorites. More will be released on their YouTube channel.
Phoenix Chase-Meares
Choreographer and dancer Phoenix Chase-Meares was the break-out performer from the amazing Catalogue of Disguise show at TRAUMA BAR UND KINO last summer. See our review and impressions from it here. There was a new show planned for the beginning of April that we were really looking forward to. Well, let’s not talk about why this ended up not happening… Anyway, since we first saw him during this show, we’ve had our eyes fixed on what he’s up to. And to our delight, he has kept busy during the lockdown recording a series of beautiful solo performances in isolation of himself, Camille Japson and Gabriel Lawton. Here are two of them. To see all three you need to head over to his Instagram and watch his IGTV videos.
Annalise Van Even
With “Beware of Touch” dancer Annalise Van Even is giving us an improvisation dealing with the current danger of the physical touch. Annalise is an ensemble member of the KDV Dance Ensemble that delivered a stunning premiere earlier this year at the magnificent Funkhaus. You can see impressions and our review of it here. We’re already looking forward to seeing more of Annalise and the KDV Dance Ensemble!
