Touring event Baden-Württemberg

Photos: © Valentin Henning

Tanz weit draußen tours BW – a touring project by the tanz weit draußen network in cooperation with TanzSzene Baden-Württemberg e.V.

2+2=4, Horace and Augenhöhe – pop-up productions as guests in Baden-Württemberg

In October 2023, the sixteen-strong dance team travelled over 300 km to present mobile dance pieces to children, young people and adults in rural regions of Baden-Württemberg and then invited them to dance themselves.

They travelled across the state in two tour buses – at a total of three stops in Rettigheim, Gaggenau and Ehingen (Donau), more than 150 people came into contact with contemporary dance in dance schools and school gyms.

With their piece ‘2+2=4’, the BLOMST! gUG team from Stuttgart showed their young audience with a wink what you can do with four arms and four legs. Renae Shadler & Collaborators presented their fantasy friend with their piece ‘Horace’ from Potsdam: a crocodile head that tells the autobiographical story of the choreographer from Australia in a child-friendly way. In the piece ‘Augenhöhe’ by Mecklenburg-Vorpommern tanzt an from Stralsund, two dancers meet – one of them stands on her legs, the other sits in a wheelchair. They humorously explore encounters at eye level. All the pieces were then discussed with the children and young people and seamlessly transitioned into a movement workshop.

Video review of the touring event in Baden-Württemberg (Video currently only available in German.)

In her welcoming address at the Gaggenau venue, State Secretary Sabine Kurtz from the Ministry for Rural Areas emphasised the importance of cultural offerings outside the big cities, which for her are a natural part of a ‘good, interesting and beautiful life’. The audience at the Dachgrub school centre was delighted with this special visit.

In Rettigheim, the ZeitTanzLand association welcomed dancers and the public to the premises of its own school for dance, performance and yoga, named Semilla. The association gave the dance team a warm welcome and organised a special workshop to get to know and network with the dance professionals.

In the Schmiechtalschule in Ehingen (Donau), all the larger rooms were made available to allow three performances to take place at the same time. The Südwest Presse reported on ‘the enrichment provided by the dance team, which emphasised dance education and was able to teach the pupils new things.’

The team’s tour began with the premiere of the INTER-ACTIONS Company at the EinTanzHaus in Mannheim and ended with a tour of the ROXY in Ulm, a socio-cultural centre that continuously promotes artistic dance with the TanzLabor Ulm platform. These institutions are members of TanzSzene Baden-Württemberg e. V., which, as an alliance partner of tanz weit draußen, is responsible for the realisation of this tour and offers the guest dance artists from the northern federal states of Baden-Württemberg a platform for artistic dance.