Dance Techniques 2010

Foreword
9
dance scene (Freie Tanzszene), which started the Inter–University Center
for Dance (Hochschulübergreifendes Zentrum Tanz), Berlin’s University of
the Arts and Ernst Busch Academy for the Dramatic Arts established three
choreography–oriented study programs. Frankfurt University of Music and
Performing Arts created Germany’s first masters program for contemporary
dance teaching. The nearby University of Giessen created a master’s program
for choreography and performance. Colleges and universities offering dance
programs in Germany have taken up Tanzplan Deutschland’s invitation to
roundtable discussions, and now act jointly, as the Dance Educational Conference,
to further their interests. In 2012, students, teachers, and directors
will be able to attend what will be the Third Dance Education Biennale, presenting
the public with dance of the future.
What knowledge do contemporary dancers harbor? How do they teach
it? And where are their actions positioned within society and history? By
establishing the teaching practices of contemporary dance as new areas of
scholarly study, this book fills a gap. It presents the results of a multi-year
research project that has been developed in close cooperation with national
and international universities that have provision for dance.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank those people on location
who have helped make dance more visible in this part of the world over
the past five years. Thanks go to the team at Tanzplan Deutschland, who
coordinated this plan with vigor and farsightedness—especially Ingo Diehl,
who tirelessly and knowledgeably coordinated a variety of educational initiatives.
Through longstanding and close contact with the various universities,
he not only developed the vision for the research project and helped achieve
its results—which we have in front of us in this book—but he also ensured,
together with Dr. Friederike Lampert and a team of advisors, that the project
was realized despite numerous complex stages.
Where will our movements take us? Answering this question, dear readers,
is now up to you. I hope reading brings you much joy and inspiration.
Hortensia Völckers, Artistic Director of the German Federal Cultural Foundation, Halle, October 2010