Dance

JOIN US
January 3 & 4, 2025

Are you interested in dance and curious about what studying at the Centre for Contemporary Dance (ZZT) at the University of Music and Dance Cologne looks like? Then JOIN US!

On January 3 and 4, we invite you to a two-day workshop program. Faculty, students, and alumni of the ZZT will provide exclusive insights into artistic training methods, practices, and working approaches—live in the studios of the ZZT in Cologne-Nippes. Create your own personalized training and workshop schedule from a variety of offerings and follow your individual interests. The formats also provide an opportunity to engage with faculty and students and exchange experiences.

JOIN US is aimed at dance enthusiasts aged 16 and older who are considering a degree in contemporary dance and want to learn more about the ZZT’s profile. Participation is free of charge. The program will be conducted in German and in English if needed.

Our formats:

• Tuning Ins (somatic practices)
• Training in contemporary dance techniques and ballet for contemporary dancers
• A variety of workshops
• An informative session with insights into the ZZT and the dance landscape in NRW

Download Full Program

Registration:
Please register by December 20 via the DFN platform.

After successful registration, you will receive a link to customize your individual workshop schedule. You will automatically be enrolled in sessions with only one offering (e.g., welcome session, info slot, joint checkout).
The number of participants is limited, and registrations will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis.
If you have any questions, please contact koordination-zzt@hfmt-koeln.de

JOIN US – we look forward to seeing you!

We are happy to share one of the key outcomes of the artistic research project "RELAY - Thinking Artistic Material in Music and Dance" with you: the RELAY ARTicle on Research Catalogue!

RELAY is a three year is a three-year artistic research project made possible by the ERASMUS+ program "Cooperation Partnerships". It focuses on artistic-pedagogical developments in the fields of choreography, dance, music and composition. You'll find more information about the project here.

The RELAY ARTicle shares artistic practices, pedagogical activities, documents and documentations of the process, writings, scores, methods, practical tools as well as  recollections by and about the practitioners involved in the project.

Throughout the project, we developed insights, practices, and tools around five key topics: relaying, multitude of perspectives, transformational practices, sustainability and  learning. Our findings and reflections on the principles and methods of RELAY can be explored on the page. The non-linear structure invites you to explore the material in various ways and discover multi-dimensional connections.

The ToolCloud provides access to tools, scores, and practices and invites you to use and adapt them in your own work.

Dive right in and explore!

New Publication "Virtual Ecologies - Digitalitäten und Ökologien im Feld des Tanzes"

We are excited to announce the release of the new publication „Virtual Ecologies – Digitalitäten und Ökologien im Feld des Tanzes“! 
New technologies and digital formats are significantly transforming the practice of dance. How are dancers, dance scholars, and activists around the world responding to these new challenges? How can we understand ourselves as interconnected under these planetary conditions and collaboratively generate knowledge? Edited by Yvonne Hardt, Marisa Berg, Anna Chwialkowska, and Ulrike Nestler, this publication explores phenomena such as mixed reality, artificial intelligence, and dance trends on social media, situating them within more-than-human ecologies.
The book gathers current contributions from the international conference of the same name held last fall at ZZT. It is now available from transcript Verlag.

From conference to yearbook – we’d love to celebrate with you! The book launch will take place on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, at 2 pm in the ZZT building (4th floor). You are warmly invited to join us and raise a glass in celebration!
 

New Publication "Szenarien des Übergangs"

We warmly congratulate Miriam Althammer on the publication of her dissertation, "Szenarien des Übergangs. Zeitgenössischer Tanz in Südosteuropa zwischen Institution und künstlerischer Praxis", which she completed at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln. In this work, she addresses a topic that has received little attention in dance studies so far: the impact of the Eastern expansion of Europe on contemporary dance. Using the example of East/West exchange at Tanzquartier Vienna, she explores artistic-institutional practices of Southeast European dancer-choreographers through oral histories. Her focus is on the modes of transmitting embodied knowledge within the interview situation as a performative act, as well as on expanding the concept of the archive within the framework of a critical culture of remembrance.

The book has been published in the Scenae series by Verlag Rombach Wissenschaft / Nomos.

Paulina Brunner, Friederike Reif, and Renato Sbardelotto receive the Deutschlandstipendium

We warmly congratulate Paulina Brunner from the BA Dance program, Friederike Reif from the MA Dance Studies program, and Renato Sbardelotto from the MA Mediation in Dance program on being awarded the Deutschlandstipendium!
The scholarship for Friederike Reif is sponsored by the Cologne Lyceum Club, an organization dedicated to promoting artistic and cultural exchange among women. It supports her theoretical-practical research on breaking down rigid gender roles in partner dance as "dancing in twos."

Would you like to support the next generation of dancers, dance educators, and dance scholars? Become a supporter of the Deutschlandstipendium!
The Deutschlandstipendium is funded equally by private and public contributions. The private contribution of €150 per month for one year of student support is doubled by the state, allowing for a scholarship of €300 to be granted. The private portion can also be shared by multiple contributors.
For more information, click here or feel free to contact us at deutschlandstipendium@hfmt-koeln.de.
 

unfolded no. 13

With choreographies by Sigué Sayouba & Wencke Kriemer de Matos

The thirteenth edition of ‘unfolded’ presents two choreographic works by Sigué Sayouba and Wencke Kriemer de Matos, each of which was created in collaboration with students from the BA Dance program at the HfMT.

In ‘Habitat’ by Wencke Kriemer de Matos, the stage becomes a unique living space, a place of possibilities where individual stories merge into a common web - a living habitat. The performers enter into a dialogue with themselves and with each other, posing fundamental questions about existence: Are we really where we want to be? Do we have enough space to find our answers?

In ‘UNEXPECTED’, Sigué Sayouba and the dancers challenge the body beyond the individual and their thoughts, but above all beyond the group. The piece evokes moments, experiences and occurrences that surprise, unsettle and amaze and invites us to overcome physical limits, abilities and uncertainties. In this space, anything can happen, beyond doubt, beyond the ephemeral, beyond the body...

Close collaboration with the professional field is an important part of the BA Dance curriculum. As part of the performance projects, students engage with the working methods of renowned contemporary choreographers, develop a choreographic work together and present it to the public.

Performance dates:

04.10. & 05.10.2024, 8.00 pm

Studiotheater ZZT, Turmstrasse 3-5, Cologne Nippes

Free admission

Registration via https://terminplaner6.dfn.de/b/2c085e6d8b74aa54fd0191b72a477f2b-853543

Dance Studies Research Fellowship awarded to Anne-Sophie Reichert

Once more, we are happy to announce that the university's Equal Opportunities Commission in collaboration with the German Dance Archiv has awarded the research scholarship for dance studies! We congratulate Anne-Sophie Reichert, who will be our guest at the ZZT from October. The cultural anthropologist researches somatic and affective forms of knowledge, embodied learning, habits and skills and has studied political science, political theory and anthropology in Berlin, Chicago, Davis and Berkeley and completed her doctorate at the University of Chicago on movement and perception techniques in contemporary dance.

During her stay at the ZZT and the German Dance Archive Cologne, she is researching how dancers in the 20th century have dedicated themselves to the non-human. She asks: How have dancers approached animals, plants and the elements physically not in a mimetically sense but sensually and in movement and examines what interest feminist positions in particular have in the non-human and in relation to changing understandings of nature. We are looking forward to her discussing her work with students as part of the Forschungskolleg Tanzwissenschaft and a workshop with students.

Future Move Dance - Career Perspectives for Young Dance Professionals

We are excited to be part of the mentoring program "Future Move - Career Perspectives for Young Dance Professionals," starting on September 13th!

The program is aimed at individuals from marginalized communities and dance contexts. We are particularly excited to welcome applications from BIPoC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), FLINTA* (Women, Lesbians, Trans, Intersex, Non-binary, and Agender individuals), and people with disabilities.

Participants will meet dance artists and professionals working in the dance field in Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia. Through workshops, they will learn more about different career paths and working methods. They will visit various art and cultural venues, gaining insights into the theater field and various dance-related professions, such as choreographer, producer, dance educator, or theater director.

As part of the project, participants will receive guidance on training opportunities and educational funding. They will also get to know different educational institutions, such as vocational schools and universities, through visits and interactions with students. With the support of professional coaches, the participants will develop their own dance piece, which will be presented at Theater Aufbau Kreuzberg in a private event.

More information and announcement

Three new reviews online

Three premieres were reviewed for "Bewegungsmelder": Sometimes I see The Future by Choy Ka Fai, reviewed by Frederike Bohr, More Than by Shahar Binyamini and fem:me by Kollektiv Diphthong, reviewed by Lynn Kuhfuß.

Bewegungsmelder is a project by nrw landesbuero tanz, tanznetz.de and the Master of Dance Studies at the Center for Contemporary Dance at the Cologne University of Music and Dance to open up national cultural reporting on the independent dance scene in NRW to the next generation - and to give dance in NRW more publicity.

The CROSSOVER scholarship is a funding project of KunstSalon e.V., made possible by the KunstSalon Foundation. It has been providing financial and structural support to ZZT graduates every year since 2017.
Isabel Carvalho was selected for funding in 2024. Andreas Schmitz, Chairman of the Board of the KunstSalon Foundation, Silvia Ehnis Perez Duarte, Artistic Director & Curator of TANZRESIDENZ in the Quartier am Hafen and Vera Sander, Head of the BA Dance program at the HfMT, were involved in the decision-making process. The scholarship includes financial support of €1,500 as well as 12 months of guidance, advice and support with communication strategies, work processes and the development of a professional network.
Congratulations, Isabel!