Dance

"Passing Through"
as part of the HfMT Anniversary Week with dancers and musicians from the Center for Contemporary Dance at the HfMT Cologne

Friday June 27th, 2025, 4 pm
Marktebene Main Building, Unter Krahnenbäumen 87, Cologne 

In the making of movement compositions, David Zambrano focuses on creating and developing the dynamics for complex systems to present leadership in the form of a group web. In science, cells do not need a protein leader to create life. Neither does the brain need one protein leader to create a thought. With this in mind, Zambrano thinks that movement needs no leader in creation.

In Passing Through, the performers create a flexible, complex dynamic that tightly connects the group while always leaving room for the unexpected. The group is in constant motion, continuously transforming the dance. Through leading and being led, the performers use their bodies to exchange roles in an ongoing flow of movement.

The piece invites the audience to experience space as a network of pathways—visible and invisible routes that run through walls, floors, and even through bodies. These paths twist and spiral, sometimes large and clear, sometimes subtle and unseen. The group moves through this web of trajectories, intertwining their bodies and remaining attuned to their surroundings. There is no single guiding principle in this process; everyone follows. When the group becomes one, it cannot lose its way.

With dancers and musicians from HfMT
Movement composition created by David Zambrano
Artistic direction: Narendra Patil
Narendra Patil studied "Passing Through" with David Zambrano for over 17 years and continues to be actively involved in his work.

Free admission.

Final Projects 2025
July 9 - 18, 2025
CCD-Studiotheater, Turmstraße 3-5 Cologne

It’s that time of year again: In July, Indumati Das, Selen Güler, Kora Hamm, Juri Jaworsky, Sergio Monferrer Vázquez, Lili Eva Irmeli Oksanen, Kevin Claudio Ponge Kassoma, Viktória Veselovská, and Elodie Zermatten from the BA Dance program will present their final projects.
This year, students completing the MA Mediation in Dance program - Cesar Jose Gutierrez Salas, Francesca Merolla, Romi Okewu, Filu Sampé, Stella Schirra, Julika Schlegel, and Ada Sophie Sternberg - will also be presenting their work, some of which is open to the public.

The presentations will take place from July 9 to 18 at the CCD Studio Theater and can be attended by prior registration.

Schedule:

Wednesday, July 9, 2025
4:00 p.m. Indumati Das – Two birds on a planet for one
7:00 p.m. Kora Hamm – Gorgona

Thursday, July 10, 2025
4:00 p.m. Juri Jaworsky – This Is My Heartbeat Song
7:00 p.m. Sergio Monferrer Vázquez – 504 km to Tower of Love

Friday, July 11, 2025
4:00 p.m. Lili Eva Irmeli Oksanen – Standby flawless (morgen wieder hitzefrei)
7:00 p.m. Kevin Claudio Ponge Kassoma – 99 Degrees Fever Dreams

Saturday, July 12, 2025
2:00 p.m. Selen Güler – majistra

Monday, July 14, 2025
4:00 p.m. Viktória Veselovská – So, I find myself in a catholic church in rural West Virginia, being the only girl in weird looking horse shoes (Fuck, Marry, Kill)
7:00 p.m. Elodie Zermatten – Morphogenesis

Tuesday, July 15, 2025
7:00 p.m. Stella Schirra – PULS

Wednesday, July 16, 2025
4:00 p.m. Ada Sophie Sternberg – BABY CAN’T YOU SEE I’M CALLING – Mediation Spaces at the Intersection of Voice and Dance
7:00 p.m. Filu Sampé – Try a little tenderness – remembering futures of Community Care

Thursday, July 17, 2025
7:00 p.m. Cesar Jose Gutierrez Salas – Re:Rooted.exe – Rebooting Identity

Friday, July 18, 2025
2:00 p.m. Julika Schlegel – BRAVERS – Action Research on Courage


Register here

Dance Studies Panel at the IFTR Conference 2025

As part of this year's IFTR Conference on the theme "Performing Carnival" in Cologne, Dance Studies will be represented with a dedicated panel. Under the title "(Counter-)Narratives of Dance and Carnival in the German Context", Yvonne Hardt, Sevi Bayraktar, and Johanna Hörmann will discuss how carnival, the carnivalesque, and embodied movement practices can be reimagined from a dance studies perspective.

Using case studies from various historical and contemporary contexts, the panel explores the epistemic and methodological challenges that arise when analyzing carnival at the intersection of dance, politics, and cultural representation.
The panel is part of a broader interdisciplinary exchange within international theatre and performance research and once again highlights how dance studies perspectives can challenge and expand societal narratives.

Dance Studies Research Fellowship 2025 awarded to Sinjini Chatterjee and Einav Katan-Schmid

We are delighted to announce that the Gender Equality Commission of the HfMT and the Centre for Contemporary Dance (CCD), in collaboration with the German Dance Archive Cologne, have awarded not just one but two research fellowships this year, each worth €3,000. This first-time double award reflects our strong commitment to fostering a particularly diverse research landscape and acknowledges the outstanding quality of the submitted projects.
The Dance Studies Research Fellowship supports research-based, interdisciplinary projects that work with holdings from the German Dance Archive Cologne. The aim is to connect historical sources with current questions and to promote research approaches that engage with diversity, gender perspectives, body politics, and cultural memory through movement.
The funding program is initiated and supported by the Gender Equality Commission. It provides visibility for diverse research perspectives and strengthens sustainable collaboration with the Dance Archive Cologne.

This year’s fellows are Sinjini Chatterjee and Einav Katan-Schmid:
Sinjini Chatterjee investigates the role of classical Indian dancers in German-Indian cultural diplomacy during the Cold War, focusing on emerging notions of femininity, nationality, and cultural identity in transnational exchange.
Einav Katan-Schmid explores the political and transformative power of touch in dance. Her project Touching Gestures of Relational Care links contemporary Israeli choreographies with archival research on gestures of resistance and care in 20th-century dance.

Both fellows will share and discuss their practice-related research within the Dance Studies Research Fellowship program at CCD - through events involving students, the German Dance Archive, and various publics. In addition to deepening content-related inquiries, the fellowships are also intended to foster exchange between theory and practice.

The selection of the projects was based on their academic quality and relevance—with an awareness of the complex contexts in which research and researchers operate today.

New Publication: Johanna Hörmann „Der Satyr in Theater und Tanz“

We are pleased to announce the publication of Johanna Hörmann’s doctoral dissertation. Johanna is currently based at the Centre for Contemporary Dance at HfMT Cologne and completed her PhD at the University of Salzburg.
Her book „Der Satyr in Theater und Tanz – Historische Kontexte und Aktualisierung einer marginalisierten Figur“ (The Satyr in Theatre and Dance – Historical Contexts and the Reimagining of a Marginalized Figure) explores a nearly forgotten archetype in European dance and theatre history: the Greek satyr. Johanna traces the various forms and meanings of the satyr across different historical periods and disciplines – from antiquity to the present day.
Through an interdisciplinary approach, she opens up new perspectives on ancient Greek theatre while making the figure relevant for contemporary discourse: whether in pop culture, debates on body politics, or questions of gender theory – the satyr is reactivated as a critical and complex figure of the performing arts.
This book offers compelling insights and valuable impulses for anyone engaged with theatre, dance, mythology, and performative practices.

TQW Paper Launch: "A is for Assembling: Body & Performance Practices & Theory"

Tanzquartier Wien has released a new publication in the form of a glossary, bringing together a rich repertoire of perspectives on bodily, performative, theoretical, and discursive practices. Among the contributors is Professor Sevi Bayraktar, who authored the entry on "choreography."

More information & Download

Full list of authors:
Adi Liraz * Alexandra Baybutt * Ana Vujanović * Arjuna Neuman * Avery Gordon * Ayesha Hameed * Ben Spatz * Bettina Enzenhofer & Brigitte Theissl * Biljana Tanurovska * Crip Magazine * David Bloom * Eike Wittrock * Elizabeth Povinelli * Felicia McCarren * Fikri Anıl Altıntaş * Gerko Egert * Graham St John * Guy Cools * Helen Hester * Hil Malatino * Igor Koruga * Imani Kai Johnson * Imayna Caceres * Jette Büchsenschütz * Julia Grillmayr * Juliana Gleeson * Julischka Stengele * Karin Cheng * Kinga Szemessy * Laura Anderson Barbata * Livia Kojo Alour * Maaike Bleeker * Margarete Jahrmann * Maria Vlachou * Mariella Greil *  Mariem Guellouz * Marijana Cvetković * Matthew T. Huber * McKenzie Wark * Miriam Schickler * Mitchell Travis * Myassa Kraitt * Nanako Nakajima 中島那奈子 *  Nikita Dhawan * Noit Banai  * Olia Sosnovskaya * Pauline L. Boulba * Performatorium * Qalqalah قلقلة * Raisa Kabir * Ralo Mayer * Rebecca Schneider * Rok Vevar * Rosemarie Brucher * Sandra Chatterjee * Sevi Bayraktar * Steriani Tsintziloni * Susana Ojeda * Thomas Trabitsch * Tomislav Medak * t::here

Looking Back: "What's the Big Deal About Access?"

From April 14–17, the public theme week at ZZT was dedicated to exploring what "access" and "accessibility" mean in the context of dance. Under the title "What’s the Big Deal About Access?", we examined structural barriers, ableist logics, and the potential for more inclusive forms of learning, teaching, and performing—together with students and international guests.

The starting point was the ongoing discussion within our department on how professional dance education can be made more accessible to diverse bodies and perspectives—and what institutional challenges this entails. Thanks to funding from the "Inclusive University" program, we were able to expand on these reflections in a multi-day public format.

Our heartfelt thanks go out to everyone who shaped this week—with tune-ins, workshops, lecture performances, discussions, artistic interventions, and the creation of collective resting areas. You filled the space with experiences, perspectives, and questions. Special thanks to our guests Marc Brew, Tanja Erhart, Raina Hofer, Luke Pell, Mathias Posch, Juli Reinartz, and Steven Solbrig, as well as to all participating ZZT members: Philip Esch, Aaron Findus Fischer, Vanessa Melde, Mona Nellessen, Elisabeth Pieper, Friedrike Reif, Sebastian Ritter Choquehuanca, Filu Sampé, Kathrin Schilbach, Stella Schirra, and Charlotte Spahn.

Last but not least, we thank the many visitors from outside the university - your response and interest show us how urgent and pressing these questions are.

At ZZT, we continue to work on concrete steps to broaden access and create new spaces of possibility through the Diversity Working Group - a collective of students and faculty. We’ll keep you posted.

Time for gossip history! Modern Dance and Its Queer Archaeologies

In April, Claire Lefèvre - performer, choreographer, and writer - visited ZZT as part of the seminar Embodied Archives. Together with the students, she explored the linearity of dance history from both a theoretical and practical perspective, challenging it through queer and decolonial lenses.
Loïe Fuller was a lesbian- an aspect of her biography that is rarely foregrounded. Claire Lefèvre brought materials related to the development of her solo LOIE (is a fire that cannot be extinguished). Together, the students read and discussed texts on the queer and colonial history of modern dance. Through somatic practices, they explored their own bodies as archives—carriers of the legacy of modern dance.
In the end, the students created poetry collages from their thoughts and the texts - what a beautiful way to bring the legacy of modern dance into the present!

Carlotta Ortinger

Following a successful launch last year, the second season of the Bewegungsmelder project is now underway. A collaboration between the nrw landesbuero tanz and the online dance journalism platform tanznetz, the project invites MA Dance Studies students to attend dance premieres across North Rhine-Westphalia and explore their individual approaches to critical and journalistic writing.
We’re excited to welcome four new contributors to Bewegungsmelder: Charlotte Spahn, Mareike Lyssy, Nico Hartwig, and Vanessa Melde.
You can find their texts (in German) via the link here, in the newsletter from the landesbuero, and of course on tanznetz.de.


Elbers/Zhukov: „Democratic Playground – Exploring the room“
Wenn alle gleichzeitig reden, wem hören wir zu? Jugendliche erkunden auf dem Spielplatz Bühne Sichtweisen auf demokratische Prozesse. By Charlotte Spahn

Aalto Ballett Essen & Jean-Christophe Maillot: „Cinderella“
Darf man noch Handlungsballett? Maillot dekonstruiert das Märchen – und klebt dann Glitzer auf die alten Stereotypen. By Nico Hartwig

Theater Krefeld und Mönchengladbach & Robert North: „Überraschung“
Kurz.Geschichten. Das Ende einer langjährigen Zusammenarbeit wird zur Einladung zu gemeinsamem Erinnern, für Ballettdirektor und Publikum. By Mareike Lyssy

Aalto Ballett Essen & Saar Magal: „Sakrileg“
Den Mythos entblößt. Satire trifft auf Katharsis. Dabei wird auch noch die Gewaltbereitschaft der Gesellschaft hinterfragt. Ein ganz schöner Brocken. By Vanessa Melde

Sanfte Arbeit/Elsa Artmann: „Langes Wochenende“
Kollegiale Zärtlichkeit der freelance lover. Ein Blick auf künstlerische Selbstständigkeit mit dem Gedanken kollegialer Zärtlichkeit und das Versprechen auf Schönheit und Selbstverwirklichung. Belastbarkeit und Versagen? Ein Abend der Verhandlung zerfließender Grenzen zwischen beruflichen und persönlichen Beziehungen. By Swantje Kawecki

Lucia Oiro & Reinaldo Ribeiro: „ON MY WAY HOME“
Geschichte(n) umschichten. Die Ziegelsteine werden zu handgreiflichen Metaphern für ein System, das sich als nicht so stabil und unverrückbar erweist, wie es scheint – wenn alle zusammenarbeiten. By Charlotte Spahn

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.