Hey, why do you look so tired? “Urgency culture” expects us to be connected and responsive constantly. There is little to no time left to imagine the world otherwise. Tanztage Berlin – a yearly festival highlighting the work of the city’s emerging dance makers – is back to diagnose the present and predict the future. Its 32nd edition investigates our daily overstimulation and chronic fatigue by reflecting on how we move to the rhythm of today’s high-speed, social media-driven reality and its challenges.
Instead of being stuck inside the old stories of progress and growth that depend on extracting profit from the earth and the body, the work presented in the festival aims to flip the script. It dances to slow down, restore, reclaim, transform or envision a new self, outside the paradigm of self-optimization. From collective dream meditations through protest dances to solo musicals dealing with content overload, it invites us to observe the exchange between bodies, replenish depleted resources and rejuvenate through dancing.
The program presents ten performances accompanied by knowledge-sharing formats: Backbone Berlin will introduce their favourite practices from the 2022 sessions around questions of ethics, governance, and resources. The choreographer and psychologist, Luisa Saraiva, will facilitate a mental health workshop for the dance community. AG Work Culture will invite you to develop further their digital publication on better work culture in a collective discussion and writing session.
