SPRUNGBRETT

SPRUNGBRETT (springboard) is a research and work residency not bound to production, granted to junior artists and graduates who primarily work in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) in the areas of dance, choreography, and performance. The organizers grant scholarships of two weeks each as part of the biennial festival, which takes place in nine cities across NRW. Scholarship holders are given the opportunity to immerse themselves in their current project; they receive organizational and dramaturgical support, as well as a grant and the chance to present their work-in-progress at several festival venues. It is for the sixth time now that the festival awards research scholarships for emerging artists from NRW.

Benze C. Werner, Elin Tezel, Vi Kovarbasic and Rambling Boy Harrers

How does closeness come about in a system based on physical distance and strict rules? Together with the dancers Elin Tezel, Vi Kovarbasic and the country musician Theocharis Bekas, also known as Rambling Boy Harrers, choreographer and performer Benze C. Werner dedicates his research project Lavender Cowboys to country line dance, posing the questions: How does it feel to be caught in a constant repetition – in a loop? How much freedom can exist in such repetition? And how much violence is inherent in the rigid structure disciplining the body? The focus of the residency is on dance, queer identity and storytelling.

Julia Nitschke, Jonas Leifert and Theresa Mielich

Julia Nitschke, a graduate of Ruhr-Universität Bochum in scenic research, examines the aesthetics of border transgressions. Together with Jonas Leifert, who is currently doing a university degree in “curating scenic arts” on a scholarship given by Kunststiftung NRW, and textile artist, costume designer and scenographer Theresa Mielich, she explores the ties between dance and ecology. The research project Goldene Grenzüberschreitungen (golden border transgressions) links the fascinating aesthetics of the burlesque with the alarming expansion of the golden algae that triggered an ecological catastrophe in the river Oder. A daring mixture of dance, ecological alert and artistic provocation, leading in perspective to a “documentary burlesque revue about the Oder environmental disaster” with surprisingly sensuous insights.