SPOTLIGHT ON THE SCENE

The panel discussion is dedicated to the working realities of the contemporary dance scene in Lower Saxony and addresses the question of which artistic developments are or might be possible under which structural conditions/changes. The discussion follows two networking days with the title ‘Connecting the Dots’ in Braunschweig organised by TANZKOOP, in which various stakeholders from the scene had the opportunity to share their perspectives on and visions for the contemporary dance scene in Lower Saxony. The insights from this will be shared on the podium. A video trailer that brings together artistic works from the scene shines a spotlight on various artists.

The following link will take you to the Soundcloud profile of PLATEAU, a radio show about the independent dance, theatre and performance scene: Playlist PLATEAU

PLATEAU is hosted by dramaturge Heike Bröckerhoff and theatre maker and performer Juliana Oliveira. Some of the panellists from SPOTLIGHT ON THE SCENE can already be heard here.

Mónica García Vicente works as a choreographer for contemporary dance in Hanover. She performs her dance productions at the Pavillon, the Kesselhaus and the Eisfabrik, among others. After working as a dancer in Spain, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, France and Switzerland, Mónica García Vicente was a member of the Hanover State Opera from 2006 to 2017. She complements her choreographic concept with improvisation and workshops in her project "Connection Dance Center" (CDC). The CDC offers qualified training for ambitious amateur dancers and provides insights into the work of professional dancers and the path to becoming one.

Selina Glockner received her BA in Ballet and Contemporary Dance at the Rambert School in London and her MA in Cultural Education at the University of Hildesheim. Since 2015, she has been realising interdisciplinary dance productions as a choreographer and performer, which have been shown in theatres and at international festivals throughout Germany. She is committed to networking the areas of choreography, dramaturgy and production and works as an artistic production manager. Selina is part of the management team of the co-operative TANZKOOP, which is committed to the sustainable improvement of production structures in the independent dance scene.

Bettina Paletta is a freelance dancer, dance teacher and choreographer and studied stage dance at the Palucca University of Dance in Dresden. As a dancer, she has performed in dance productions in Germany, Japan and Macedonia and worked with choreographers such as Heidi Weiss, Jiří Bubeníček, Annabell Bonnéry, Dr Ronit Land and Mónica García Vicente. She has lived in Hanover since 2018 and works as a dancer and dance teacher together with multi-instrumentalist and accompanist Emre Kesim. In 2020, she and her colleagues founded Tanzpunkt Hannover, an association that campaigns for better working conditions and structures in the independent dance scene.

Fabian Cohn, born in Basel, is a freelance choreographer in the field of contemporary dance. He studied physical theatre and mime at the "Etage, Schule für die darstellenden Künste" in Berlin. Together with dance scholar and choreographer Dominika Cohn, he founded the "YET Company" in 2010. Since then, they have been realising interdisciplinary choreographic projects under this name, based in Braunschweig since 2015. In Lower Saxony, Fabian choreographed the two dance productions "umarmen" and "KREISEN" as well as the participatory work "Fadenspiele".

Tiago Manquinho works as a freelance choreographer with various theatres and institutions in Europe. Until 2017, he was the resident choreographer at the Staatstheater Braunschweig. With his many years of experience as an artistic director of intergenerational community dance projects, he focusses on respectful, emphatic forms of creative collaboration. Since 2014, he has been a lecturer for dance (contact improvisation) at the University of Bielefeld, part of the management team of TANZKOOP and a board member of LaFT (Landesverband Freier Theater) Niedersachsen.

Heike Bröckerhoff works as a dance dramaturge and performance artist in Germany and France. She studied Media and Cultural Studies in Düsseldorf, Philosophy in Nantes and Master Performance Studies in Hamburg. She has lived in Hanover since 2021. Here she recently initiated the performance series Sargasso Sea on artistic recycling processes inspired by an algae. In addition to her artistic work, she develops dialogue and exchange formats for artists and audiences, most recently the Tanzcafé in collaboration with Tanzpunkt Hannover. Together with Juliana Oliveira, she hosts the radio programme - PLATEAU about independent performing arts.