Dance Gala

»Dancing to Connect«

This dance gala was the festive finish of the transatlantic dance project “Dancing to Connect”. 100 students from public schools in Duisburg and Essen performed their dances commemorating the 20th anniversary of the “Fall of the Berlin Wall”. In the course of five-day-workshops, the students had created their own choreographies, advised by ten dancers of the New York dance companies Drastic Action and Battery Dance Company.

The final performance was presented at the renowned Lichtburg-Movie Theater in Essen. The students’ pieces were followed by performances of the professional dancers' performances. The Lichtburg-Theater was sold out and the audience applauded the students and the dancers for their outstanding choreographies and performances. US-Consul General Janice Weiner and the City Major of Essen Norbert Kleine-Möllhoff had opened the gala with welcome addresses and acknowledged the hard work of the students. Janice Weiner received an extra round of excited applause when she addressed the audience in Turkish.

Participating schools were:

•  Hauptschule am Stoppenberg, Essen

•  Frida-Levy-Gesamtschule, Essen

•  Sophie-Scholl-Berufskolleg, Duisburg

•  Alfred-Thyssen-Realschule, Duisburg

•  Hauptschule Bronkhorststraße, Duisburg

 

 

 

Battery Dance Company performs all over the world–from the USA to Asia. Also in New York City, the dancers regularly engage in student projects.

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» Interview with Jonathan Hollander, Artistic Director of Battery Dance Company and initiator of the Dancing to Connect-project (download).

Photo Credits: Wolfgang Probst, Essen

With kind support of