What styles and influences can be found in contemporary dance? Building on the 2022/23 season’s edition of Tanzformen, which focused on the German dance scene, this season HELLERAU is showing works by artists and companies who produce between their African countries of origin and Europe. These are among the most important dance protagonists on the contemporary international scene. The respective local and cultural contexts of the artistic works have an influence on their aesthetics and at the same time take up global themes. The choreographers combine tradition with modernity and search for new ways of communicating. They dedicate themselves to marginalized groups, creature structures of solidarity and question their roles and tasks as artists.
For the program selection, HELLERAU cooperates with the biennial Swiss festival Culturescapes, which for many years has promoted cross-border cultural dialogue, mutual learning between different cultures, and collaboration and networking. In 2023, the artistic program of Culturescapes deals with the Sahara region – with the shifting borders of the desert and the postcolonial borders of the North African countries as well as their possible futures considering the climate crisis.