Early in 2004/2005, at the start of the dance season, the Freiburg stadttheater opened up a new dimension in the world of dance. Together with the city of Heidelberg the theatre founded the new Freiburg Heidelberg Dance Theatre - a hitherto uniquie example of cooperation in Germany.

The leading choreographer is Irina Pauls, born in Leipzig in 1961. She will be working with the top-class ensemble in turn with three other choreographs - Joachim Schloemer, the young Spaniard Manuel Quero and David Bolger from Ireland - and will be defining the aesthetic expression of the new company with her own personal mark.  The company will be focusing on contemporary themes, motion not as an end in itself but as the expression and function of a concept.  New doors are therefore opened and a powerful impetus sparked in the audience which continues to reverberate for some time after the performance.

Pivotal points for the nurture of independent dancers and dance theatre are the Centre for New Dance bewegungs-art freiburg (movement art) and the AAK im E-Werk. Together, biannually (again mid to end of October 2005), they present the International Festival of New Dance, an outstanding panorama of current international developments in contemporary dance and one of the absolute key events in the Freiburg Festival Calendar.

The free Freiburg ensembles and New Dance performers who regularly appear in the AAK in the E-Werk, - since 2004 also in the spring series of dance events entitled Freiburg tanzt (Freiburg dances) - include the "Trivial Dance Theatre" with the choreograph and dancer Angelika Aechter, Michael Langeneckerts "Rebound Prod", the duo project Hideto Heshiki (dance) and Harald Kimmig (violin) as well as Oliver Lange and the committed young dance improvisation formation "Arte Schoki".

Classical ballet, repertiore pieces such as Tschaikowsky's "Swan Lake" or "The Nutcracker's Suite" are increasingly found in the calendar of the Concert House (Konzerthaus Freiburg) during Advent.

There are also guest appearances by the large traditional ensembles, such as the St. Petersburg National Ballet.

The musical and choreographic variety of flamenco is presented each year in March / April at the Flamenco Festival in the Theatercafe of the city municpal theatre.

Those who have a passion for salsa and would like to combine it with a visit to Freiburg will have a number of opportunities: Mondays in Coconut Grove, Tuesday and Saturday in Copacabana, and Sundays in the Kagan Club lounge which, being located in the 18th floor of the railway tower, also provides a unique view of the whole city.

Fiestas also storm the main train station and the Konzerthaus.

Sundays from 16:00 to 18:30 the Jazzhaus invites all to a dance tea with Standardtanz (ballroom dancing), live music, coffee and cakes.

The numerous Freiburg Tango-Argentino dancers set the floorboards jumping in some very unusual spots.  They have a variety of meeting places, for instance :Milonga im Neuen Wiehrebahnhof" (on the first Friday of each month), the only tango train station in Germany; the "Tangoschule in der Fabrik" (every Saturday evening); and the Tap Dance Company Wallstrasse (Sundays). These events don't even include an additional four to six dates each summer at "Tango auf der Blauen Bruecke", planned at short notice and announced by telephone or internet communication.

If the Stuehlinger Herz-Jesu Church on the one hand and the Concert House on the other didn't make it clear that you were in Freiburg, you could easily get the feeling that you'd landed in Buenos Aires on a Summer evening!

Information and Contacts

Salsa Dates:

www.salsa-freiburg.de

www.vals.de
Tel: 0761/35146

Club Corazon
Tel: 0761/553340

Lagrimas y Sonrisas
Tel: 0761/5101889

Tango in der Fabrik
Tel: 0761/700080

Tango auf der blauen Bruecke
Tel: 0761/78279