Guiding principles
HELLERAU – European Centre for the Arts is one of the most important international centres of contemporary art in Germany and Europe.
HELLERAU acts as an interdisciplinary co-production and guest performance house and offers contemporary arts dance, music, theatre, performance, media art and visual arts spaces for production and presentation.
HELLERAU initiates and promotes debates on art and society with thematic focuses, festivals and audience formats.
HELLERAU cooperates with other cultural partners regionally, nationally and internationally and is involved in numerous networks.
HELLERAU is a stage of the state capital Dresden and a member of The Alliance of International Production Houses. From the 2018/19 season onwards, the artistic director Carena Schlewitt shapes the fortunes of the house and, together with the HELLERAU team, sets the program with many artists about 250 events per season.
History
Hellerau Festival Theatre, built in 1911 as a school of Rhythmics, is today the location of HELLERAU – European Centre for the Arts, Dresden. Following an eventful history – in the 1930s it served as a military camp; later the Soviet army used it as its barracks between 1945 and 1991. In the 1990s, the people of Hellerau and Dresden reclaimed the grounds of the Festival Theatre with art projects and forms of cultural occupation, turning it into a place for the cultural Modern Age.
HELLERAU has since become one of the most important interdisciplinary centres for contemporary arts in Germany. It is home to contemporary dance, musical theatre, contemporary classical music, theatre, performance art, the fine arts and new media, as well as a place for reflection on art and culture. Since April 2009 performances have again been held at the Festival Theatre all year round.
Building and facilities
HELLERAU has multiple stages, and provides also residencies for artists on location (accommodation facilities). For more details, please look at HELLERAU's website.
EDN member HELLERAU opens a special call for artists who like to investigate the relationships between nature, environment and art in their work.
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The GERMAN DANCE PLATFORM sees itself as a forum to present recent developments and innovative currents in German contemporary dance. It offers an overview and a presentation platform for the most remarkable positions of present- day creation in the fields of domestic dance and choreographic performance.
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While many EDN members are still closed for public, activities continue to take place remotely - both for artists and audiences! We bring to you plenty of shows, trainings, celebrations, reflections. Take your peak!
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Hellerau - European Center for the Arts (Dresden, Germany) organised an international forum to discuss the development in contemporary dance globally. Annette van Zwoll reports on the event.
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During the festival “Projeto Brasil”, HELLERAU hosted an Atelier which focused on new models of artistic work in the frame of community work an today’s shared economy values. Presentations and discussions from Germany, Chile, Colombia and Brazil presented different models of transnational co-productions and networks.
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The producer of Mercat de les Flors Barcelons spent one week at Hellerau Dresden. Find out about her experience in this short report.
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Modul-dance was a multi-annual cooperation project with the participation of 20 European dance houses from 16 countries. Its main aim was to support development, mobility and exchange for dance artists.
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From 2012 to 2014, Tanzhaus NRW led a project aiming to initiate long-term cooperative relationships between several dance centres in Africa (Mozambique, Mali, Tunisia, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa) and a number of key dance venues in Germany.
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From November 28th till December 1st an EDN Encounter took place in Montreal, Canada bringing together EDN members with their peers from the CanDance Network. The Rencontres in Montreal at L’Agora de la Danse focused on how a dance house and/or institution mediates between artists and their audiences/communities.
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The second edition of the EDN Carte Blanche for artists took place from August 20th to 26th, 2019 hosted by the CSC – Centro per la Scena Contemporanea. Twelve artists from nine Dancehouses attended B.Motion under the guidance of local mentor Eva Zilio.
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A delegation of six EDN members attended Moultaqa Leymoun, the Arab Dance Platform organised by Maqamat Theatre in Beirut and the Chouf Mountains during BIPOD 2016. The 5th edition of this platform showcased and promoted the work of 20 Arab choreographers from Lebanon, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Iran.
Arianna Economou, director of Dance Gate Lefkosia, shares her experience of this visit.
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EDN representatives travelled to Chile to attend the 14th edition of the festival Danzalborde. Additionally, EDN members visited the School of Architecture of the Universidad Técnica Federico Santa Maria. Directors of dancehouses and students shared conversations about the buildings for dance.
José Laginha, director of DeVIR|CAPa, shares his experience of Valparaiso and Santiago de Chile.
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The first EDN Outreach took place from February 6th to 12th 2015. A representation of 7 EDN members travelled to India under the invitation of Attakkalari coinciding with the celebration of the Attakkalari India Biennial.
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