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The world may have seemed like it was standing still over the last two years, but the International Solo-Dance-Theater Festival Stuttgart keeps moving from strength to strength! From 2nd – 5th June 2022, it will again be time to welcome young artists from all over the world to Stuttgart, Germany. Selected by a board of trustees from over 200 applications, 18 exciting dance talents will be premiering exciting new solo productions, some of which have been created especially for the festival. The artists come from Brazil, Korea, the USA and Israel, as well as countries throughout Europe. They are competing for attractive prizes, some words of praise from the international jury and, last but not least, to be crowned the audience’s favourite. This year's jury consists of Sergio Bacelar (Brazil/ Director of the Festival do Teatro Brasileiro and International Dance Movement), Marco Cantalupo (Italy, Switzerland/ Choreographer and Co-Director Compagnie Linga), Katja Erdmann-Rajski (Germany/ Choreographer, Dancer and Teacher), Roberta Ferrara (Italy/ Artistic Director Equilibrio Dinamico Dance Company), and Lotte Sigh (Denmark/ Choreographer and Artistic Director Copenhagen Dance Arts, Copenhagen Contemporary Dance School).
For the third time, the opening evening on June 1, 2022 will be dedicated to the independent dance scene in Stuttgart and the region. Stuttgart Solo Choreo, a cooperation with Produktionszentrum Tanz und Performance e.V., will see choreographers showcasing their contemporary solo pieces. These pieces are purely for the audience’s enjoyment and are not competing for a festival prize.
The competition pieces deal with topics occupying both the world of dance and the world as a whole. Some take the body as their subject; its ability, but also its vulnerability. Others look at the role of the individual within society. They question gender and identity; what does it mean today to be a woman? A man? Non-binary? What is transformation, and what does it require? Is self-optimization a desire or a compulsion? What makes us us? – Biology and genes and/or upbringing? What is underneath all the layers we have acquired over years as individuals, over centuries of human history?
Although Covid is rarely explicitly named in the festival pieces, it is certainly present. Many pieces question why we are here, and what our purpose is. Others look at how unforeseen events affect us – could they even be helpful, because they shape us into something special?
These are current yet timeless themes, which the dancers portray from several perspectives, but with their own touch. The range of pieces are critical, melancholic, ironic and humorous. However, they all share a deepness, a profundity. “The standard is extremely high”, emphasizes Artistic Director and Festival Founder Marcelo Santos. “The applications were consistently of a high quality – both in terms of dance and content. It has been impressive to see how the artists are dealing with the signs of our times and mastering the current situation in their respective countries.” This is especially poignant considering that some of the dancers have lost their jobs in the last two years as companies have been disbanded. Festival director Gudrun Ha?hnel confirms: “We have seen choreographed pieces that have surprised and moved us – contemporary dance language at its best. It was no easy task for us curators to select only 18 competition entries from the many applications we received from every continent in the world!”
