From Wigman to Group Motion - a video contribution

Andrea Keiz

Inspired by the TanzArchiv’s call for small-scale research assignments, I dedicated myself to reviewing video footage that I shot between 2017 and 2019. The material includes narratives about the history of contemporary dance in Berlin. Until now, I had only analyzed this footage once with regard to the history of Tanzfabrik Berlin. I had not yet analyzed the interviews about other developments in contemporary dance in West Berlin.

The background to my work is on the one hand my interest in the development of dance in West Berlin-there is little available on the 60s and 70s-and on the other hand my enduring interest in oral history – namely narrated history, with all the side effects that personal memory entails. Thirdly, I would like to emphasize a fundamental interest in archival work and research. How can I read existing materials through a different time, in which my knowledge, my point of view and social situation may have changed? How does history change in the context of time?

In this work, which I consider to be a compilation of source material, I let protagonists of Group Motion,  studio group for new dance have their say and I juxtapose their statements. In this way, I offer viewers a piece of dance history and empower them through what they hear and how they understand the stories.

Andrea Keiz has shoulder-length, loose hair, bleached by the sun, with a side parting. She has brown eyes and wears a brown Niki with a round neckline. She can be seen in the portrait. The photo is taken outside in the city. A high-rise building, roofs and trees can be seen blurred in the background.

Andrea Keiz