Manja Chmièl – Rebellin des Neuen Tanzes
Book Launch · Reconstruction · Film Screening by Irene Sieben, Thomas Schallmann, Anna Till
Manja Chmièl (1922–2006) was far ahead of her time. As Mary Wigman's assistant, she turned her back on expressive dance in 1962 to position herself on an equal footing with new music, literature and abstract arts. She founded her group Neuer Tanz Berlin, Germany's first independent dance company. Why has this innovator of contemporary dance been overlooked until now?
Contemporary witness Irene Sieben puts her once most important teacher in the spotlight with her recently published book “Manja Chmièl – Rebellin des Neuen Tanzes”, placing her alongside Dore Hoyer as a significant inventor of a specific dance language. The author reading will be accompanied by Anna Till. The Dresden-based dancer and choreographer has reconstructed three solos by Manja Chmièl. One was put down on paper in Labanotation by kinetographer Thomas Schallmann together with Manja Chmièl.
During the screening of historical film material, the audience can experience the forgotten dance pioneer in an interview with Walter Höllerer, avant-garde figure in the literary world since the 1960s and founder of the magazine ‘Akzente’.
Irene Sieben
Irene Sieben (she/her) is a dancer, Feldenkrais practitioner, and journalist specializing in dance topics and somatic learning. Trained by Mary Wigman and Manja Chmièl, she was active in Germany's first independent ensembles, Motion and Gruppe Neuer Tanz Berlin, and in 1981 she co-founded and taught at TanzTangente Berlin. As a contemporary witness of Wigman, she coached Sylvie Guillem in 1998, Fabián Barba in 2008, and Christina Ciupke/Anna Till in 2014.
Thomas Schallmann
Thomas Schallmann (he/him) was born on 1 May 1957 in Cottbus in the former GDR. He studied philosophy, dance education, dance and theatre science in Leipzig and Berlin, as well as Laban kinetography/Labanotation in Budapest, Hungary, and at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen. He works as a dancer and dance teacher and as freelancer at several schools for movement and movementnotation. He also notates dances and choreographies and gives lecture demonstrations.
Anna Till
Anna Till (she/her) is a choreographer and dancer based in Dresden. She studied dance, context, and choreography in Berlin and Cultural Studies in Lüneburg. Her artistic work is characterized by an interest in the intertwining of past and present and a desire for interdisciplinary experimentation. Anna directs the company situation productions and is part of the collective TILL&LUBICH. Her most
recent works include SCHWANENSEE IN SNEAKERS, selected for TANZPLATTFORM2024, and AUGEN AUF, AUGEN ZU, a piece on the themes of aging in cooperation with HELLERAU-EZK.
Duration approx. 90 Min
Free entry. First come, first served.
Free entry. First come, first served.
Concept, reading, moderation: Irene Sieben
Dance / reconstruction: Anna Till
Explanation of his dance notation for “Unter den Sternen” (Under the Stars): Thomas Schallmann
Explanation of his dance notation for “Unter den Sternen” (Under the Stars): Thomas Schallmann
Supported by Tanzfabrik Berlin BÜHNE and the Manja Chmièl Dance Foundation at the European Academy of Healing Arts.
The book “Manja Chmièl – Rebellin des Neuen Tanzes” is published by Drachenverlag.