Dance Techniques 2010 – Tanzplan Germany
Ingo Diehl (Project Director), Dr. Friederike Lampert (Research Assistant)
Institute for Dance Arts, Anton Bruckner Privatuniversität Linz
The research team at the Institute for Dance Arts, Anton Bruckner Private University Linz comprised Daniel Roberts, workshop leader // Prof. Dr. Sabine Huschka, dance studies expert // Prof. Rose Breuss, director of the Institute for Dance Arts // Dr. Henner Drewes, dance studies expert, and students in years two and four of the Contemporary Stage Dance BA course.
Daniel Roberts according to Cunningham
The Cunningham technique was a groundbreaking technique in modern dance and it was investigated for this research project at the Institute for Dance Arts of the Anton Bruckner Private University. We were able to obtain Cunningham dancer Daniel Roberts for the workshops. Roberts obtained his BA in dance at the Ohio State University. He joined the Cunningham Repertory Understudy Group in 2002 and a year later became involved in the Merce Cunningham Company. Thanks to his musical background (he studied piano), Daniel Roberts works as a private tutor for dance classes alongside his dance career. He teaches at various dance schools (e.g. the Royal Academy of Dance, the London School of Contemporary Dance) and is currently a professor of modern dance at the Danish School of Contemporary Dance in Copenhagen.
The workshops took place from 19 to 23 October and from 30 November to 4 December 2009. The DVD was filmed from 1-3 December 2009.
Quote from Philine Herrlein from the student discussion that took place on 1 December 2009:
“The relationship between the body and the space plays an important role in using the possible axes. The vertical position is the basic position. There is a lot of geometrical work involved in terms of conception. It has less to do with internal physical associations than with using the body and bringing it into position. It is important to be alert. If you manage to be alert in the classes, and to absorb things quickly and co-ordinate them in different ways, you are kind of ready for all the tasks that you may meet during the artistic process.”