b12 Berlin Festival for Contemporary Dance: Week 2 Diary
Daily musings from a dancer.
b12 Festival for Contemporary Dance and Performance Art (officially stylized in all lowercase) is an annual dance festival every July in Berlin, Germany. A training ground for professional-level dancers, the Festival offers more than 70+ research workshops, along with somatic, yoga, and outreach classes; free improv sessions; performance projects; and more. Their slogan is, “Research or die.”
I attended b12 from July 1 - 28, 2024.
Dancers come from all over the world to attend b12. It’s one of the most comprehensive dance festivals in the world. But what is it actually like? From the head and experience of an extroverted-introvert dance artist from Canada, solo in Berlin, here’s my story:
Past Weeks:
Week 1: b12 Berlin Festival for Contemporary Dance: Week 1 Diary
Week 2: July 7 - 13, 2024.
July 7 — Wow! I feel amazing. Truly.
First workshop of the month is Davide Bonetti’s “Smooth Criminal.”
Went in a bit nervous but mostly in an excited way, and thankfully, the class was a great introduction to some floor techniques and acrodancing. (Also, who doesn’t love when everyone is confused about the studio location together? I’m not the only one!)
Double thankful that we weren’t made to do handstands or tricky tricks off the bat.
Davide is an amazing, patient teacher. He really knows how to deconstruct a sequence to allow for maximum understanding of motion and momentum.
