Dance into May is a collaborative project organized by go plastic company, in which the audience is guided through Hellerau by a city and dance guide in various ways and under moderated instruction, discovering different dance styles in very different locations throughout the garden city.

In the past, Dance into May has focused on the Ruscheweg park, the Waldschänke Hellerau community center, and the Festspielhaus Hellerau festival theater. However, future editions of Dance into May will also explore other locations in Hellerau.

Dance into May always concludes on the forecourt of the Festspielhaus. This then becomes a dance floor where participants and passers-by dance together in a simple choreographed round dance. The day then comes to an end in the adjacent Kulturgarten.

Dance into May opens up professional dance to a wider audience, provides a stage for clubs and dance groups, invites the urban community to participate, and shows how diverse Dresden’s dance scene and its dancers are. Encounters, dialogue, participation, and togetherness arise in a relaxed atmosphere. Everything is connected in and with a shared experience in the Hellerau district.

InPresence Dance Company

The InPresence Dance Company was founded by choreographer, producer, trainer, and dancer Luise Knofe and offers training for aspiring dancers as well as advanced amateurs. The initiative provides opportunities to gain professional experience through regular projects on stage and in film. Stylistically, the company blends elements of hip hop and contemporary fusion with urban and commercial influences.

Gems Crew

Gems Crew e.V. is a queer dance crew from Saxony and beyond. We consist of nine members between the ages of 18 and 30. We are united by our skills in hip hop, breaking, house, and waacking, as well as DJing, art, design, and music. As young organizers, we create open spaces for exchange that respect cultural roots and strengthen anti-racism. We organize regular sessions, workshops, and the Feel Your Gem Battle—a battle where we give space and voice to FLINTA* BIPoC in particular.

4roomsCompany

Since 2021, 4roomsCompany has been developing innovative contemporary dance formats that are brought to new venues. The versatile ensemble combines expertise in movement, music, and communication, bringing dance to life on stage, in public spaces, and in interactive formats for a wide audience. A central concern is accessibility: people from a wide variety of backgrounds are invited to experience, witness, and participate in dance.

remix

remix is a four-member K-Pop (Korean Popular Music) dance cover group from Dresden that has been dancing together as a quartet since 2020. K-Pop music encompasses not only the music itself, but also the accompanying hip-hop-influenced dance style. This style has made a name for itself worldwide and has developed a versatility that is also a key focus for remix.

Lotte Jirka & Janosch Horn

Where do we meet? Contact Improvisation asks: Where and how do we come together? Unaware—but not unconscious. Playful, questioning, connected, falling, free, and imperfect.

Janosch Horn likes the color purple, honesty, and sometimes having some peace and quiet. He is a freelance dancer, dance teacher, and organizer of dance events in the fields of contemporary dance and contact improvisation.

Lotte Jirka lives in Dresden and is fascinated by improvisation and movement exploration. She organizes and teaches various formats centered on the contemporary dance form Contact Improvisation.

Tango Argentino

Argentine tango is a wordless dialogue between two people. Two gazes meet, an embrace develops—two bodies merge into a movement that is carried along by the music. Instead of fixed choreography, the dance arises in the moment: from improvisation, connection, and attentive listening between the dancers.

Tango can be experienced in many places in Dresden – at free dance evenings, in various dance schools, or at the Bailamos e.V. tango club. A regular partner is not necessary; dancing with different people is part of the essence of this dance culture. Tango functions like a common language that connects dancers worldwide.

B.O.P.

The B.O.P. constellation consists of artists Caroline Beach, Casey Ouzounis, and Josef Panda, who combine influences from dance, pop music, visual arts, and performance in their work. The three met through various collaborations in Dresden’s art and culture scene. Their intersecting paths, interest in interdisciplinarity, and penchant for the absurd have now brought the artists together for their first performance as B.O.P. for Dance into May.

COME OUT AND PLAY. THE CITY IS YOURS.

What do skyscrapers and cloud formations have in common? Quite simply: what you make of them by yourself. And the ASPHALTWELTEN app opens up just that in lots of playful challenges: new urban worlds in a very private and interactive focus.

Fountains become your stage, walkways your playground and parks turn into your individual creative laboratory.

With your smartphone and the ASPHALTWELTEN app, you can discover how much playground there is in your surroundings and how much creativity you have inside of yourself. Experience how your view of your city changes when you spend time in and with it intensively and without distraction. Let yourself be challenged again and again. Every day.

How the app works

The ASPHALTWELTEN app invites you once a day to a small challenge in public space. By using video, photo, text or speech, you are called to complete a task and document it with one of the tools offered within the app. You don’t need any previous knowledge or skills for this. A smartphone, a lot of curiosity and a little creativity are all you need.

More about the ASPHALTWELTEN app can be found here.

The ASPHALTWELTEN app is free of charge, was released on July 5, 2023 and is available at Google Play Store and in the Mac App Store.

Crew

Artistic direction & Content / Concept: Cindy Hammer & Susan Schubert

Programming / Technical development: Ralf Michael

Art Work / Design: Stephan Tautz, Dominik Glöß, Stefanie Niechciol

Project management: Marita Matzk, Conrad Schneider

Distribution / Acquisition: Dirk Förster

Legal advice: Spirit Legal

PR: Thomas Natzschka

Social Media: Lea Schweinfurth

Funding

Funded by the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony and the Federal Government  Commissioner for Culture and the Media in the NEUSTART KULTUR programme, tanz:digital assistance programme of the German Dance Association.

This measure is co-financed by tax funds on the basis of the budget passed by the Saxon State Parliament.