Let there be Light – Dramaturgy in the Genesis of Choreographic Projects

In the course of considering how dynamic the constellations in choreographic projects are and how dramaturgy can play a specific role in relation to this dynamic (see “Constellations: Configuration, Dynamics, Dramaturgy, and Dramaturgy”), further aspects have emerged:

In choreographic projects, we are dealing with systemic structures whose components are subject to mutual relationships and effects that are only partially controllable and predictable and develop a momentum of their own. How can this dynamic be used to create a project that is both flexible and stable, that has a direction and in which the basic parameters do not have to be renegotiated again and again? From this perspective, how can strategic project management be established and options for action developed for the various positions, roles, and functions within a project? What might a practical approach to setting up a project look like, so that it can develop from a vague idea into something concrete and real, while constantly modulating its own constellation within a specific dynamic?

In order to describe the parameters of choreographic projects and deduce how they can be actively worked with, it seems sensible to consider the project work from the outset—how it is set up, conditions created, and proportions/conditions established.

In this research, I focus on the genesis of projects and deal with approaches to idea, concept, and project development: How do ideas arise from which concepts are developed? How are concepts developed and structured in such a way that they can support an entire project? How does choreographic material emerge from the concept? What possibilities do different personnel constellations offer with regard to project development and decision-making processes? How do the requirements for the position of dramaturgy change in the dynamics of a project’s progress?

The aim is to describe a systematic project process with variable dramaturgical working approaches.

Gefördert durch die Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien im Programm NEUSTART KULTUR, Hilfsprogramm DIS-TANZEN des Dachverband Tanz Deutschland.

Foto: Matthias Quabbe