At a festive dance gala on 12 October 2024, the Dachverband Tanz Deutschland presented the German Dance Award 2024 – the most prestigious award for dance in Germany.
Prolonged applause accompanied the awards for Dieter Heitkamp (honour for lifetime achievement) and explore dance – Netzwerk Tanz für junges Publikum (honour for outstanding development in dance) and for Sasha Waltz, who was awarded the German Dance Award 2024.
The award ceremony and the dance gala impressively presented the emotional and unifying power of dance, accompanied by WDR presenter Siham El-Maimouni.
Highlights included the opening of the evening by the Aalto Ballett Essen on its home stage with an excerpt from the ballet ‘Carmen’, an excerpt from the dance theatre ‘Chotto Desh’ by the Akram Khan Company, a pas de deux from ‘In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated’ by William Forsythe of the Staatsballett Berlin and an excerpt from ‘Radical Cheerleading’ by choreographer Zufit Simon. The dancers from Sasha Waltz & Guests delighted the audience with an excerpt from ‘In C’, a choreography by Sasha Waltz.
The laudators had touching words for the award winner and the honourees. Nele Hertling, who was honoured with the German Dance Award in 2018, on Sasha Waltz: “In addition to developing new pieces, performing in Berlin and giving numerous guest performances, Sasha Waltz is active on many levels and takes responsibility for her social environment (…). In addition to her artistic work, the development of innovative, interdisciplinary forms of performance and creation is a focal point of her work. (…) With its artistic work, the company Sasha Waltz & Guests stands for a democratic, open and diverse society with joint work in the encounter with the audience and an open discussion.”
Theatre scholar Gerald Siegmund emphasised that the lifetime achievement award for Dieter Heitkamp honours “(…) a restless artist, an innovative pedagogue, a cunning strategist and a tireless fighter for the cause of dance. (…) In the course of his “almost fifty years of commitment to dance in Germany and beyond, he has fearlessly made a great deal out of almost nothing. As an artist, as a teacher and as a mentor for future generations of dancers.”
Cultural politician Helge Lindh (Member of the German Bundestag) emphasised that explore dance is organised artistically and democratically, which is what makes the network so magical. The presence of society and young people is recognised and the power of development is taken into account. explore dance provides a wonderful service to democracy, which is why this network should be celebrated.
The team of the German Dance Film Institute documents the award ceremony gala.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)