Alexandra Beriault with Cinematic Spaces from the University of the Arts Bremen as a guest

On Wednesday, June 18th, the Hochschule für Künste class Cinematic Spaces visited the Deutsches Tanzfilminstitut, where we were greeted by the institute’s director, Heide-Marie Härtel. As she guided us through the premises, we were introduced to several facets of the institute—one major highlight being the opportunity to see where many original dance films are digitized for the archive. The digitization studio features a fully customized system that accommodates a range of analog moving-image formats. Multiple dance films (from various time periods) play simultaneously on a collection of stacked CRT television monitors, and the entire experience of seeing such a system at work feels akin to stepping into a multi-channel video installation—dedicated solely to dance film.

Throughout the tour, our class was given glimpses into several examples from the institute’s extensive archive of dance videos, as well as other films that document a history of collaborative projects between the Deutsches Tanzfilminstitut and numerous international partners. Several of the dance works shown incorporated elements of the visual arts, including video, sound, sculpture, and multimedia installation. In essence, we were invited to consider dance and the stage as another possibility for what a “cinematic space” could embody.

Alex Beriault