Risk in the form of physical blows (sometimes in the true sense of the word) or even physical injuries are increasingly becoming an integral part of various contemporary dance evenings.

It makes no difference if William Forsythe pushes the members of his Frankfurter Ballett to the point of losing their balance and understands the act of falling as new, unpredictable sequences of movement, or whether it is the representatives of the so-called »Eurocrash scene« (Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker, Lloyd Newson, Wim Vandekeybus, Edouard Lock, among others) that began in the 80s, who train their dancers to literally thrust their bodies into the space on the stage.

Is this evidence of the courage to probe unexplored physical boundaries that is unable to preclude an error, a fall, a blow? Or are we simply dealing with a new form of physical perfection? What risks do choreographers actually work with nowadays? To what degree is it possible to plan and train for the risk? And: does the body image that is conveyed through dance always reflect the topical social debate on body image?

The lecture will deal with the craving for risk, using selected video illustrations and examine the approach to this topic adopted by individual choreographers. (Janine Schulze)

Dr. Janine Schulze studied Angewandte Theaterwissenschaft (applied drama) in Gießen, was a lecturer in dance studies at various colleges and universities and has managed the Tanzarchiv Leipzig e.V., since April 2000.