Mara Kurotschka

At the age of 20, the Berlin choreographer Mara Kurotschka attended the Julliard School in New York before continuing her studies in audio-visual design at the Berlin University of the Arts. After returning to Germany, she began her first engagement at the Staatsoper unter den Linden in Berlin. She went on to work at numerous venues such as the Lincoln Center in New York City, the Kleisttheater in Frankfurt/Oder, the Schauspielhaus Kassel and the Theatre de Caen. In 1997, she won the European choreography competition "Europa Danse Europa". Her former teachers who have influenced her most include Felix Blaska (Crowsnest), Ethel Winter (Graham Company) and Laura Glenn (Limon Company). In recent years, her artistic focus has been on the relationship between normal, everyday movements and dance movements. With the scholarship she has received, she would like to examine the physical dimension of Peking by investigating the organisation of its urban development and the speed of the city with regard to the organisation of the body and movement. Her goal is to convert the city, its structures and its people into a choreography, creating, in a sense, a "dance of Peking life".