Tanztriennale

The Tanztriennale highlights current trends in contemporary dance, attract new audience groups and promote exchange between dance professionals in the field. Particular attention will be placed on bringing together various dance scenes – from urban dance to contemporary aesthetics to classical ballet – genres which have become more differentiated in recent years. In March 2025, the Tanztriennale Hamburg e.V. (Association) was founded.

Moving Meetings

As part of the first edition of Tanztriennale 2026, ‘Moving Meetings' are monthly gatherings for dance professionals of all genres, dance cultures, roles and backgrounds to come together to reflect, engage, share and be curious about each other’s practices, beliefs and experiences. Through these meetings the Tanztriennale would like to foster dialogue and exchange on relevant themes and across boundaries that often separate the different dance communities, encouraging a spirit of openness and mutual discovery.

Moving Meeting #3 – Navigating with Different Maps

25 Oct. 2025, 03.00–06.00 p.m.
Opera Stabile Hamburg (Hamburgische Staatsoper/Hamburg Ballett)

Join us! We recommend registering by sending an email with the subject “Moving Meeting” to office(at)tanztriennale.de. Free entry. The event takes place in English. 

Extending from the topic of dance heritage in Moving Meeting #2, the next gathering will focus on how we navigate the complexities of intercultural exchange, informed by traditions, legacies and contexts different from our own. How do we navigate when we hold different “maps”? What supports our personal compass and what is needed to illuminate the path towards respectful and liberating collaboration?

To enter the conversation, we will begin with a warm-up from Anand Dhanakoti, a dancer and choreographer trained in Indian martial arts and yoga at the Kalari Gurukulam. Then we will hear from Co-Artistic Director of the Tanztriennale, Gwen Hsin-Yi Chang and what questions she carries as she continuously moves between Asian and European landscapes, followed by Arco Renz, choreographer, dramaturg and initiator of Monsoon, a platform for European and Asian collaboration that aims to examine conventional stereotypes through collaborative exploration and discussion of diverse cultural and socio political contexts.

Guests: 

• Anand Dhanakoti is a dancer and choreographer. He was trained in Indian martial arts and yoga at the Kalari Gurukulam, studied Flying Low with David Zambrano and graduated from the Contemporary Dance School Hamburg. As a dancer and co-choreographer he has worked with Matej Kejzar, Abhilash Ningappa, Adam Linder and Ursina Tossi among others. His pieces 'Thuli', 'Kntsugi', 'Immer', 'Kelli' and 'Baalya' have been shown internationally. He also holds a BA degree in Economics, Political Science and Sociology from St. Joseph's College, Bangalore.
• Gwen Hsin-Yi Chang, co-artistic director of the Tanztriennale, is originally from Taiwan and has lived and worked across Asia and Europe for several years. Her commitment to intercultural exchange began in 2014 when she started her entrepreneurship, later transformed into AxE Arts Europa, a platform dedicated to fostering creative collaboration between Asian and European artists in dance and contemporary circus. Her recent dramaturgy work with Ljuzem Madiljin, Ljuzem’s Walk creates dialogue and reflection about cultural heritage and participatory rituals in public spaces. Fluent in Mandarin, Taiwanese, English, French and German, Chang is a passionate advocate for cultural mobility and artistic dialogue across borders. 
• Arco Renz is a choreographer, curator and dramaturge engaged in transcultural projects across Europe and Asia. As founding artistic director of Brussels-based Kobalt Works (established 2000), he has created an extensive body of independent choreographic works, as well as commissioned pieces for opera houses and institutional dance companies around the world. Over the past 20 years, he has facilitated collaborative performance projects and dramaturgical work with dance makers from Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Taiwan, Laos, and Thailand. He initiated Monsoon, a research platform connecting Asian and European artists, curated Festival EUROPALIA Indonesia 2017's performing arts section, and currently serves on the Indonesian Dance Festival's curatorial team. A Flemish Ministry of Culture grantee, he focuses on transmitting and innovating immaterial cultural heritage through the performing arts.

Programme:

30 min: Physical warm-up and introduction to the topic with Anand Dhanakoti | 30 min: Inputs by Gwen Hsin-Yi Chang & Arco Renz | 90 min: Facilitated discussion and exchange for all participants. Participation in all aspects of the meeting is voluntary and can be adapted to one’s needs and desires. Opera Stabile is wheelchair accessible. If you have additional access needs or questions, please contact us at the email above.

All Moves

‘All Moves’ is a new format of the Tanztriennale and invites everyone in Hamburg – with or without dance experience – to explore new ways of moving. Each session is a chance to try out a different style. The genre or artists leading the class will not be revealed in advance – it is all about jumping in with an open mind and letting yourself move, freely and spontaneously, no matter the style or background. No prior dance experience is required. Please wear comfortable clothing and shoes.

All Moves #1

26. Oct. 2025, 06:00-07:00 p.m.
Kampnagel, K4, Jarrestraße 20, 22303 Hamburg

The capacity is limited, please register in advance via e-mail: office​(at)​tanztriennale.de. In German and English. Free admission!

The position of artistic director was advertised for either individual or multiple applicants. After reviewing all the submissions, the international selection committee voted unanimously to appoint Monica Gillette and Gwen Hsin-Yi Chang as co-directors:

“Monica Gillette and Gwen Hsin-Yi Chang convinced us with their broad international experience and their deep understanding of different dance styles, be it ballet, funk, hip -hop, club styles or contemporary dance. Their concept promises to make dance visible in all its potential and to combine the strengths of Hamburg's experienced institutions with global perspectives and new impulses from the independent dance scene. Through active community work, also before and after the Tanztriennale, they open up the format and thus create the basis for a dynamic, relevant programme that includes the versatile dance scene in Germany - from amateurs to international professionals from all over the world - as well as the audience. A space of solidarity will be created in which a new dynamic for the entire scene can develop and from which the Tanztriennale, a new cultural beacon for dance in Germany and internationally, can grow.”

Members of the Search Committee: Joy Alpuerto Ritter (Choreographer, Berlin/Germany), Bruno Bouché (Artistic Director Ballet de l’Opéra national du Rhin, Mulhouse/France), Serge Aimé Coulibaly (Artistic Director Faso Danse Theatre, Brussels/Belgium and Bobo-Dioulasso/Burkina Faso), Ingrida Gerbutavičiūtė (Director tanzhaus nrw, Düsseldorf/Germany), Wanda Puvogel (Director of Dance and Dramaturg Luzern Theater/Switzerland)

Consultants of the Search Committee: Michael Freundt (Managing Director Dachverband Tanz Deutschland), Markus Pitz (Head of the Culture Department at the Ministry for Culture and Media, Hamburg/Germany), Katarzyna Wielga-Skolimowska (Artistic Director Federal Cultural Foundation)

In July 2024 the Foundation’s Board of Trustees selected the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg to host the Tanztriennale. Hamburg was among a number of other outstanding candidates which responded to the public call for proposals. The city of Hamburg was selected on account of its participation-oriented ideas for the urban community, the involvement of well-known dance institutions and its ability to draw international attention. The jury was especially impressed by the innovative way it combined a strong awareness of tradition with the involvement of entirely new dance performers and collectives. With the Tanztriennale, Hamburg aims to tap its great potential to explore the future of dance by means of a genre-spanning approach. The decentralised concept will serve to strengthen the independent dance scene beyond Hamburg’s borders. The organisers hope to establish Hamburg as the permanent host city of the Tanztriennale in the coming years after 2026. The German Federal Cultural Foundation will finance the first edition in 2026 with a maximum of 950,000 euros, while the city of Hamburg has allocated an additional 600,000 euros.

By jointly applying with the Hamburg Ballet and the School of the Hamburg Ballet, the international production venue Kampnagel under general theatre director Amelie Deuflhard and K3 – Centre for Choreography | Tanzplan Hamburg under the artistic direction of Kerstin Evert, the city of Hamburg aims to tie in a large number of partners and stakeholders. Not only will the Tanztriennale include hip-hop and Black dance communities but also museums, contemporary exhibition venues and academic institutions. The Tanztriennale will be broadly anchored in the Hamburg dance scene, test new training formats and draw attention to handling diversity and inclusion in a different way. Moreover, it will establish a link between artistic practice and scientific research in the fields of medicine and health.

The Board of Trustees of the German Federal Cultural Foundation selected Hamburg to host the Tanztriennale on 11 July 2024. All members of the board with close ties to the applying cities voluntarily recused themselves from participating in the selection process.