Historical Dance Symposium
Burg Rothenfels am Main
Bookshop
During the conference, we set up our own bookshop offering international and rare dance literature to purchase or order. A wide range of specimen copies enables you to leaf and browse during the conference breaks.
In the bookshop, you can also exhibit and sell your own dance material, such as books or CDs.
All enquiries to:
Uwe Schlottermüller,
fagisis-Verlag, Freiburg.
Historical Dance Symposium
Burg Rothenfels am Main
The music ensemble
A particular highlight of the symposium is the conference’s own music ensemble. Under the direction of the early music specialist Walter Waidosch, these musicians – all experienced dancers – accompany workshops, compact performances and dance evenings. As a result, the ensemble enables the presentation of previously unpublished and unrecorded material, advises on musical questions and, with its lively interpretations, is a substantial part of the success of the various contributions. The climax of the conference, the festive ball on Saturday evening, would be inconceivable without its inspiring playing.
4th Historical Dance Symposium
Burg Rothenfels am Main
25 - 29 May 2016
Conference activities
The symposium comprises 16 lectures, 6 workshops, some compact performances, 3 dance evenings and a festive ball. In the mornings, the lectures take place, in the afternoons the workshops are held, while the evenings provide time for compact performances and dance evenings.
To enable more intensive working, participants in the workshops are divided into three groups, for the dance evenings into two groups. As the workshops and dance evenings are repeated several times, it will be possible for each participant to attend all workshops and dance evenings.
On Saturday evening, a festive ball takes place (costumes of the relevant period very welcome). The basis of the ball programme is provided by the choreographies of the preceding dance evenings and by simple dances for all from the epoch in question. A special highlight is the live musical accompaniment by the symposium’s music ensemble.
4th Historical Dance Symposium
Burg Rothenfels am Main
25 - 29 May 2016
Conference location
The conference centre Burg Rothenfels (Rothenfels Castle) has been a centre for religious and cultural learning for almost a hundred years. For decades, it has provided a home for historical dance and has thus become an established name for many dancers and dance groups in Germany.
The fortress structure, whose oldest parts date from the 12th century, furthermore offers an inspiring, atmospheric setting.
The castle lies directly on the Main between Würzburg and Frankfurt, 7 km north of Marktheidenfeld.
The body responsible for the castle is the "Vereinigung der Freunde von Burg Rothenfels. e.V.".
4th Historical Dance Symposium
Burg Rothenfels am Main
25 - 29 May 2016
Italy and the Dance
Dance in Italy, Italian Dance in Europe, 1400 - 1900
For Barbara Sparti (1932 - 2013)
A conference for dancers, lovers of dance, researchers
Italy and dance - At the centre of our fourth Symposium is a passionate love story lasting many centuries - a theme which fascinated Barbara Sparti, one of the leading dance researchers of the 20th century, throughout her life. We have chosen to dedicate this Symposium to her memory.
Our starting point on this path lies in the late Middle Ages, when the first dance books in history were written in Lombardy. The path leads us further through the highest flourishing of the Renaissance, when Italian dance masters and dancers were active in all European courts and laid important foundations for the later ballet. Special emphasis is placed on the period of the cultural duel with France in the 18th century and the development of the great ballet reform, before we finally end our journey in the Risorgimento, Italy's struggle for a unified statehood.
Biographies of dancers and choreographers, their journeys and their artistic development, detailed study of works and cultural history research at stations along the path breathe life into the most varied facets of the phenomenon of "Italy and Dance".
True to the motto "research dance - dance research", the central goal of the conference is to bring together dancers and researchers and thus enable intensive interaction between the latest research and current dance practice.
• A series of lectures and research posters presents the present status of dance research.
• Workshops give an opportunity to try out new dance styles and reconstructions.
• Short performances demonstrate current artistic interpretations.
• A bookshop offers a wide range of literature and music relating to dance.
• Social dance evenings with live music help make a variety of new contacts.
• A celebratory ball with costumes of the period represents the culmination of the conference.
• Sharing leisure and programme together in the castle enables a time of especially intensive contact.