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Volkmar

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About Volkmar

  • Birthday 06/12/1965

Registration Profile Information

  • Connection to/interest in ballet** (Please describe. Examples: fan, teacher, dancer, writer, avid balletgoer)
    fan, avid baletgoer, interest in aesthetics and active choreography
  • City**
    Austria and Germany
  1. Whenever I listen to some music by G.F. Handel I fell kinaesthetic reactions in my body; they cause me to start moving or even dancing. Can anyone tell me why this happens through Handel's music (and not so much by the way of listening e.g. to Bach's music)? Greetings from Innsbruck, Volkmar
  2. Dear leonid and rg, thank you for the information about MacMillan's "Cain and Abel"! I will look to find some informations about it and also a vidod or DVD recording. Cain and Abel were also issues for a ballet choreographes by Marc Antony. Does anyone have some knowlegde about that work? Cain and Abel were also theme for Mallory Gaudion's "Abel était" from 2003. With best greetings from currently Nürnberg, Volkmar
  3. Thank you so much for the informations given. I wrote to M. Wall today. Greetings from Dublin, Volkmar
  4. Mats Ek created his ballet "Cain et Abel" in 1982. For the fact that I am prepearing a lecture series on the Old Testament in ballet, I would be very interested in more informations about this work by Ek. I would also like to get a DVD or video of it. Can anyone give me informations what to do? With all greetings from Dublin, Volkmar
  5. Serge Lifar created his ballet "Triumphant David" in 1937. For the fact that I am prepearing a lecture/series dealing with the Old Testament in ballet, I amverz interested to get more information about this ballet. I would also verz like to receive a DVD or video of it. Can anyone give me informations or hints what to do? With best greetings from Dublin, Volkmar
  6. Dear Brendan McCarthy, I thank you very much for your comments and informations. I found Judith Rock's book in our Munich library and read it with a lot of enthusiasm. I knew about Jesuit ballet in Vienna (middle/end of 17th century, where the stage was almost as large as the Vienna State Opera today; the old stage of the Jesuit theatre is currently in a process of renovation ....) I know also about Menestrier and his work. These works became a foundation for my own dedication for ballet and dance - also because this is one of the Jesuits traditions... I tried to contact Joudith Rock, but that failed at least until now. For the project I turned meanwhile to the theme of "spirituality of theatrical dance ("Bühnentanz")". During my 2-months-stay here in Munich I had the excellent opportunity to make interviews with some principal dancers of the Bayerische Staatsballett. I will contunie my contacts this fall, after I have moved to Innsbruck. Yesterday I found an interview of John Neumeier recently given to the Jüdische Allgemeine, where Neumeier too states that dance is something spiritual. I will follow that track. Generally I am very pleased by the great interest and support I am finding for my project - here in Munich, in Vienna, in Paris and elsewhere. I am still in a state of collecting material. As far as I can say it know, I will write the book in 2008 and plan to make a German as well as an English edition which will be written not as translations from one language to the other. So I am still very interested in any information regarding this large field. I hope to be able to read the articles you wrote in The Tablet. Thank you also for the informations on Ashton and Drid Williams. I would be very interested to read her article. Where can I find it? This week I am moving to Trier, where I will teach at the university the following term. But I hope to find some time to continue my research on spirituality and ballet. With a lot of greetings from Munich, Volkmar
  7. Dear Alexandra, dear Mel, thank you for your informations. I will try to read somewhee M.H. Winters "Pro-Romantic Ballet". Of course I am alos very interested in the dissertation Mel mentioned. Where could I find it? During my stay in Vienna in January and Febrary I read a boook on the Jesuits' theatre in Vienna. And I was very astonished to read, that the Jesuits there also staged balletts - and not only single dances within theatres or at their end (to link the theatre performance with the following opera), they also created whole acts of theatres as ballets. Unfortunately the information I got there was only very general and not specific enough to get more informations. But I will look for more information. There was a series of arcitles "les ballets des jesuites" in France 1936. I hope to receive them soon from the archives in France... With a lot of greetings fomr Munich, Volkmar
  8. When I watch the great ballets, e.g. Swan Lake, I am always wondering about the process of studying the great roles of the choreographers. My very simple question is: how does it work? When someone sings a role in an opera (e.g. Pamina in The Magic Flute by Mozart) there are score-books to work with. How is this in ballet? Are there written books in e.g. Laban-notation for Odettes? How does it work? Thanks for your comments! With a lot of greetings from Munich, Volkmar
  9. Dear Listmembers, on the homepage of the French Jesuits I read that in former centuries there were ballets created by Jesuits. For me as a young Jesuits and fanatic balletfan and -goer, this is very intersting. So I look to get more information about that. Does anyone of you have some hints or informations for me? Greetings from Munich, Volkmar
  10. Dear all, I thank you so much for all your contributions to my request! Meanwhile I had a lot of work - but also some time to clarify the thoughts on my propsal. bart is right that I do not intend to deal with ballet and "liturgy" - there are already some publications. I only want to deal with Bühnentanz (sorry, that I don't know the english expression) in classical, neoclassical and/or modern-dance-technique. Your contributions clearly indicate that a strict limitation on the chosen subject is necessary. So what I have in mind are two topics: - religious contents of ballets. That might be an endless project. More specifically I am very interested in Old Testament/Hebrew Bible contents in ballets. The point for this is that I am teaching Old Testament/Hebrew Bible at universities. Ad I dream of joined seminars on "OT/HB-themes in ballets" with my students focusing their interest in the OT/HB as well as promoting their interest in ballet. I only know about "Josephslegende". Are there other ballets dealing with the OT/HB? Should an own topic in our forum be opened to that specific issue? - The other topic I have in mind now I would like to call the spiritualitiy of classical/neoclassical/modern dance-ballet. Here I would like to describe the term "spirituality" in a very broad sence as an attachment to religious values and/or as a mentality to establish "meaning" transcending our "factual reality". In this respect I will try to contact dancers - as kfw suggested - thanks! - on 15. 02. - asking them for statements on what ballet means to them spiritually. In this respect I would also like to contact Farrell, Loputkina (thanks to drb!) and Mireille Negre (thanks to cygneblanc!), but how could I do that? Would it also be wise to start an own topic on that question in one of our forums here? This Thursday I move from Vienna to Munich, where I will stay for 2 months. I try to contact the Bayerisches Staatsballett; maybe they can help me a little bit. One of my brother-Jesuits work together with John Neumeier serveral years ago. I will also contact him for advise... With all greatings from Vienna, Volkmar
  11. Dear Listmembers, for the fact that I am a scholar of theology and an enthusiastic fan of ballet I have the idea to write a book about the "theology of ballet". the aim of such a book is to highlight the religious content/issues/philosophy of ballet and modern dance. If anyone could give me useful hints, informations or is interested to discuss with me on that topic, I would be very glad! With all greetings from Austria, Volkmar
  12. Thank you all for your gratulations! Dear Diane: they kids I was working with were all new in this sort of dancing - and especially new for the experience in dancing on a stage in front of such a hugh audience. Of course, I know the film "rhythm is it". Just some weeks ago I saw a similar project of Royston Maldoon in Cologne (the ballet "Carmina burana" with a school from Germany dancing) which again fastinated me on his work. For myself I am very encouraged to continue creating dances to classical music - despite I will need more time for my scientific work in the future. Volkmar
  13. Thank you all for your congratulaions! The experience was that in a pre-programme of the World Youth Day in Cologne I worked with these people from Spain, France and Slovenia by the way of dancing. Though I had to deal a lot with meditative dancing during the months before, learning its language and get its spirit enbodied (if there is any distinction betewwn spirit and body in this respect...). During the last weeks before this programme I created two dances: "Sanctus" with the music by J.S.Bach's "Sanctus" from his b-minor-mass dealing with adoration and "Kings&Queens" with the music of G.F.Handel's 1st movemebt of his "Music for Royal fireworks" dealing with human dignity. Generally I have to admit that as a priest and biblical scholar I am beyond any professional dancing nevertheless I like to do it and found dancing for myself as a way to promote my own creativity. During the three days of training a lot of saying and words from choreographers, dancers and other professionals came into my mind - what was very helpful for me. I do not know if I would have enjoyed tha dancing as much as if the choreography were someone else's because I knew/know that "my dances" are my babies and I suppose that everyone loves his own babies a little bit more than someone else's... But nevertheless I can say that during the performance it was only this special dances themself that I was thinking of - or better: living for/living in. Of course, I would have liked it very much to see the thing, and unfortunately everything went so fast that we had no possibility to tape it. Only a couple of pictures "survived". Next time I will look for video-taping - I left the stage not only with a very happy feeling but also with the conviction, that I want to have similar experiences again.
  14. Three weeks ago I had for the fist time in my life the opportunity to present two short dances that I created on stage. 23 young people joined me dancing. About 2.000 people were our audience. When we finished and got a hugh applaus I felt very, very happy. It was fore sure one of the happiest moments of my life. I only wanted to share with everyone this great joy - and wish all dancers a lot of equal experiences! With all greetings from Nürnberg, Volkmar
  15. Twodays ago I creates two short "somethings" ("Kings&Queens" with music by G.f. Handel and "Sanctus" with music by J.S.Bach) which will probalbly be staged next Saturday. But this process of preparing the perfomance led me to the question, how "dance" could be defined or discerned from "ballet". Can anyone give me some hints to this? Greetings from Germany, Volkmar
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