About

The documentary series Choreographers at Work! is dedicated to some of the protagonists of Switzerland’s contemporary dance scene and their working practices. Choreographers from different parts of the country and of different generations will be filmed throughout various steps of the creation process. They will be asked questions about themselves, their creative work, their practices and processes during interviews and the camera will capture rehearsals, movement research and moments dedicated to reflection and feedback.

What philosophical approaches and prerequisites are important for their art? What is their understanding of choreography? Which methods, choreographic processes, tools and tasks do they use to create movement material? How do they take choreographic, compositional, dramaturgic and musical decisions? Which ethical and political positions do they defend, in particular with regard to their work, and what is important to them – in relation to themselves, their own bodies and the people involved in their projects? How would they describe the economic, infrastructural and environmental conditions and structural problems of today’s dance economy?

Each episode of around 20 minutes will portray one choreographer based on the material collected. This will enable audiences to experience and access creative processes and rehearsals, which usually take place behind closed doors. The project therefore aims to foster outreach and accessibility, as well as documenting and preserving Swiss dance culture.

Biographies

Mona De Weerdt
Mona De Weerdt studied Theatre and Dance Studies, Art History and World Arts at the University of Bern and the Freie Universität Berlin. 2012-2016 she was research assistant at the Institute for Theatre Studies at the University of Bern. 2016-2018 she worked as a dramaturg/production manager at Südpol Luzern. She writes articles about theater and dance, works as a dramaturg in the field of dance, conceives mediation formats (e.g. for Cosima Grand) and has served on various juries and committees (including the PREMIO Nachwuchspreis Tanz & Theater 2015, Festival Belluard Bollwerk International 2017, Swiss Contemporary Dance Days 2017, Fachstelle Kultur Kanton Zürich 2015-2019). In 2017, together with the historian Andreas Schwab, she published the anthology Monte Dada. Ausdruckstanz & Avantgarde, which is dedicated to the artistic and ideological interfaces of the Dada artists and the Laban dancers. In 2019, she received a cultural award from the City of Zurich in recognition of her dramaturgical and dance scientific work. Since 2020, Mona De Weerdt has been project dramaturge at TanzPlan Ost.

Michelle Ettlin
Michelle Ettlin lives and works as an independent filmmaker and photographer in Zurich and Berlin. After basic studies in art history and film studies, she graduated from the Lucerne University of the Arts in 2008 with a degree in visual communication and a specialisation in animation. She then worked as an editor and cinematographer for cinema and television productions. In 2012, she released the documentary film Liquid Land, which revolves around the experimental music scene in New Orleans after the flood disaster and was shown at various festivals. Michelle Ettlin currently works as a documentarian for musicians, for theatre and dance productions (including Lea Moro's serial performative long-term project Sketch of Togetherness) as well as on personal documentary and experimental films and video works in the field of theatre and dance.

Credits
Artistic and organisational direction: Mona De Weerdt
Concept: Mona De Weerdt, Michelle Ettlin
Camera, editing, post-production: Michelle Ettlin
Dramaturgy: Mona De Weerdt, Michelle Ettlin
Translation of texts: Anna Johannsen, Emily Pollack
Translation of subtitles: Anna Johannsen
Production: echolot films / mdw Kulturproduktionen
Graphic Design/Homepage: Urs Althaus

Supported by: the Federal Office of Culture / Dance as Cultural Heritage, Abteilung Kultur Basel-Stadt, Fachstelle Kultur Kanton Zürich, Kultur Stadt Bern, SWISSLOS/Kultur Kanton Bern, Ville de Fribourg, Staat Freiburg/Etat de Fribourg, Canton de Vaud, Stadt St. Gallen, Kulturförderung Kanton St.Gallen, Toggenburg Kultur, the Ernst Göhner, Corymbo, Alexis Victor Thalberg, Cassinelli-Vogel, Arnold Billwiller and Sophie and Karl Binding Foundations, Migros Culture Percentage. The translation is financed by: Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council and the Oertli Foundation (21.12.2021)

Partners: Reso – Dance Network Switzerland, SAPA Foundation – Swiss Archive of the Performing Arts
Special thanks to: Jessica Huber, Johanna Hilari, Cosima Grand, Alexandra Hennig, Julia Wehren, Laura Egger and Benjamin Burger

© echolot films / mdw Kulturproduktionen