Entdecke Mateusz Szymanówkas Profil

 

Tanztage Berlin turns 30! Founded in 1996 by Barbara Friedrich it is still one of the most relevant festivals to present work of emerging artists based in Berlin. This year, seven out of the ten performances are also co-produced by Tanztage, which means the sixth edition of artistic director Mateusz Szymanówka, which takes place from January 8 to 24, celebrates no fewer than seven premieres.
 

“We’re now a month before the premieres, artists are rehearsing and I went to see some run-throughs. This time in the studio is full of possibilities. What the artists are doing now can still be so many things! There is something magical about seeing material transform into a performance. When we come closer to the festival it becomes more about choices. I love watching performances, but this time in the studio is so exciting and precious.”
 

Mateusz came to Berlin in 2010 on an Erasmus exchange and worked alternately in Berlin and Warsaw, where he co-created many formats for experimental dance and performance. When he became artistic director of Tanztage in 2020 his attention shifted.
 

“It was important to me that the festival wouldn’t be only an outlet for my curatorial ideas, but that it would focus on formats proposed by the artists. The essence of the festival has always been the support of artists at the beginning of their careers. Over the last decade the scene in Berlin has both internationalized and professionalized and I wanted the festival to support that development. There was a need for artists to not only do research, but to really produce and finish work.” 

His take on the festival was very much informed by his inside knowledge of presenting the  performance So Emotional, at the 2018 edition of the festival which he made with Przemek Kamiński and Marta Ziólek, by his dramaturgical work for Ania Nowak and by his experiences as an audience member since the early 2010s.

“Everyone loved Tanztage, and it’s an important platform for makers. But it also meant self-sacrifice, which gave people a bittersweet taste. Many works were made and presented with not enough money and time. When I started I became very pragmatic and didn’t want to do more than we could afford, in terms of money but also in terms of human resources. So we decided to support less projects and give them better conditions.”
 

Already then, reflecting on the ways of working in the cultural field was an important topic for Mateusz. No wonder that the theme of Work & Labor is put at the centre of the festival this year. The backstage of labor is revealed, both in- and outside the art field.
 

“Nowadays we often don’t know how things are made anymore. That goes for our electronic devices, clothes, food, but also for the arts. Many people don’t really know what actually happens in the studio, but also not what people earn or what the pathway of a work is. In how many basements, living rooms, small venues performances are developed. The double bill Did4Luv and Bibingka explicitly honors that and also unpack the shame that relates to topics of survival, of things that don’t show up in your subsidy application, on your website or CV. Bottom up productions is a fresh initiative that wants to undo the dynamic of choreographers picking out dancers by inviting choreographers themselves. In their new performance O Que Resta do Fogo they take inspiration from humanity’s oldest crafts - charcoal burning - to explore the relationship between the body, labor and nature. They ask the question; aren’t we missing out on something in our current society?"
 

Being at the beginning of the new year, Tanztage almost inherently is a place of potential, for looking forward, for starting anew. Historically, the strategy of future making has been a big part of the festival.

“At the festival we always seem to look into a crystal ball looking into the future and developing strategies of how we want to work and collaborate. At the same time, theatre as a medium is a bit analogue and old school. There is something so weird about having 200 people sitting together, looking in the same direction at something that happens in real time. That cultivation of attention in theatre is really powerful.”
 

In this time where embodied experiences are lacking Mateusz embraces the potential of theatre as a place of liveness. Of a politics that starts from the experience of the body, and that has the potential to shift the perspectives of audiences who are willing to take a challenge.
 

“I think we can agree that in our society we have a problem in the way we relate to our bodies, our physicality and our health; we’re very often disembodied. I once was that one individual in the audience that saw works that shifted my perspective, gave me a sense of belonging and at the same time made me question myself. I learned to never underestimate the politics of the micro level.”
 

And herein lies the invitation of Tanztage to audiences. To come together, to experience performances that can be challenging and ambivalent in their form and content and to stay with and reflect on all the emotions, sensations, and thoughts they trigger. Because that’s the work we all need to do.

 

Tanztage Berlin 2026: 8–24 January
tanztage.sophiensaele.com
 

Veröffentlicht im Januar 2026. Text von Annette van Zwoll.