NIMM PLATZ - KÖLNER LITERATURSOMMER MIT AMELIE SOYKA

In the organizer's words:

Amelie Soyka reads from Lauter zischende kleine Raketen - Valeska Gert (1892-1978)

In the mid-1920s, the renewal of artistic stage dance produced a kaleidoscope of dance diversity and dance creators. Valeska Gert was known for her radical performances. "Traffic", "Circus", "Girl", "Boxing" were the names of her dance numbers, and aesthetically she was committed to grotesque exaggeration. Life in the vibrant city of Berlin and elsewhere provided her with plenty of material.

The portrait of Valeska Gert from the anthology "Tanzen und tanzen und nichts als tanzen - Tänzerinnen der Moderne von Josephine Baker bis Mary Wigman" (Dancing and dancing and nothing but dancing - modern dancers from Josephine Baker to Mary Wigman) exemplifies the life of an artist 100 years ago: As an anti-bourgeois Jewish grotesque dancer who was close to the cinematic and literary avant-garde, she was immediately banned from performing and subsequently emigrated at the beginning of the Nazi regime in 1933. Her resilience and her overall artistic work still impress and inspire today.

The Cologne Summer of Literature is curated by the Cologne Literature Scene

NIMM PLATZ am Neumarkt is a joint project of the Cologne cultural administration and the independent cultural scene, with contributions from the University of Music and Dance (HfMT) and the Academy of Media Arts (KHM).