Dominika Cohn
Inside choreography. Participative choreographic works in contemporary dance
Dominika Cohn's research project is dedicated to participatory choreographic projects, as they have increasingly emerged in the field of contemporary dance in the last two decades. The focus is on works in which those present are physically involved in the moment of performance in such a way that they become part of the choreography. The touches, movements and encounters between participants and performers initiated by the respective choreographies are examined by her as a specific form of reception.
The aim of this dissertation project is to examine a set of selected examples in order to describe participative choreographic works as an aesthetic phenomenon and to discuss its possible significance both in terms of their reception and in a broader social and political context.
About
Dominika Cohn (née Willinek) studied contemporary dance at the Laban Centre in London and then spent several years working as a freelance choreographer and dancer in Berlin and internationally. During this period, she also completed a master’s degree in dance studies at Freie Universität Berlin in 2014. From 2015 to 2018, she taught dance at the Staatstheater Braunschweig. Since April 2019, she has been researching participative choreography in the “Aesthetic Practice” research training group.
Short CV
Professional career
Since 04/2019: PhD student at the DFG Research Training Group "Aesthetic Practice" at the University of Hildesheim with a research focus on participatory choreography.
Since 01/2012: Co-director of the YET Company (choreography & dramaturgy). www.yetcompany.com
Since 08/2018: Freelance choreographer and dance facilitator based in Braunschweig.
08/2015 – 07/2018: Dance facilitator and dance project manager at Staatstheater Braunschweig as well as choreographer for young audiences in the format of "Junger Tanz".
08/2008 – 07/2015: Freelance choreographer, dancer and dance teacher in Berlin.
Studies
10/2011 – 03/2014: MA "Dance Studies", Freie Universität Berlin
09/2005 – 07/2008: BA (Hons) "Contemporary Dance ", LABAN Conservatoire of Music and Dance, London
08/2004 – 04/2005: Semester abroad with an Erasmus scholarship at the Pázmány Péter University, Budapest, Hungary
10/2002 – 07/2005: BA "European Studies: Languages, Literature, Culture" at the Catholic University of Eichstätt. Minor in Political Science
Further work experience
03/2013 – 06/2013: Participation in the French-German think tank "Transfabrik" under the direction of Dr. Franz Anton Cramer and Dr. Yvane Chapuis, reflection on the current situation of performance and dance art in Germany and France.
10/2012 – 02/2013: Choreographic assistance for Thomas Hauert/ZOO at the FU Berlin.
09/2001– 08/2002: Voluntary social service in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
Publications
2023: „Choreografien des Taktilen: Berühren und Berührt-Werden als (absente) ästhetische Praxis“, in: Kulturwissenschaftliche Zeitschrift 6(2).
2023: zus. mit Jens Schmidt: „Performance-Ökologie auf Endlospapier: Der Situationsapparat Nr. 3 als Beziehungsübung“, in: Jens Roselt/Ekaterina Trachsel (Hg.), Üben üben, Paderborn: Brill/Fink (zur Publikation angenommen).
