It began as a small event in a safe space and exceeded all expectations from the word go: At the very first event – then still under its original title DanceAbility – the rehearsal hall was bursting at the seams: Instead of the estimated 20 participants, more than 80 turned up. People aged between four and well over 70, both with and without disabilities, came to dance and move – all at their own pace and rhythm. “It was amazing,” says dance mediator Ralf Otto. “This was exactly what I had always dreamed of: a diverse crowd in which you could see the whole of urban society dancing.”
In September 2024, Ralf Otto swapped the small rehearsal hall for Hall E and changed the event’s title to Community Dance. He brought Andrea Marton and Ute Schmitt from the Tanz inklusive initiative on board as artistic directors. “They have a network of younger dance mediators who support us,” explains Otto. “That was very important to me. After all, a DanceAbility event on this scale and with so many people is a first for Germany. I was curious to see if it would work.”
“Everyone can, no one must. There is no right and wrong. There’s no counting steps or keeping time.”
The concept clearly works: Neither the open space, where people can come and go as they choose, nor the large number of participants has proven a problem. “That fascinates me. Here we have this many individuals forming a diverse social body where people are really in contact with each other,” says Otto. Even youngsters aged between 14 and 18 come along and dance in the Gasteig HP8. He has never witnessed this anywhere else, says Otto. There is no jostling and never a conflict. Children crawl among the dancers’ legs, space is made for wheelchairs and deaf people are included thanks to a sign language interpreter. “A community is born,” says a delighted Ralf Otto. “People who didn’t know each other two hours earlier go for coffee together afterwards.”
People feel right at home in Hall E. And they evidently appreciate the fact that Community Dance is not a traditional dance event: “It’s not a gymnastics group or a sports club. It’s an art format, improvised movement.” For Otto, this format is not about experiencing limitations, but about discovering possibilities by feeling one’s own body and interacting with others: “We all simply dance together. By moving together, the fear of interaction between people with and without disabilities, between young and old and between people from different backgrounds dissipates. And those who have no disabilities learn the most.”
“For me, Hall E is the most beautiful place ever for this format. Because this is where the most colourful community meets.”
In June, the event cracked the magic number of 1000 participants in just one year. “That alone shows that the new space is perfect for us,” says Ralf Otto. He tells of feedback from singles thanking him because they no longer spend all their Sundays alone; of people forgetting their walking sticks because they left the event in such good shape that they no longer even thought about using a walking aid. But what gives him the most pleasure is the diversity of the people who meet once a month in Hall E to move to music together. This level of freedom and amount of room to move simply doesn’t exist in small rooms, says the dance mediator.
Upcoming Community Dance events at HP8
Text: Melanie Brandl
