ImPulsTanz – Vienna International Dance Festival

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When at the end of the eighteenth century couples began twirling in three-quarter time in the dance halls of Vienna’s suburbs, it was still considered vulgar. But this could not halt the triumphant march of the Viennese waltz around the globe. The fact that Vienna is in the twenty-first century still one of the world’s dance capitals is due in large part to the ImPulsTanz International Dance Festival. Wim Vandekeybus, Marie Chouinard, and Mark Tompkins have presented their works here and remain closely tied to what is now Austria’s largest dance festival.

The festival is also committed to the promotion of contemporary dance, and in 1996 the danceWEB project was launched. The networking of various European dance institutes is intended to provide orientation for dancers and choreographers and support for their artistic careers through scholarships, continuing-education programmes and co-productions. Over the period of one month, ImPulsTanz presents forty productions at venues such as the MuseumsQuartier, the Schauspielhaus, and the Akademietheater. Eighty instructors lead nearly 200 workshops with over 5,000 class registrations and 3,000 students.

www.impulstanz.com