The collective
Laura
Saumweber
Laura, born in Munich, is a freelance dancer, dance mediator and choreographer. For her artistic career, she was drawn abroad at an early age. In 2013 she successfully completed her education in Barcelona and graduated with her BA in 2017 in the Netherlands at ArtEZ University of the Arts. Since then she has been invited to perform and create for various festivals in Spain, Hong Kong and Cyprus, works with international artists, teaches at ArtEZ University as a guest teacher and shares her artistic and educational work with great passion. Besides this, Laura is currently educating herself as International Arts & Cultural Manager at the professional school of Leuphana University.
The
collective
The starting point for artistic and mediating work are the elements 'contact and connection'. The collective unites interdisciplinary methods and structures of dance, theatre and music under the common vision "connecting people through dance”. These are used to open a space for interpersonal, socially critical and reflective experiences for the audience and project participants. Local and international artists are regularly invited to collaborate for specific works.
The contweedancecollective was invited by Tanz und Schule e.V. (Munich) as part of the two years EU-research project conchances on cultural mediation and is closely collaborating with KS: Bam (Bamberg) and local schools and kindergartens. The University of the Arts ArtEZ (Arnhem), Centre Cívic Drassanes (Barcelona) and Theater im Gärtnerviertel (Bamberg) have also been permanent cooperation partners since 2017.
Johanna
Knefelkamp
Johanna is a trained dancer, dance mediator and choreographer. Born in Bamberg, she completed her Master's degree as International Artist Educator at the ArtEZ University of Arts in Arnhem, Netherlands, in 2017. For several years she has been working in various fields of dance on an international level with interdisciplinary colleagues. In the art and culture scene, she enriches festivals, congresses and workshops, works as a guest lecturer at universities and accompanies theatre projects that integrate movement and dance. She organises social and educational projects together with local institutions in Germany, the Netherlands and Spain, making the joy and freedom of her work tangible to others with lots of enthusiasm.
In 2019 Johanna opened the CON Bamberg, a space for dance, movement and creativity. There the collective works on new productions and invites other artists for residency programs.
Our collaborating artists
Stephan Goldbach
Stephan is a Nürnberg-based interdisciplinary doublebass-player whose main focus of work lies in experimental jazz- and/or classic-related projects. Currently he is working as a freelance artist in different ensembles such as the soprano/doublebass duo Loulou, the free-improv-ensemble SPEMAKH or the luxembourg-based “Michel Meis Quartet".
Laura Schabacker
Laura Schabacker studied contemporary dance education at the MUK WIEN. Since 2013 she lives and works in Bamberg. There, she teaches at the TANZWERKSTATT Bamberg and is active at the INKLUSIVEN KULTURWERKSTATT, the OBA Bamberg as head of the dance department. As a freelance dancer and choreographer she works mainly in local projects and in Vienna.
https://www.kufa-bamberg.de/inklusive-kulturwerkstatt/tanz/wackelkontakt/
Valentin Bartzsch
Valentin (1987) completed his acting education at the Michael Chekhov Studio Berlin in 2014 and then played for three years as a permanent member of the ensemble at the Ansbach Theatre. Since summer 2018 he is working as a freelance actor nationwide in various productions.
Aline Joers
After Aline (1985) studied at the Michael Chekhov Studio Berlin, she worked as permanent member at the E.T.A. Hoffmann Theatre in Bamberg, engagements at Theater an der Rott, Landestheater Niederösterreich and Human Rights Stage followed. She led two integrative theatre productions wherein young men from Syria & Iraq talk about their escape and new lives. Since 2017, Aline is back to Bamberg, mostly working with the TiG Theater im Gärtnerviertel and Musenwunder.
https://www.alinejoers.de
https://www.musenwunder.de
João Santiago
João Santiago (1995) is a performer, dancer, maker and teacher based in Munich and Porto. Starting his dance studies in Portugal in the Conservatório de Música da Jobra, he successfully completed his dance education at ArtEZ Institute of the Arts (NL) with the bachelor dancer/maker in 2017. Around Europe, João has been teaching, dancing and performing his own work and collaborated with different companies and artists. At the same time, he has been researching and initiating his own movement practise.
Paula Niehoff
Paula graduated in 2018 at ArtEZ University of the Arts (NL) with a Bachelor of Arts and works as a freelance dancer with choreographers such as Nicole Beutler, Idan Sharabi, Caroline Finn, VA Wölfl and Georg Reischl. She was a dancer at Theater Bonn and company NEUER TANZ and is working since 2019 with Cia. Nadine Gerspacher, Kammeroper Detmold and animi motus. As choreographer, Paula created several performances for international festivals and theatres, among others with contweedancecollective and her owncollective PATO PATO.
http://www.paula-niehoff.com
https://smalltalk-fairtrade.com
Petros Konnaris
Petros Konnaris (Cyprus, 1988) is working between the fields of live art, participatory art and dance. His performances are a meeting between people to share and explore concepts like taking care of each other, gentleness, coming together, and issues of nakedness, intimacy, playfulness and fun. He graduated from the MA level degree in Live Arts and Performance Studies program in Theater Academy of UniArts Helsinki. He has a BA in Dance from University of Nicosia with first class standing and a BSc in Mathematics & Statistics from University of Cyprus.
Gudrun Lange
After Gudrun Lange's modern dance studies in Rotterdam and New York, she danced for various choreographers until 2006, when she concentrated on collaborative choreography with both, professional artists and young people. The top funding of the state of NRW 2012-14 enabled her to found her own company and to elaborate her own cultural education approach. In 2017 she completed her master's degree in dance and movement therapy, which awakened her fascination for scientific research. At the moment she works part-time for the Kulturamt Bamberg and the Kultur.Service Bamberg for schools and daycare centres.
http://tanzlange.com
Florian Sonnleitner
Florian Sonnleitner (1991) lives in his hometown Munich. Since his early childhood he has been playing the violin with a focus on jazz and improvisation. Later he added percussion, guitar and piano. In 2011 he was awarded, among others, the distinction of the Bavarian State Ministry for Education and Culture (KNM). After that Florian studied "compositie voor film en theater" at the ArtEZ University of the Arts. Already during his studies he was able to assist well-known German film composers such as Christoph Zirngibl and Andreas Weisinger. Today he works full-time as a composer for theatre, film and television and as a music supervisor in the cinema.
Martha Kröger
Martha Kröger is a freelance artist from Berlin. She started dancing, when she learned to walk. She unified her interests by studying physical theatre at the Accademia Teatro Dimitri in Switzerland. Martha wants to create a repertoire of possibilities in movement and bodily expression, which allows freedom & liberty in creating and finding ways to express oneself. Lately she studies Dance and Movement Therapy in Barcelona where she cofounded the inclusive dance company Malamima and is part of the Chilean company Maraña.
Eric Soto
Eric Soto (1990) is a Mexican performing artist with a strong focus on contemporary dance. He collaborated with local and international choreographers. At the moment he is creating a collaborative platform which is focused on physical training and the transformation of the body through movement, as well as the pedagogy of dance and movement practices. It's also about defining the social responsibility of the artist himself and emphazises de awareness of both, body and mind.
Nina Lorenz
Nina Lorenz (1961, Darmstadt) is artistic director, director and co-initiator of the TiG Theater in the gardeners quarter Bamberg. She studied drama and German in Erlangen and Berlin and was assistant director at the city theaters Essen, Tübingen, Constance and Wilhelmshaven. Nina is trained in the field of physical theater with Norberto Presta. Between 2003-2007 she was dramaturg / director at the E.T.A. Hoffmann-Theater in Bamberg. Since 2002 Nina also leads productions at the children's theater Chapeau Claque.
Thomas Jaspers
Thomas Jaspers is a Dutch drummer based in Amsterdam. Trained as a jazzdrummer his main focus lies in improvisation. As a freelance musician he has performed/recorded with musicians such as Wilbert de Joode, Wolter Wierbos, Ab Baars, Michiel Braam, Bo van de Graaf, Guus Jansen and many others. Besides this, Thomas also composed and recorded music for film and collaborated with dance performances.
Bart Laport
Bart Laport is a filmmaker, with a broad interest in art and culture. He stood in front of the class for a year as an art teacher. After starting his own business, he started working part-time for a commercial company, but now focuses on films for and with cultural initiatives and institutions.
Nikos Charalambous
Nikos is a guitar player born in Limassol, Cyprus in 1991. His musical search moved into Jazz and the improvisational aspect of music. In 2013 he enrolled himself in ArtEZ University of the Arts Arnhem where he obtained his Bachelor degree in Jazz & Pop Guitar Performance. Through this time, besides leading his own groups with original compositions, being a side-man for various projects within Jazz, Pop and Free Improvised Music he has also performed for dance, film and art productions in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Currently, Nikos is residing in The Hague and doing his Master’s degree at Codarts Rotterdam.
https://www.nikosch.com