Dock 11
Contemporary dance history
This trendy dance venue in Prenzlauer Berg enjoys great popularity. Dock 11 was literally bursting at the seams, which is why the Eden was created with new studios. More space, more room for creativity and movement, as well as new encounters.
Dock 11 & Eden***** are partners on Berlin's dance scene.
Today's dance theatre Dock 11 was created piece-by-piece from a factory on Prenzlauer Berg's Kastanienallee starting in 1994. It proved to be so popular, that space became short and plans were realised for Eden, with five new studios (five houses, five stars), two villas, and a carriage house. The modern buildings were completed in 2009 after being funded by the German Lottery Foundation. The new studios and workshops are now available for new artistic projects. They also offer accommodations in the residential quarters. Eden also houses its own costume workshop, fitted with the best equipment to supply the city's creative scene. Professional costume designers and lecturers offer design courses and workshops here.
Creative training and social interaction
The space allows artistic and social aspects to mix and blend: some 900 students between the ages of two and sixty come here once a week for lessons to be inspired by new rhythms and movements. Eighty dance courses are also offered for beginners, intermediates, and professionals. New choreographies are created, a feeling for movement trained, and innovative productions are presented. The interaction of teachers, artists, and students creates new relationships marked with mutual interest and understanding.
Stage programme
The focus at Dock 11 & Eden is clearly on the field of dance. There are also theatrical performances and a mix of music, art, and film. Its stage programme has long been known for its high quality performances that change on a weekly basis. Dock 11 is the only ensemble in Berlin's theatre scene that focuses on dance year-round. The productions are not meant to be ephemeral, but instead timeless with a lasting effect on spectators and visitors alike.
The underlying philosophy
The artistic work and an openness to the outside world are central and important criteria of the dance theatre's philosophy.
Human beings and our relationship to things, art and our environment play a central role in "shifting the interest from object to subject, from things to people," to quote Tomaso Trini. The artists are supposed to be inspired by the open structure again and again to embark on the search for the innovative.
Find out more about the city’s neighbourhoods with our Going Local Berlin app.
