Theory

The TQW theory programme is a space for producing, sharing, discussing, and interrogating dance and performance theory and interweaving interdisciplinary theoretical work with dance and performance practice.

The TQW theory programme increases the visibility of dance-theoretical work conducted in Vienna and its surroundings, including outside of Austria; provides access, for Vienna-based audiences and professionals, to emerging trends in international dance and performance studies; promotes contact and exchange between theory/theorists and practice/practitioners, notably at the level of university education; facilitates the development of a local, interdisciplinary community around dance and performance theory; fosters the work of emergent and independent scholars; and considers the dance institution as a space for non-academic research, while strengthening its links with university-based scholars. 

The programme unfolds in diverse evolving formats: monthly public lectures provide insights into current theoretical developments; Doing Things With Theory brings together groups of university students from different backgrounds in intensive workshops facilitated by artist-researchers; TQW Research Affiliation proposes a middle-term theory residency to early career and/or independent researchers, and bi-annual Winter Schools gather a community of researchers around a common topic of interest.

Research Affiliation

TQW Research Affiliation is a four-month association of a researcher or collective in dance, performance, or related fields with TQW around a specific research project. It provides financial means for the affiliate to work on their project and produce events (e. g. curated guest lectures, workshops, discussions, reading groups) as part of the TQW theory programme. The affiliation is directed towards early-career and/or independent researchers to support those working on dance and performance theory in often precarious conditions and foster Vienna’s theoretical landscape in the longer term. At the same time, it functions as an intermediary for bidirectional transfers of knowledge and research practices between theory and the local art scene. The affiliation is open to both theorists and artist-researchers with a strong theoretical background.

Labs

The lab programme regularly held at the TQW Studios is dedicated to exploration and exchange between local and international artists and experts. Unhampered by the usual pressure to produce and present, the participants can explore general topical, specific, or unusual aspects of contemporary choreography and performance. To enable a closer examination, some of the subjects addressed relate to the performance programme at Tanzquartier Wien. However, the labs also provide those interested with a platform to inquire into urgent issues of our time, irrespective of TQW’s programme. Experts or artists curate and run the labs.

TQW Magazin

Tanzquartier Wien promotes a new way of engaging with the performances: the TQW Magazin. Experts from various disciplines will write a text to accompany every work shown at TQW, which will provide both artists and visitors with additional material for analysis – and not least a focus on the practice of writing about dance and performance itself. The texts will be collected and published on our Newsblog and as a bilingual (German/English) print magazine once a year. Free copies of the print version are available at TQW Studios.

 

TQW Magazin Posts

Library

The reference library in the TQW Studios comprises a unique collection specialising in contemporary dance and performance. The well-stocked inventory, which is the library’s core, includes over 2,600 titles and 2,100 magazines.

The foyer area accommodates general literature and anthologies on the subjects of dance, performance, art, theory, and more, including subject-specific works from the fields of gender theory and philosophy. A comfortable, publicly-accessible room for reading, researching, and riffling is on the first floor under the roof. A computer workstation is provided to browse the complete digitised archive of live performance recordings, lectures, and labs held since the opening of TQW in 2001.

Moreover, a regularly updated selection of books, articles, and videos related to the performance programme is available here to read up on or preview.

We present a monthly changing programme from our archive in the exhibition area. It communicates with the stage programme.

Opening hours

 

 

Online Mediathek

After five years of digitising and cataloguing all recordings of Tanzquartier Wien since its inception, TQW opened the online media library in 2015. The videos are available as streams (not as downloads). For copyright reasons, some can only be retrieved on request via log-in. All freely accessible recordings of TQW events are put online with the artists’ express permission.

Contact:
Maximilian Hohlweg
mhohlweg@tqw.at

mediathek.tqw.at

Tanzquartier Wien Online Archive

The online archive currently comprises 300 recordings of performances, lectures, lecture performances, artist talks, and research formats. The stock is continually expanding, and the complete archive can be consulted in TQW’s library as before.

Open Space Austria

Open Space Austria is an area of the online media library self-defined by Austrian dance and performance artists where they can upload recordings of their artistic works. The platform intends to promote the international visibility of the local scene and work in the field of dance studies outside of Vienna.

 
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