Gerhard Bohner

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Gerhard Bohner (born June 19, 1936 in Karlsruhe , † July 13, 1992 in Berlin ) was a German dancer and choreographer who is considered one of the pioneers of German dance theater .

Live and act

Early years

Gerhard Bohner was trained as a dancer in Karlsruhe. He worked in Mannheim and Frankfurt and in 1961 came to the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, which was committed to classical dance . In 1964 he began developing his own choreographic style, consistently favoring new music for his works. In 1969, Bohner took second place in the choreographic competition of the Cologne Summer Dance Academy with the works Frustration - Aggression and Tension - Slackening , which deal with frustrated couple relationships. The human encounter with death as well as coercion and discipline up to torture are topics that will occupy him again and again in his artistic career.

From 1970 he choreographed for various clients. Carmina Burana and Catulli Carmina for the Cologne theaters were created in 1970, The Tortures of Beatrice Cenci and And so on for the Berlin Academy of the Arts, Malade imaginaire for the Folkwang dance studio and Make = Victims with dancers at the Hamburg State Opera in 1971. The tortures of Beatrice Cenci with the use of classical dance techniques became Bohner's most successful piece. This was followed by Lilith (1972), which is dedicated to Adam's first wife (according to the Talmud ), how he was made of earth and later demonized because she does not submit. For Bohner it is the "embodiment of an idea of ​​freedom" that he allows to penetrate a middle-class family.

Darmstadt dance theater

Lilith developed Bohner with dancers from the Darmstadt dance theater , whose chief choreographer with his own company he became in 1972. The first production of the Darmstadt company was seen by the choreographer and his ensemble as an experiment. Under the theme of "co-determination" an attempt was made in one evening to involve the audience in the creation of a choreography in order to make the rehearsal process transparent and to "demystify" the ballet. The limits of this procedure also become clear. For Bohner, power structures and subordination were a topic of his artistic and work for years.

In 1973/74 Bohner brought out variations on a contemporary theme that deals with shedding the neo-romantic dance tradition. The preoccupation with Oskar Schlemmer and a reinterpretation of his Bauhaus dances followed. Bohner left Darmstadt after the 1974/75 season resigned and worn out by arguments and lack of acceptance after the premieres of La Création du monde and The wonderful Mandarin .

He worked as a freelance choreographer for three years. He worked on Unterwegs for the Nederlands Dans Theater , accepted Pina Bausch's invitation to choreograph for Café Müller and brought Oskar Schlemmer's Triadic Ballet onto the stage.

Dance theater in Bremen

In 1978 he was brought to the Bremen dance theater by General Director Arno Wüstenhöfer , which he was to lead together with Reinhild Hoffmann . During this time three choreographies were created: The things in my hand , two giraffes dancing the tango and pictures at an exhibition . After three years, Bohner's contract was not renewed and he left the Bremen stage in 1981.

Freelance choreographer

He continued to work as a freelance choreographer, mainly with solos for himself, was invited by old companions to their theaters, staged a large scene of Heiner Müller's Germania Tod in Berlin for Patrick Steckel and choreographed Angst und Geometrie at the invitation of the Berlin Hebbel Theater . Bohner lived as a freelance dancer and choreographer in Berlin until his death.

Death and grave

Gerhard Bohner died in Berlin in 1992 at the age of 56. His grave is in the Heerstraße cemetery in Berlin-Westend (field 4-A-20).

Awards

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ (Schmidt, Tanztheater in Deutschland )
  2. ^ Hans-Jürgen Mende : Lexicon of Berlin burial places . Pharus-Plan, Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-86514-206-1 . P. 484.

literature

  • Dirk Scheper, Gerhard Bohner: Gerhard Bohner - dancer and choreographer . Edition Hentrich, 1991, ISBN 3-89468-011-3
  • Jochen Schmidt: Dance theater in Germany . Propylaea Verlag, 1992, ISBN 3-549-05206-5

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Bohner, Gerhard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German dancer and choreographer, dance theater director
DATE OF BIRTH June 19, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH Karlsruhe
DATE OF DEATH July 13, 1992
Place of death Berlin