THE CONCEPT

 

The EinTanzHaus is a venue for contemporary dance and cross-disciplinary projects. It's home is in a landmarked church in the heart of Mannheim, City of Squares, and was founded in 2017 by an artists' initiative. The goal was to create an innovative center with a professional infrastructure for independent creative work. The EinTanzHaus draws on this founding spirit and further promotes the positioning of the independent Rhein-Neckar art scene in a national and international context.

EinTanzHaus serves as a production site for choreographers and dancers, as a venue for guest appearances, as a forum for experimentation, as a classroom, and as a meeting point for the local cultural scene. Performance, drama, music and discursive events complete the program. Open formats invite the community to use the stage area in classes or during dance events themselves. These open formats are on an equal footing with art productions and professional offers for dancers.

In addition to the artistic vision, the EinTanzHaus is committed to improving work structures. This includes being in exchange with one another, but also constantly reflecting on one's own perspectives. All the principles of how we would like to speak and work with each other in the EinTanzHaus are available HERE to read in a basic code of conduct.

Founding the venue was facilitated through a collaboration of various individuals from the art scene, the church, and the city. We see the redefinition of our space which was formerly used as church as symbolic for our program. Consequently, the themes transformation, redefinition, interdisciplinary cooperation, and space-based projects are definitely the focus of our artistic interests. The theatre architecture built into the Trinitatis Church enables a direct encounter between art and spectator. The building's history and its origin as church still call upon the historic architecture of Helmut Striffler creating a unique atmosphere for artistic production. The concrete and glass building is an example of Brutalist architecture, and provides an extraordinary framework both for artistic work and art appreciation. Parts of the church history, such as the wooden church pews, were integrated into the theater and make the history of the building tangible.

 

THE TRINITATIS CHURCH

The present day Trinitatis Church was constructed between 1956-59 upon the ruins of the original building, based on the plans of Helmut Striffler (1927-2015). The uncompromising, modern construction paved the way with its composition and materiality for the Gedächtniskirche in Berlin (architect: Egon Eiermann). Seen from an architectural and historical point of view, the Trinitatis Church is one of the most significant churches among the regional churches of Baden-Württemberg. It has been designated as a cultural monument of particular importance since 1994.

THE COMPETITION

In 2015, the Trinitatis Church was offered to the city of Mannheim for interim use. In a two-step competition, innovative ideas concerning the usage of the landmarked church were sought and the EinTanzHaus was able to assert itself with its winning concept. The synergy between the sacral church architecture and a cultural platform represents an innovative reorientation for the dance and theater field, which can be seen as the reutilization of the church as a symbol for a lively confrontation with social change, culture and thinking outside the box. Innovation, for the EinTanzHaus Association, not only stands for the thematical confrontation with different visions of the future, but also the execution of an exceptional architectural concept.

 

The Idea

Due to the need to create space for dance, Daria Holme and Éric Trottier founded the EinTanzHaus association. Together they initially planned a mobile dance room on the banks of the Neckar in cooperation with the EinRaumHaus. The announcement by the evangelical church gave the initiative a new direction. In cooperation with Mireille Solomon (architecture) and Damian Chmielarz (event technology), the idea was adapted to the Trinitatiskirche and its new possibilities. After the founding, Holme and Trottier managed the new house together for two years. Since 2019, Daria Holme has been responsible for the artistic direction and management alone and works in very close cooperation with the entire team.

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