Bauhaus Festival 2024

“… the best jazz band I have ever heard jamming, musical to the tips of their fingers.” (Kole Kokk, 1924)

Celebrate with us the 100th birthday of the legendary Bauhaus band. Founded in 1924 by Andor Weininger, this band symbolises the history of the Bauhaus in terms of music and performance and played a key role in shaping the Bauhaus festivals in Weimar, Dessau and Berlin.

Driven by themes of new physicality and new rhythms in music and movement, the Bauhaus band experimented in the 1920s with a unique mix of Dada, jazz and the ethnic music of Eastern Europe. The musicians improvised on self-made instruments and surprised the audience with humorous interludes and noisy utensils such as wires, nails and chairs.

Immerse yourself in the dances that revolutionised the dance floors of the 1920s at the Bauhaus Festival 2024: ragtime, Charleston, tango, jazz and blues.

This year’s Bauhaus Festival opens up themed “dance spaces” that invite you to dance along, whether solo or with a partner. You can look forward to dance workshops for all skill levels, rousing music and concerts. Visit the Picnic in White and experience the highlight of the festival: the big parade. There will also be films, readings, performances and a choir. At the request of many guests, we have once again introduced a colour theme. The result of the public vote on social media is: blue!

Opening // Friday, 6 September 2024

On this special evening before the big party, you can get in the mood for the next day’s dances in various workshops. At the same time, it is a good opportunity to take in the festively designed Bauhaus Building in a quiet atmosphere.

This includes lectures, installations, film and music. Anyone who still needs blue accessories for the parade can make them that evening under instruction.

Opening Bauhaus Festival 2024

Speakers:
Dr Barbara Steiner, Director and CEO of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation Dr Sebastian Putz, State Secretary for Culture of Saxony-Anhalt
Dr Robert Reck, Lord Mayor of the City of Dessau-Roßlau
Burghard Duhm, Curator Bauhaus Festival

Choo Choo Bande
// Performance
The Choo Choo Bande (Choo Choo Gang) plays a clownish game and organises dance with bodies, instruments and objects. The clown collective has named itself after Duke Ellington’s 1924 jazz song of the same name. 100 years later, the clowns dance to a version by “Bob Hunt’s Duke Ellington Orchestra” from 2006.

Spaces of Motion
// Spatial design
An experimental dance space that blurs the boundaries between stage and audience and immerses you in a spatial experience of movement. Developed by students of the Kiel University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Media / Civil Engineering, Architecture programme

Fri, 7 pm
> Bauhaus stage, ground floor, auditorium
((The speeches will be translated into sign language.))

– – –

Curatorial tour in sign language

Andrea Schmegel with Burghard Duhm

Fri, 7:30–8 pm
> Meeting point: Bauhaus Building, ground floor, visitors centre

– – –

On the road with the Electric Cinema

// Film screening
The Schaubühne Lindenfels Leipzig electric car travels to Dessau. It has cinema art on board and shows a short film programme of films from the 1920s with and without soundtracks from the Deutsche Kinemathek collection. Some of the films will be accompanied musically by the duo Jan Tengeler and Rolf Springer with guitar, double bass, accordion and percussive elements.

Fri, 8:30 pm + 9:30 pm + 10:30 pm
> Bauhaus Building, outdoor space under the bridge

– – –

Jules Ahoi & Band:
“MAGNOLIA (The Bauhaus Tapes)”

// Release concert
In February 2023, Jules Ahoi lived and worked in the historic Moholy-Nagy House as part of the Bauhaus Residency. During this time, the Cologne native worked on new pieces of music and was inspired by the history, atmosphere and spirit of this special place. The album “MAGNOLIA (The Bauhaus Tapes)” is the result of this intensive creative phase.
The album will be released on 6 September 2024 and will celebrate its live premiere at the Bauhaus Festival weekend.

Line-up
Jules Ahoi – vocals, guitar
Muriel Bonn – cello, bass
Ornella Tobar-Gaete – violin, keys, electric guitar
Johannes Rüther – drums
Joris van Treeck – bass, electric guitar

Fri, 10–11 pm
> Bauhaus Building, souterrain, café-bistro

Dance workshops + hands-on station // Fri + Sat

Peabody and Charleston: the first steps

// dance workshop
Related to the foxtrot, the peabody is an easy dance for couples, where you can dance relaxed to fast-paced ragtime jazz music. The Charleston is also a great dance to feel the pulse of 1920s music. Whether solo, as a couple or in a group, the Afro-American roots can always be found here in the combination of movement, community and music. There is a brief history of both dances. Dance teachers: Caterina Oehler and Pia Vigh (SwingConnection Leipzig e.V.)

Fri, 7:30–8:30 pm + 9–10 pm
Sat, 7–8 pm
> Bauhaus Building, ground floor, festive area

– – –

Introduction to the basics of Argentine tango

// dance workshop
Together with Michael Zabel, Argentinian dancer Celia Millán will show you the basics of tango. You will also find out what the bandoneon, the instrument so characteristic of tango, has to do with Germany. Dance teachers: Celia Millán and Michael Zabel

Fri, 7:30–8:30 pm
Sat, 7–8 pm
> Bauhaus Building, 2nd floor, workshop room 2.20

– – –

Tango workshop for advanced learners

// dance workshop
This class is perfect for anyone who has already mastered the basics of tango and would like to improve their skills. The technique is improved through targeted balance exercises and new steps. Dance teachers: Celia Millán and Michael Zabel

Fri, 9–10 pm
> Bauhaus Building, 2nd floor, workshop room 2.20

– – –

Tango Canción

// Singing workshop
Adriana Macci, singer from Buenos Aires, explains the history and facets of tango canción and invites you to sing together.

Sat, 7–8 pm
> Bauhaus Building, 1st floor, workshop room 1.20

– – –

Not dancing is not a solution either

// dance workshop
Movement is fun. So is dancing. The Clowns Collective is convinced that everyone can dance. Conventions of all kinds are left at the door when you are invited into a safe workshop space full of joy, daftness and exuberance. In three different modules, the Choo Choo Bande shows how to express yourself well in jazz dance. It doesn’t matter whether you dance alone, in pairs, in a group or with the Bauhaus architecture. You can take part in all three modules or just individual ones. Dance teachers: Choo Choo Bande

Fri, 8 pm: module 1 – Failure as an opportunity
Fri, 8:45 pm: module 2 – Movement is fun
Fri, 9:45 pm: module 3 – Dialogue architecture/human being
> Bauhaus building, basement foyer, north wing

– – –

Clown nose to go

// Workshop
Based on the traditional history of the art of folding, which also played a major role at the historic Bauhaus, you can fold an inflatable clown’s nose out of blue origami paper in this workshop area. With a jewel fold, it is also possible to make a paper balloon that can be threaded onto a string and worn as a necklace.

Fri + Sat
> Bauhaus Building, ground floor, designshop

Lectures // Fri + Sat

Gramophone lecture with Stephan Wuthe

The Europe-wide DJ on jazz-related dances in Germany (1912–1930) has been collecting shellac discs for decades and conducting extensive research into the music of the 1920s to 1950s. The receipt of Otto Dix’s disc estate added to his great interest in the subject of “Jazz in pictures”. In 2012, his book “Swingtime in Deutschland” (Swingtime in Germany) was published by Transit-Verlag.
Moderation: Burghard Duhm

Video lecture with Hajo Toppius about the Bauhaus band

Toppius describes how the Bauhaus band was the musical centre of the Bauhaus in many respects. In terms of musical aesthetics and its practical and organisational implementation, it reflected the essential features of the artistic work at the Bauhaus. Toppius playfully explores these characteristics and shows what the Bauhaus band has to do with self-made instruments, pop music and techno festivals. Moderator: Burghard Duhm

Fri, 8–9:15 pm
Sat, 7–8:15 pm
> Bauhaus Building, ground floor, Blue Note Lounge + designshop

Bauhaus Festival // Saturday, 7 September 2024

5 pm – 1 am
> Bauhaus Building
> Bauhaus Museum Dessau
> Urban area
> Anhalt Theatre (Anhaltisches Theater) Dessau

Picnic in White

The “Stadtpark in Bewegung” (city park in motion) project has been hosting this sociable picnic in Dessau-Roßlau for several years now. With friends, family, neighbours and old and new acquaintances, you can eat, talk, laugh and listen to live music in the afternoon right next to the Bauhaus Museum Dessau. You are invited to bring along your own picnic basket and table decorations.
White clothing is mandatory for all participants. Tables and benches will be provided. Food and drinks can also be purchased on site. The picnic will be accompanied by the band “Panamena Son” and other surprises.

Sat, 5–8 pm
> Stadtpark (city park)

>> Registration required: from 1 August 2024 via the citizen information portal
A personalised picnic basket can also be reserved here, subject to advance payment.

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Swing together

This community dance project brings together people of all ages, backgrounds and genders to dance together. The aim is to “swing” in unison, act playfully or perform clownishly. In two workshops, you can get closer to the Bauhäuslers’ lifestyle and join other visitors in the parade from the Bauhaus Museum to the Bauhaus Building. Dance instructor: dance educator Gritt Maruschke

Sat, 4–5 pm + 7–8 pm
> Bauhaus Museum Dessau

– – –

Opening concert of the Anhalt Theatre (Anhaltisches Theater) Dessau

The 230th season of the Anhalt Theatre Dessau begins with the traditional grand opening concert on the theatre forecourt. Rousing and moving excerpts from operas such as Giacomo Puccini’s “La Bohème”, Alban Berg’s “Wozzeck” and Peter Tchaikovsky’s “Pique Dame” from the musical “My Fair Lady” and from the “Divine Rhapsody” gala planned for New Year’s Eve. In keeping with the colour concept of the Bauhaus Festival, this year’s opening concert will also include some blue items on the programme. And all this at the blue hour of a late summer evening on Friedensplatz in the heart of Dessau!

Sat, 7–9 pm
> Theatre forecourt / Friedensplatz

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Parade

The parade starts with a musical and dance warm-up in front of the Bauhaus Museum Dessau and heads via Friedensplatz and the railway station to Seminarplatz.

The parade will be led by the brass band “Frohe Zukunft” (happy future) from Halle (Saale). The band plays a musical firework that ranges from Balkan beats and New Orleans jazz to hip hop adaptations.

“Leuchtende Jonglagen” (bright jugglings) by Raxli Faxli from Dessau, music by Gaia-Percussion, KuSamba-Straßenkarneval (KuSamba street carnival) and the Black White Cats (cheerleading) from Dessau-Roßlau as well as stilt walkers from Stelzen-Art from Bremen accompany this colourful parade, which is one of the highlights of the Bauhaus Festival. Organiser: City of Dessau-Roßlau

Sat, 8:30–9:30 pm
> Bauhaus Museum Dessau > Bauhaus Building

Dance rooms // Sat

Hopse-Kabinett

In this dance room you are invited on a musical journey from the beginnings of danceable jazz to the present day.

Rufus Temple Orchestra

The musical journey opens with the Rufus Temple Orchestra, a hot jazz and ragtime band. It leads to the early Afro-American jazz of New Orleans and jumps across the Atlantic to the dance floors of Europe. The Orchestra is a much sought-after band for traditional jazz in cinema, TV and audio books.
Her productions include “Krieg der Träume” (ARTE), “Notes of Berlin” (RBB), “Die Jüngsten sitzen” (Audible), “Through the Darkest of Times” (computer game, Paintbucket Games).

Line-up
Johannes Böhmer – trumpet
Bastian Duncker – clarinet, saxophone
Johannes Lauer – trombone

Katharina von Fintel – banjo, vocals
Nikolai Scharnofske – sousaphone, vocals

Sat, 8:30–10:30 pm
> Bauhaus Building, festive area

DJ Louie Prima + Jules Kiss

In the second part of the programme, DJ Louie Prima and saxophonist Jules Kiss build a bridge to the immediate present by combining old and new styles. DJ Louie Prima is an expert in electro swing, worldbeat and one of the first electro swing DJs in Germany. He also works as a compiler and producer of remixes for Max Pashm, Rotfront and Bart & Baker. Jules Kiss is an internationally performing saxophonist who has dedicated herself to swing and has been touring with DJ Louie Prima for several years.

Sat, 11 pm – 1 am
> Bauhaus Building, festive area

StudioPeri

StudioPeri (Studio for PERformance and Interaction Halle (Saale)) sets the mood for each of the two musical parts of the programme. For the Bauhaus stage, the studio has created a three-part, subtly humorous dance performance. Under the artistic direction of Franziska Meuser, the dancers combine Schlemmer’s idea of the triad of colours, forms and physicality with movement forms by contemporary choreographers: Alexander Ekman and James Thiérrée.

Sat, 8–8:15 pm + 10:30–10:45 pm
> Bauhaus Building, festive area

Design of the dance room:
Students of the Kiel University of Applied Sciences under the direction of Ruven Wiegert

– – –

Salon of great emotions

Tango Milonga

Milonga is the place where tango is practised and experienced collectively. The fusion of indigenous music and dance styles with those of European immigrants led to this first global dance in Argentina in the late 19th century.

This dance of sensuality, dynamism and passion can unfold on two dance floors. Between the dances there are the so-called cortinas (musical curtains), e.g. the invitation from singer Adriana Macci to sing a tango or to dance a chacarera together with Federico Felitas and Vanesa Martin. Argentinian tango dancer Celia Millán and her dance partner Michael Zabel will be the hosts for the evening, accompanied by the authentic music of the Bautzen Orchestra Tango Misterio.

Line-up
Anja Konjen – piano
Adriana Macci – vocals, guitar
Katrin Wehle – violin

Helfried Knopsmeier – violoncello
Alexander Göpfert – double bass

Wladimir Artimowitsch – baja, bandoneon

Sat, 8 pm – 1 am
> Bauhaus Building, 2nd floor, workshop 2.20

– – –

Jazz Lab

DJ collective Soulbasta

Jazz as a permanent experiment in music: something new is constantly being created from something old and forms an essential cornerstone of our musical present and cultural exchange. In the jazz lab, styles are mixed and a danceable programme is created with experimental sounds by Bytechop and Duktus (DJ collective Soulbasta).

Forms in Motion” // spatial design:
An experimental exploration of points, lines and surfaces that are set in motion. The animations shown are based on works by representatives of the Bauhaus, abstract art and contemporary positions. Developed by students of the Kiel University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Media / Civil Engineering, Multimedia Production programme

Sat, 8 pm – 1 am
> Bauhaus Building, basement foyer, north wing

– – –

Club party

Concert by the Gerold Heitbaum Quintett – blues, rock & soul

The “Gerold Heitbaum Quintet” is completed by the singer Birgit Blumstein. She has been a member of the “Shiloh United Choir” in Sheffield (England) for 14 years. Almost all the members of this choir have African-American and Jamaican roots. The programme begins with the early blues (Robert Johnson’s “Walking Blues”), continues with the soul of Stevie Wonder and continues with the jazz of Nina Simone, B.B. King and the adaptations in rock, for example by Led Zeppelin.

Line-up
Birgit Blumstein – vocals
Bendix Maeder – saxophone
Gerold Heitbaum – guitar

Ben Hohlfeld – bass
Jonas Schneider – drums

Sat, 8:30–10:30 pm
> Bauhaus Building, café-bistro

Trouble Ahead

The band plays rhythm’n’blues from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Their influences include swing, West Coast jump, soul, surf, the raw sounds of Chicago blues and music from almost everywhere in the world. Some of the songs are contemporary, some are almost forgotten: first-class R’n’B and soul hits by LaVern Baker, Ruth Brown or Etta James, as well as electric post-war blues by Little Walter, B.B. King or T-Bone Walker.

Line-up
Anja Tschenisch – vocals
Bruno Laube – harmonica
Christoph Hennebeil – guitar
Toni Müller – drums

Michael Kirscht – double bass

Sat, 11 pm – 1 am
> Bauhaus Building, café-bistro

– – –

Triadic Dance Club

Triadic Dance Club

// Performance, photo and video installation
As in previous years, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences is once again organising a “Triadic Dance Club”. Here, students from the elective courses “performing biotechnical” and “humans as ghosts and other art figures” led by Torsten Blume, Matthias Lipeck and Mikhail Lylov in the international Master’s degree programme in Architecture (DIA) will reinterpret dances and masquerades from the historic Bauhaus. Following their performances, everyone is invited to dance along to post-punk sounds.

Sat, 8 pm – 1 am
> Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, Building 4

Music in the outdoor space // Sat

Tributes to the Bauhaus band

How would the Bauhaus band play today? What musical innovations and experiments would it drive forward? – Two music projects were selected from the submissions to a previous open call. They will be presented by the Kreis der Freunde des Bauhauses e.V. (“Friends of the Bauhaus” association)

K.A.O. – Kinetic Art Orchestra

The idea that one day machines will also be on stage with or without human performers was already driving the students and masters of the Bauhaus. The K.A.O. follows this idea, for example with the machine lady “Sandra” responsible for percussion or a self-built “aerophone” that plays itself and conjures up sounds from ordinary PVC (drain) pipes. A musical game unfolds in instrumental duels and even jealousies between the machines and humans. Jandl texts and Brecht poems give the performance an additional textual component.

Line-up
Stefan Albrecht – kinetic objects, bass, string instruments
Michael Winkler – trombone, tuba, and others
Bertram Quosdorf – saxophone and others
Five machines

Sat, 9–9:30 pm + 11–11:30 pm
> Bauhaus Building, under the bridge (outdoor area)

Freischwinger (cantilever chairs)

Cantilever chairs are timeless and yet modern. The quartet “Freischwinger” came together especially for the Bauhaus Festival 2024. They come from Halle (Saale), where a cultural scene has developed between Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle, galleries, pubs and rehearsal rooms, in which visual arts and music are close to each other. Now they want to merge influences from (free) jazz, punk, Fluxus and experimental club and art music into a performance that re-imagines the spirit of the original Bauhaus band. Swinging freely between the poles of noise and groove, harmony and madness, structure and individualism, the quartet shies away from neither dilettantism nor the boundaries of good taste.

Line-up
Hannes Lingens – drums, vibraphone
Albrecht Brandt – double bass / electric bass
Sylvie Viain – vocals, synthesiser
Christoph Liedtke – electric guitar

Sat, 8–8:30 pm + 0:30–1 am
> Bauhaus Building, under the bridge (outdoor area)

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On the balconies of the studio building

Sonntagskind (Sunday’s child)

The studio building, which was already very popular with Bauhaus students, has been the entrance to the Bauhaus Festival for many years. This year, for the first time, a choir will perform and sing on the façade of the studio building. Over 20 women from the “Sonntagskind” choir from Leipzig will perform songs from the 1920s and 1930s under the artistic direction of Matthias Queck. Among them are popular German songs such as “Veronika, der Lenz ist da“, „Ein Tag wie Gold“ or “Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß auf Liebe eingestellt.“

Sat, 8:30 + 9:30 + 10:30 + 11:30 pm
> Bauhaus Building, studio building, balconies

Blue breaks > rooms, installations, impromptu and bar // Fri + Sat

Ink-blue

// Poems
Blue is a popular colour in poetry. A small selection is presented on the bridge to entertain you during the dance breaks.

Fri + Sat
> Bauhaus Building, bridge, 1st floor

– – –

Berlin – Die Sinfonie der Großstadt (Symphony of a Metropolis)

// Film installation
Walter Ruttmann’s experimental documentary film celebrated its premiere in Berlin in 1927.
In collages with sometimes fast cuts, you experience the rhythm of Berlin in the 1920s as a booming and hip European metropolis with its working and living conditions. The film installation takes you through Acts II, IV and V on three floors, from waking up in the morning to midday and leisure activities at night.

Fri + Sat
> Bauhaus Building, north wing

– – –

Andor Weininger and the Bauhaus band

// musical installation
Embark on a journey through time: Andor Weininger, founder and director of the legendary Bauhaus band, sits at the piano. You visit New York in 1982, where the “Bauhaus dances” have been performed again for decades. Weininger, who advised choreographer Debra McCall on the reconstruction of these dances from the distant 1920s, sings and talks about the songs of the Bauhaus band.

Immerse yourself in the atmosphere of this moment and follow Weininger back to the time when the Bauhaus band was still playing. With the kind support of András Koerner (Hungary, USA)

Fri + Sat
> Bauhaus Building, 2nd floor, glass room

– – –

Blue Note Lounge

// cocktails and champagne bar
In the Blue Note Lounge, you can enjoy blue cocktails and champagne from the Flappers Bar in a special atmosphere. Here you can also create your own blue accessories to make you even more stylish at the Bauhaus Festival.

Fri + Sat
> Bauhaus Building, ground floor, designshop

– – –

Off the beaten track

// Impromptu games
Let yourself be surprised on both days in and between the stairwells by spontaneous artistic encounters and impromptu games in different constellations. Participants are: StudioPeri e.V., Choo Choo Bande, Duo Jan Tengler & Rolf Springer, Sonntagskind and the project “Figures of Motion” with interactive figures (students of the Kiel University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Media / Civil Engineering, Architecture programme)

Fri + Sat

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