Festival for the Centennial Launch
from 6 pm
>> Bauhaus Building
The programme for the centennial launch, sponsored by the Ostdeutsche Sparkassenstiftung, is based on the material explorations of the historic Bauhaus and its experiments with space, body, movement and material. To this end, contemporary artists have been invited to explore these aspects of the Bauhaus legacy. By testing, touching, feeling and experimenting, they explore materialities that shape the body, movement and space. The human voice is explored as a compositional material and the medium of film in its material nature.
The creative connection between the Bauhaus Stage and the workshops and their material experiments is epitomised by the so-called material dances: metal, glass and stick dances. Developed between 1926 and 1929, these were part of Oskar Schlemmer’s “Der Mensch” teaching course. The performers Isabell Schad and Manuel Lindner contrast Schlemmer’s fixed geometric and mechanical forms with organic materials such as branches, twigs and leaves as well as large movable cushions. They are interested in the cyclical processes and the changes in materiality triggered by movement. Joana Tischkau’s reinterpretation of the material dances is dedicated to the asymmetrical relationship between different cultures of remembrance from a Black German perspective. With Mike Dele Dittrich Frydetzki and Raiko Sánchez, the ability for intimate co-operation becomes the material of their performance.
Short films – S-Tanz from Farbenlichtspiele by Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack, 1923/2000, Opus 3 by Walter Ruttmann / Lore Leudesdorff, 1924, Spiel der Muscheln by Alfred Ehrhardt, 1956/59 and an excerpt from Reflektorische Farblichtspiele by Kurt Schwerdtfeger/Rudolf Jüdes, 1922/68 – show how the medium of film in its material nature itself becomes the focus of artistic-filmic attention.
The Italian composer and musician Piero Mottola premieres Voices of Bauhaus, a complex orchestra of voices. The piece is conceived as an emotional walk that associates images, stories and emotions. It is based on recordings of 43 voices, of people who work at the Bauhaus or have a relationship with the Bauhaus. Voices of Bauhaus will be premiered by the Extra Choir of the Anhaltisches Theater under the direction of Sebastian Kennerknecht, soloist Marina Drobyshevskaya and baritone Alexander Argirov.
Material-Previews for the Centennial Launch
The Bauhaus buildings in Dessau were celebrated as the expression of an innovative new architecture – thanks in no small part to the materials they are built from. For the launch of the centennial under the motto To the Core. Bauhaus Dessau 100, join us on a materials trail of discovery and get acquainted with the venues of all the planned centennial year exhibitions and other interesting buildings in Dessau.
The material previews are free short guided tours. A free ticket can be booked via our ticket shop. Please note that you need a regular ticket to visit the Bauhaus Building.
Concrete + Glass
5. 9. 2025, 11:30 am + 13 pm
>> Bauhaus Building
Gropiusallee 38
Start visitor centre
Metal + Slag
5. 9. 2025, 2 + 3:30 pm
>> Steel House + Haus Anton in Dessau Törten
Start at the Steel House, Südstraße
