Editta Braun, is a choreographer with an expressive theatrical style. She is a pioneer of contemporary dance in Austria, and lately, has also been working as a producer and director for performances.
She was born in Austria in 1958 (Salzkammergut), was trained in classical ballet and studied the piano. After completing her studies in German literature and sports in Salzburg (she graduated with honours), she spent time in New York and Paris where she completed her training as a dancer and actor.
She then founded first the Performance Collective 'Vorgänge' with Beda Percht in 1982, which was followed by the editta braun company in 1989, located in Salzburg.
Her company has been presenting productions on a yearly basis. She has been touring the world since and was invited to well-known festivals in Europe, Africa and Asia, she has produced joint works with Jean Babilée and Jean-Yves Ginoux in Paris and Mahmoud Abodama in Alexandria. Since 1996 she has been working closely with the musician Thierry Zaboitzeff, whose compositions have become the basis of her works.
Editta has also been teaching at Linz and Salzburg universities, during the International Dance Weeks in Vienna, she worked as a Festival Curator (e.g. at the St. Pölten in Austria at their Festival Hall, at the KosmosTheatre in Vienna and at the tanzhouse Festival in Salzburg. She was awarded the International Price for Art and Culture by the City of Salzburg in 2014.
Two creative ideas have fuelled Editta's works - and humour and seriousness are closely linked here - as a choreographer. On the one hand there is the imaginative exploration of the naked human body as a moving entity, in which ways it is an image and an icon, in which ways it can be an abstraction of itself (Luvos-Series, Plays with Body Illusion). On the other hand she equally immerses herself in the possibility of exposing the failings of politics and society at large, and enters into a vital artistic discourse. She is not afraid of pathos to express deep feelings and humanity (for instance, in her work 'schluss mit kunst'...the end of art). A global perception is a long term project and a long-suffering one, focussing on the situation of women and ways of multicultural communication
Her style can be described as theatrical, her works are full of contrasting tensions and a conscious play with association and meaning. Her style is achieved through producing strong visual, emotional images, it is a dialogue between movement and music which has been composed for her dance performances alone. This makes the musical compositions an equal partner and counterpart of her works.
In line with her temperament and Peter Brook's conviction that nothing is deadlier for the theatre than to bore the audience, Editta Braun often creates dense, even colourful scenes full of energy expressed through impulsive movement. And yet, to balance this energy, she also allows for stillness and a sense of emptiness.
" She is the Grande Dame of contemporary dance theatre 'Made in Salzburg'. For the past ten years we have been awed and touched by the stunning work of forty-two year old dancer and choreographer Editta Braun. Her curiously peeking behind the façades, her ability to luring the audience into a poetical parallel universe, with a boisterous and effervescent fantasy plus a wry and witty shot of social criticism here and there..." (Heidrun Hofstetter in tanz affiche)
EDITTA BRAUN
ARTISTIC
dance studies in New York, Paris and Austria.
Important teachers: Cristina Caprioli, Sônia Mota, Peter Goss, Elio Pomare; acting: Walter Lott (method acting)
ACADEMIC
Mag. phil.
studied german language and litterature and sciene of sports at Salzburg University.
Teaches at Salzburg University, Anton Bruckner Private University Linz
PRIZES
2014 International Prize for Arts and Culture by the City of Salzburg
2014+2015 Heidelberger Theaterpreis
1995 bronce medal at the New York Film Festival for „Collision“, directed by Othmar Schmiderer
2001 prize for the best director at the Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre for “Nebensonnen”.
1986 second prize and prize for the most inventif work at the International Choreography Contest of Bagnolet (for «Lufus» of the collektif Vorgänge)
PUBLICATIONS
about Editta Braun
Kleibel, Caroline: Bühnenfrauen. Lebens-Situationen. Linz, 2001 (Fram)
Amort, Andrea und Wunderer-Gosch, Mimi (Hsg.): Österreich tanzt. Geschichte und Gegenwart. Wien-Köln-Weimar 2001 (Böhlau) Poschmann-Reichenau: Tanz, Kunst, Leben. 20 Jahre editta braun company. 2009. www.amazon.de
Thuswaldner, Anton (Red.): Das Salzburger Jahr 1989. Eine Kulturkronik. Salzburg 1989 (Residenz)
FESTIVALS
Israel Festival 2007
Suzanne Dellal Contest / Tel Aviv
World Performing Arts Festival Lahore/Pakistan 2007, 2008
Amman International Theater Festival/Jordanien
Cairo International Festival For Experimental Theatre, 91, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008
Creative Forum Alexandria / Egypt 04, 05, 07
24 heures spéctales non stop El Kef/Tunesien
International Choreography Contest Tokyo
Festival Kaay Feec Dakar / Senegal
Alliance Française Bangalore / India
HumoFestival Tashekent / Uzbekistan
5. Sib-Altera Festival Novosibirsk/Russia
MomenTTum Dance Festival Portoroz/Slowenia
Aquariius Era Festival Bourgas/Bulgaria
European Dance Festival Cyprus (Nicosia, Limassol)
Pushkintheater Moskau – Inter. Contemporary Dance Festival / Russia
Bagnolet ‘86 (Vorgänge)
New York Filmfestival ‘94
Eurodansefestival Mulhouse
Biennale Val de Marne / Paris
Théâtre du Gymnase / Paris
Théâtres des Amandiers / Paris
Théâtre Toursky / Marseille
Théâtre 140 / Bruxelles
Festival des Capucins / Luxemburg
International Dance Festival Thessaloniki/Greece
Klub Zak Gdansk / Poland
Altera Pars Theatre Athens
Tanzfestival Bielefeld
Mousonturm Frankfurt
Werkstatt Düsseldorf
Brotfabrik Bonn
Depottheater Dortmund
TanzRäumeFestival Hagen
Impulstanz / Wien
Impulsfestival / Bregenz
SZENEfestival Salzburg 1982-2001
tanz_house festival Salzburg 1992-2010
Fest zur Eröffnung der Salzburger Festspiele ‘99
Festspielhaus St. Pölten - Festival Österreich Tanzt
Tiroler Landestheater
Posthof Linz
Brucknerfest 2004 2007, and others
COLLABORATION WITH ARTISTS
Jean Babilée, dancer, choreographer
Thierry Zaboitzeff, composer
Peter Valentin, composer
Gerda Rippel, singer
Wolfram Paulus, film director
Othmar Schmiderer, film director
Barbara Neuwirth, writer
Rebecca Murgi, choreographer
Shlomo Bitton, choreographer
Arturas Valudskis, theater director
Teresa Ranieri, choreographer
Beda Percht, director
Hubert Lepka, director
Peter Arp, theater director
Mahmoud Aboudoma, writer, theater director
Laurie Booth, choreographer
Wim Vandekeybus, choreographer
Fatou Traoré, choreographer
Nadine Ganase, choreographer (Rosas)
Peter Angerer, musician
Rudolf Habringer, writer
Toni Kernjak, piano player
Christine Augustin, singer
Stefan Schubert, musician
dancers/performers:
Céline Guillaume, Barbara Motschiunik, Tomaz Simatovic, Juan Dante Murillo Bobadilla, Anna Maria Müller, Viviana Escalé, Zoé Alibert, Spela Vodeb, Manel Salas, Anna Reitbauer, Lisa Hinterreithner, Ulrike Hager, Sabile Rasiti, Sandra Hofstötter, Stella Zannou, Maria Koliopoulou, Jianan Qu, Erich Rudolf, Magaléna Caprodova, Andrej Petrovic, Jurai Korec, Patricia Böhn, Milos Galko, Vadislav Soltys, Robert Tirpak, Ibrahima Sene, Sonia Browne, Barbara Mülleder, Nadine Duda, Michaela Schweighofer, Sabrina Oukal, Eva Hager-Forstenlechner, Pascal Thièbe, Nirina Rajohanesa, Sébastien Laurent, Max Steiner, Georg Blaschke, Christoph Eichinger, Valentina Bordenave, u.a.
actors:
Khaled Raafat, Awatef Ibrahim, Sherif Dessoki, Sara Rashad, Christoph Kail, Daniela Enzi, Ahmad Abo Kharma, Markus Kofler
FULL EVENING PIECES
Die Jagd (1989)
Materialien für Tanz & Musik (1990)
Collision (1991), Duett mit Jean-Yves Ginoux
Bonjour Adieu (1991), Auftragsarbeit für die Luxemburg Dance Company
But kind old sun will know (1992)
La vie, c’est contagieux (1993) mit der französischen Tanzlegende Jean Babilée
Voyage à Napoli (1994), Rock’n Roll und Tanz
Titania (1995), Duet mit Céline Guillaume über Kaiserin Sisi
Im Dschungel des Pianisten (1996)
Heartbeat - Concerto for Dance & Music (1997). Duo mit dem Musiker / Komponisten Thierry Zaboitzeff
India (1998), entstand in Südindien
Miniaturen (1999), Auftragswerk für das Eröffnungsfest der Salzburger Festspiele
Nebensonnen (2000), Quartett
Luvos, vol. 2 (2001), Quintett
manifest (2002), entstand im Senegal, Schauspiel, Tanz und Martial Arts
Tajine (2003), Improvisationsprojekt für Tanz und Musik
Eurydike (2004), Brucknerfest Linz, Kooperation mit schauspielhaus salzburg, Junge Philharmonie Salzburg/Elisabeth Fuchs und der Autorin Barbara Neuwirth
oXalis (2005), entstand in Griechenland und Österreich
Eurydike revisited (2006), Auftragsarbeit für das Welttheaterfestival Carnuntum
Matches of Time (2006), entstand in Italien und Österreich
Coppercity 1001 (2007), entstand in Ägypten und Österreich, Schauspiel und Tanz
Wenn ich einmal tot bin, komme ich ins Paradies (2008), entstand in Salzburg, Tanz und Livemusik
Abseits (2009), entsteht in Portugal und Österreich
King Arthur (2010), Tanz und Schauspiel
schluss mit kunst (2011), Tanz und Schauspiel
planet LUVOS (2012), Quintett, Ko-Produktion mit Brucknerhaus Linz
derzeit wohnhaft in (2013), Solo mit Dante Murillo über Migration
4plus1 (2014), Improvisationsprojekt, Leitung David Zambrano
instant (2014), Improvisationsprojekt, Leitung Editta Braun
Paula (2014), Solo Tanz mit Iris Heitzinger
CLOSE UP (2015), mit AyseDeniz (Konzertflügel), fünf Tänzerinnen
LOveSTory (2016), Duo mit Iris Heitzinger & Dante Murillo
SHORT PIECES
listen to the moment (1991), Auftragsarbeit für die Luxemburg Dance Company
Welcome to Salzburg (1994), Auftragsarbeit für die Ballettschule der Wiener Staatsoper
Grey Blue Sky (1995), Auftragsarbeit für die Ballettschule der Wiener Staatsoper, 15 min.
Tutu. Ça va? (1996). Rock-Ballet , 10 min.
Fahrradwerkstatt (1997), Auftragsarbeit für die Ballettschule der Wiener Staatsoper, 9 min.
Fish (1998), 12 junge Tänzerinnen, 15 min.
Fragile (1998), 23 junge Tänzerinnen, 20 min.
Dornröschen schläft (1999), Auftragsarbeit für die Ballettschule der Wiener Staatsoper, 8 min.
Prêt-à-Porter (2000), 9 junge Tänzerinnen, 20 min.
Mozart ! (2001), Quartett, 13 min.
Zwei Sonnen (2002), Duo, 30 min., Auftragsarbeit für das HumoFestival Tashkent/Usbekistan
La Boîte (2003), livemusic & dance, 25 min.
FILMS
Lufus (1986), Regie: Kurt Liwehr, ORF-Kunststücke
Monaksia (1986), Regie: Rainer Berson, Tanzfiktion
Collision (1993), Regie: Othmar Schmiderer
Bronzemedaille beim New York Film Festival; Tanzfiktion
La Vie, c’est contagieux (1994), Regie: Wolfram Paulus; Doku
editta braun company at Kaay Fecc Festival in Dakar (2003), Regie: Hannes Klein; Doku für ORF
e.poration (2007), Regie: Hannes Klein; Kurzfilm