Reinhild Hoffmann
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Reinhild Hoffmann (born 1 November 1943 in Sorau) is a German choreographer and dancer who is an important innovator in
Tanztheater The German Tanztheater ("dance theatre") grew out of German Expressionist dance in Weimar Germany and 1920s Vienna. The term first appears around 1927 to identify a particular style of dance emerging from within the new forms of 'expressionist da ...
, along with
Pina Bausch Philippine "Pina" Bausch (27 July 1940 – 30 June 2009) was a German dancer and choreographer who was a significant contributor to a neo-expressionist dance tradition now known as . Bausch's approach was noted for a stylized blend of dance mov ...
and
Susanne Linke Susanne Linke (born 19 June 1944) is an internationally renowned German dancer and choreographer who is one of the major innovators of German Tanztheater, along with Pina Bausch and Reinhild Hoffmann. Family Susanne Linke was born in Lüneburg, G ...
.Walther, Suzanne. ''Dance of Death: Kurt Jooss and the Weimar Years''. Harwood Academic Publishers, 1994.


Early years

Reinhild Hoffmann moved to southern Germany as a child and studied ballet at a school in
Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
. From 1965 to 1970, she studied contemporary dance at the Folkwang School in Essen with
Susanne Linke Susanne Linke (born 19 June 1944) is an internationally renowned German dancer and choreographer who is one of the major innovators of German Tanztheater, along with Pina Bausch and Reinhild Hoffmann. Family Susanne Linke was born in Lüneburg, G ...
and
Pina Bausch Philippine "Pina" Bausch (27 July 1940 – 30 June 2009) was a German dancer and choreographer who was a significant contributor to a neo-expressionist dance tradition now known as . Bausch's approach was noted for a stylized blend of dance mov ...
and graduated with a degree in dance education. Hoffmann, Linke, and Bausch are often credited as the three chief founders of the contemporary hybrid form known as Tanztheater in Germany (where it originated) and dance theater in English-speaking countries.Birringer, Johannes. "Pina Bausch: Dancing Across Borders." ''The Drama Review: TDR'' 30.2 (1986): 85-97. Hoffmann demonstrates a concern for the female perspective in her work, and she has revived from
Expressionist dance ''Expressive dance'' from German ''Ausdruckstanz'', is a form of artistic dance in which the individual and artistic presentation (and sometimes also processing) of feelings is an essential part. It emerged as a counter-movement to classi ...
the use of masks, an appreciation for the solo, and an emphasis on expressive abstraction in movement.Manning, Susan Allene, and Melissa Benson. "Interrupted Continuities", ''The Drama Review'' 30:2 (Summer 1986), 30–45. After leaving the Folkwang School, Hoffmann worked as a dancer for both
Kurt Jooss Kurt Jooss (12 January 1901 – 22 May 1979)Kurt Jooss
Internationales Biographisches Archi ...
and
Johann Kresnik Johann "Hans" Kresnik (12 December 1939 – 27 July 2019) was an Austrian dancer, and theater director working in the tradition of German Tanztheater (dance theater) who is known for his politically charged approach to dance. Early life Johann Kr ...
. From 1975 to 1977 she directed the Folkwang Dance Studio with Susanne Linke. In this period she created her first choreographic work, a trio, which earned her a two-year stipend as a choreographer at the school. The pieces ''Duett'', ''Solo'', ''Fin al punto'', and ''Rouge et noir'' followed. In 1977, she choreographed one of her best-known solos, ''Solo mit Sofa'', set to the music of John Cage, in which a dancer is pinned to a sofa by a dress with an oversized train. Two years later, she created two more solo works, ''Steine, Bretter'' and ''Auch''. Hoffmann herself danced these two solo works until 1984. In 1978 she spent six months in New York on a grant from the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.


Tanztheater Bremen

In the fall of 1978, Hoffmann was hired along with Gerhard Bohner as director of the Tanztheater Bremen (Dance Theater Bremen) in the north German port city. Her first piece for the theater was ''Fünf Tage, fünf Nächte'', followed by ''Hochzeit'', a piece that dealt with courtship, wedding, marriage, and pregnancy in a range of moods from humor to seriousness. In 1980, she created ''Unkrautgarten'', a piece about familiar neuroses; ''Erwartung''; ''Pierrot Lunaire'' (set to the music of
Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...
); and ''Kings and Queens'', a piece that traveled to the Berlin Theatre. After Gerhard Bohner left the theater in 1981, Hoffmann became solely responsible for the dance division. She went on to choreograph two of her most successful Bremen works: ''Callas'' (1983), which dealt with the theatrical world of illusion, followed by ''Dido und Aeneas'' (1984). In 1985, she staged ''Föhn'' and in 1986 ''Verreist''.


Schauspielhaus Bochum

In 1986, Hoffmann moved her ensemble from Bremen to the Schauspielhaus Bochum (Bochum Theater), then under the direction of Frank-Patrick Steckel, with the goal of creating work that was a closer melding of acting and dance. The Bochum theater renovated an old mine building as a 100-seat theater for her projects. Her first piece in Bochum was ''Machandel'', followed by ''Horatier nach Heiner Müller'', ''Ich schenk mei Herz'', ''Hof'', ''Zeche Eins'', ''Zeche Zwei'', and others. Hoffmann's work has toured widely in Europe, being produced in Turin, Lisbon, Berlin, Leipzig, Amsterdam, Paris, and other cities.''Neun Jahre Schauspielhaus Bochum 1986-1995'' (Nine Years at the Bochum Theater 1986-1995). Bochum: Schauspielhaus Bochum, 1996. Among the performers who were members of Hoffmann's company in Bremen or Bochum are Robert Allen, Patrick Beauseigneur, Isabel Fünfhausen, Mimi Jeong, Maarten Kops, Anna Pocher, and Remo Rostagno.Servos, Norbert. ''Solange man unterwegs ist: Die Tänzerin und Choreographin Reinhild Hoffmann'' (As Long as One Is on the Way: The Dancer and Choreographer Reinhild Hoffmann). Munich: K. Kieser Verlag, 2008. Hoffmann left the Schauspielhaus Bochum at the end of the 1994-95 season and moved to Berlin, where she has since been working as a freelance choreographer and opera director. There she has worked on Richard Strauss's ''Ariadne auf Naxos'' (2003) and, with Isabel Mundry ''Das Mädchen aus der Fremde'' (2005, Mannheim National Theatre). In October 2008, she worked on a production of Strauss's opera ''Salome''. Hoffmann received the German Critics' Prize in 1982 and the Federal Cross of Merit First Class in 1992. In 1997 she was elected a member of the German Academy of Arts.


Further reading

*Brug, Manuel. ''Opernregisseure heute'' (Opera Directors Today). Henschel, 2006. *Daly, Ann. "Tanztheater: The Thrill of the Lynch Mob or the Rage of a Woman?" ''The Drama Review:'' TDR 30.2 (1986): 46-56. *Ketelsen, Uwe-Karsten. ''Ein Theater und seine Stadt: die Geschichte des Bochumer Schauspielhauses'' (A Theater and Its City: The History of the Bochum Theater). Germany: SH-Verlag, 1999. *Henne, C., and R. Hoffmann. "No Room for Experiments: An Interview with Reinhild Hoffmann." Erhard Friedrich Verlag, 1995: 24-25. *Manning, Susan Allene. "An American Perspective on Tanztheater." ''The Drama Review'': TDR 30.2 (1986): 57-79. *Manning, Susan Allene, and Melissa Benson. "Interrupted Continuities: Modern Dance in Germany." ''The Drama Review'': TDR 30.2 (1986): 30-45. *Schlicher, Susanne. ''TanzTheater: Traditionen und Freiheiten : Pina Bausch, Gerhard Bohner, Reinhild Hoffmann, Hans Kresnik, Susanne Linke'' (Dance Theater: Traditions und Freedom : Pina Bausch, Gerhard Bohner, Reinhild Hoffmann, Hans Kresnik, Susanne Linke). Germany: Rowohlt, 1987. *Schmidt, J. ''Tanztheater in Deutschland'' (Dance Theater in Germany). Germany: Propyläen Verlag, 1992.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffmann, Reinhild 1943 births German female dancers German choreographers Modern dancers Entertainers from Bremen People from Bochum Members of the Academy of Arts, Berlin Living people Folkwang University of the Arts alumni Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany