>> Connection Dance Center 2025

The Connection Dance Center (CDC) is now taking place for the 4th time and is an intensive educational series with Mónica García Vicente, which offers young amateur dancers (aged 15 to 28) in Hanover the opportunity to work in a professional environment and experience the routines and everyday life of dance professionals. Mónica is supported by guest teachers from different fields of performance art (dance, music, dramaturgy, acting, lighting, etc.).

During the CDC which runs several months, the participants complete weekly training sessions and rehearsals with Mónica. The rehearsals lead to Mikro-Performances and performance opportunities in various venues in Hanover. Work shadowing also takes place.

The CDC takes place annually in spring. Participation is free of charge!

In 2025, the theme is „Hello Mary! Our expressive dance“.

16 young up-and-coming dancers were selected for the fourth Connection Dance Center and have been training and rehearsing weekly since March. The micro-performance „Hello Mary! Our expressive dance“will be developed and will be shown– partly together with an open rehearsal – in various venues in Hanover: in the Pavillon, as part of “Move Your Town” – World Dance Day on 29.04.2025 – in Herrenhausen, in the EISFABRIK at the tanzOFFensive, in the Kunstverein Hannover and in the tanzhaus ahrbergviertel.

At the same time, the young dancers will gain deeper insights into the professional world of dance through work shadowing at the Staatsballett Hannover (“The Big Crying” by Marco Goecke), at the mónica garcía vicente DANCE PROJECT (“Ellas” by Mónica García Vicente) and at the EISFABRIK.

The Connection Dance Center 2025 takes place from March to June.

Mónica García Vicente:

I would like to focus on the figure of the Hanoverian Mary Wigman as an artist and woman who significantly changed the way we see and understand dance.

Mary Wigman placed particular emphasis on the expression of the individual’s inner self through dance. In contrast to other styles, she placed less emphasis on form than on expressiveness.
She always argued that movement was worth more than many words and called her production “absolute dance”. She also held the view that dance was a statement in itself.

This vision has a significant impact on our identity. It is about finding a safe space to express ourselves, in addition to communicating directly with the universal language that connects us, namely dance, movement and gestures.

We will get to know expressive dance by looking at Mary Wigman, where she lived, in which parts of Hanover she worked and how Mary Wigman formed her own identity.
On this basis, a new way of understanding expressive dance can be developed.

My vision:
Art as a connecting element between thought and lived experience and between emotion and embodied expression. In recent years, I have dedicated myself to the development of choreographic works that focus on an intimate profile, women as a source of inspiration. Another focus is the conceptual approach and the intensive examination of social and cultural-political content in choreography. My vision “Art is always a bridge for me” is becoming reality. The professional projects and the Connection Dance Center run in parallel and only meet once a year to complement each other. The extension of the two lines enables mutual benefit: The professionals and projects mentor young amateurs and show the working possibilities of the world of dance. CDC enables the exploration and testing of new formats.

,,HELLO MARY! Our expressive dance”

>> Pavillon___1 April 2025
Showing & open rehearsal
7 pm
Admission: Pay what you can
More information about the Pavillon:
www.pavillon-hannover.de
Address: Theaterwerkstatt im Pavillon, Lister Meile 4, 30161 Hannover

>> MOVE YOUR TOWN ___29 April 2025 (Word dance day)
Performance as part of the town plaque inauguration at the former home of dancer & choreographer Yvonne Georgi
3 pm
Free event
More info:
www.moveyourtown.com
Venue: Ringelnatzweg 6, 30419 Hannover-Herrenhausen-Stöcken

>> EISFABRIK, as part of the tanzOFFensive 2025___8 June 2025
Performance
3 pm
Advance ticket sales & further information about the EISFABRIK:
www.tanzoffensive-hannover.de
Address: Seilerstr. 15 F, 30171 Hannover

>> Kunstverein Hannover___Date to be announcedPerformance
www.kunstverein-hannover.de
Adsress: Sophienstraße 2, 30159 Hannoverr

>> tanzhaus ahrbergviertel___18 June 2025
Showing & open rehearsal
7 pm
Admission: Pay what you can
www.tanzhausahrbergviertel.de
Address: Ilse-ter-Meer-Weg 7, 30449 Hannover

>> Pavillon___1 July 2025
Performance
7 pm
Advance ticket sales & further information about the Pavillon:
www.pavillon-hannover.de
Address: Theaterwerkstatt im Pavillon, Lister Meile 4, 30161 Hannover

Artistic direction / Choreography >> Mónica García Vicente
Music/Composition >> Melissa Wedekind
Costume >>Romina Medrano
Artistic production management >> Yara Eid
Social Media / Video >>Laura Nicole Viganó
Graphic & Webdesign >> Maïté Müller
Photography >> Peter Hoffmann-Schoenborn

Dancers >>
Gloria Kraft
Hanna Kuznetsova
Liesel Goetz
Milena Kaltenbach
Jay Stellwag
Alex Denecke
Elisa Ueding
Emma Hesse
Flora Lasinger
Jacky Grothey
Josephine Hahn
Lea Fassbeuder
Mia Knapp
Nathalie Wolter
Rama Al Aisami
Rita Schneider

Interns >>
Julius Pounded (Town twinning Hannover–Blantyre)
Marta di Bello & Sara Molfeta (Exchange Talenti with the Palcoscenico Performing Arts Center in Italy)

Workshops with Mónica García Vicente are taking place in the autumn of each year. The dancers for the CDC are then selected from the participants of the auditions in December.

You can always find the current dates for the workshops & auditions here on the website and on Instagram.

The dates for the CDC 2025:
The workshops and auditions have already taken place.

If you are interested in the CDC 2026, please send us an e-mail to yara.eid@monicagarciavicente.com
We look forward to seeing you!

17 young up-and-coming dancers were selected for the third Connection Dance Center and have been training and rehearsing weekly since February. The micro-performance „IDENTITY“ will bedeveloped and performed – partly together with an open rehearsal – in various venues in Hanover: at the Hanover State Opera as part of the Ostertanztage 2024,at the EISFABRIK Hanover as part of the tanzOFFensive and at Linden Town Hall as part of TanzMomente.

At the same time, the young dancers will gain deeper insights through work shadowing at the Staatsballett Hannover and internships at the TanzhausAhrbergViertel and in Mónica García Vicente’s production.

The Connection Dance Center 2024 runs from February to June.

,,IDENTITY”

The thematic focus of the performance in 2024 is IDENTITY >> What really defines us? Who am I, what is my purpose of existence? What fears and dreams define me?

>> Staatsoper Hannover, as part of the Ostertanztage / Generation TANZ___1 April 2024
6 pm
Tickets more info through the Staatsoper:
https://staatstheater-hannover.de
Address: Opernplatz 1, 30159 Hannover

>> EISFABRIK Hannover, as part of the tanzOFFensive 2024___26 May 2024
3 pm
Tickets more info through the EISFABRIK:
www.tanzoffensive-hannover.de
Address: Seilerstr. 15 F, 30171 Hannover

>> Lindener Rathaus Hannover, as part of TanzMomente ___2 June 2024
Free admission
Address: In the inner courtyard of the Linden town hall, Am Marktplatz 1, 30449 Hannover

Artistic direction / Choreography >> Mónica García Vicente
Costume >> Luzie Nehls-Neuhaus
Music >> “Great Day” by Fumble
Press / public relations >>Hanna Ehlers
Graphics >> Maïté Müller
Social Media / Video >>Laura Nicole Viganó
Photography >> Peter Hoffmann-Schoenborn

Dancers CDC ’24 >>
Rama Al Aisami
Pauline Dalk
Jacqueline Grothey
Nieke Hebach
Lotte Hebach
Kristina Reich
Lilja Röttger
Diana Schmidt
Rita Schneider
Lena Steinhuber
Inza Sudway
Ulrike Zeuner

Dancers Reunion >>
Malin Bornemann
Lina Hartmann
Alina Mohr
Laura Schepers

Participant guest lecturer (twinning Hannover/Blantyre) >>
Julius Pounced

Four dancers from the Connection Dance Centre took part in the creative process for “ELLAS” in August 2024. Based on Mónica García Vicente’s piece, they created the short choreography “Sehnsucht / Longing”, which they performed in front of a large dance audience on four evenings at tanzhaus ahrbergviertel as the opening act of “ELLAS”.

In “Sehnsucht / Longing”, the theme of social repression is emphasised in recurring movement patterns and an attempt is made to break with restrictive norms both individually and together as a group. The main aim is to demonstrate the potential of dance as an expression and possibility of self-determination. “Sehnsucht / Longing” is to be understood as a short prequel to “ELLAS”, which is why musical replicas are repeated. Furthermore, the four dancers also take up movements from the repertoire in order to expand them with further interpretative approaches.

Cast: Rama Al Aisami, Jacqueline Grothey, Lena Steinhuber, Ulrike Zeuner
Performances: 3/4 September and 25/26 October 2024

Contact

For questions more info feel free to contact us at:
info@monicagarciavicente.com