About

Physical Days Bern is a join initiative of › Marcel Leemann Physical Dance Theater and the › Dampfzentrale Bern.
For a long time Switzerland has been lacking a platform in which professional dancers from Switzerland and elsewhere can receive advanced training in a variety of dance forms. The further growth of the dance field depends (in our opinion) on establishing contact to new forms and contemporary developments in dance. Physical Days Bern intends to fill this gap by inviting renowned dancemakers from around the world to give workshops in contemporary dance, ballet, improvisation, yoga, Gaga, and other dance forms. This project already seems to have generated a lot of interest — considering that Marcel Lehmann has succeeded in bringing a team of top-class, internationally known teachers to Bern for the first edition. The program we’ve put together is sure to be multifaceted and stimulating.

The collaboration with the Dampfzentrale Bern has substantially contributed to the growth of this project. Various dancers and choreographers who have come to perform at the Dampfzentrale Bern have been invited to join Physical Days Bern as instructors. And for a future edition we’re planning on being able to offer instructors the opportunity to present their work in the Dampfzentrale.

The collaboration between Marcel Leemann Physical Dance Theater and the Dampfzentrale Bern is based on their mutual interest in using existing resources as productively as possible, complementing each other in a way that leads to outstanding results.

The first edition of Physical Days Bern took place from 27 to 31 July 2015 in “Brückenpfeiler” – a suite of studios belonging to Marcel Leemann Physical Dance Theater, Junge Bühne Bern and Schlachthaus Theater, located directly under the Monbijou Bridge in Bern. The second edition took place from 01 to 05 August 2016. The third edition will take place fom 10 to 14 July 2017.

For five summer days, on the shores of the Aare river, Brückenpfeiler will become a global meeting point for leading dancemakers.

Since its opening in February 2012, Brückenpfeiler has been continuously growing as a rehearsal space and meeting point for a numerous choreographers, dance productions and theater productions. Companies from Bern and the rest of Switzerland regularly use the space to rehearse – leading to a lively exchange between different regions, styles and art forms. The complex offers a communal space with a kitchen, couches and internet.