Paula Dannehl

Paula is an enthusiastic and empathetic dancer, teacher, and maker. It is important to her to create an environment for the people she works with in which everyone feels welcome and seen. Respect and empathy therefore form the foundation of her practice. With a background in pedagogy and music, she came to this programme to further develop her third passion, dance.

As a maker, she works from socially relevant themes that are connected to her personal experiences. Through her work, she aims to inspire others to reflect on what they have seen, to critically question it, and potentially initiate small shifts or changes. For example, her latest piece “Langeweile” explored the question of how in our hectic everyday lives we almost never truly come to rest anymore and whether we may even have lost that ability.

Her fascination with contemporary dance and floorwork lies in the continuous exploration of the balance between tension and release in the body as well as in the question of how extension can create space without leading to excessive strain. In her classes, listening to the body is central, alongside dance pleasure and finding freedom in movement. It is important to her to create a safe space within her teaching practice and to adapt it to the level of her students so that they are challenged in a supportive way and can continue to develop.

In her research, she has explored how she can facilitate participation through dance within different contexts and how young people experience agency and involvement in this process. From her perspective as an Artisteducator, she believes that dance education plays an important role in creating equitable spaces in which young people feel seen, can explore their own ideas, and feel free to express themselves.

Paula also wants to continue challenging herself and growing as a dancer. She has a strong interest in acrobatics and partner work as well as in jazz and contemporary dance. In her work as an Artisteducator, she continues to move between teaching, creating, and facilitating artistic processes in which there is space for creativity and individual input.