Department of Philosophy and Humanities

A cooperative effort of the Freie Universität, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and the Akademie der Künste Berlin.

The Valeska Gert Visiting Professorship at the Institute of Theatre Studies has been in existence since the 2006/2007 winter semester. This program is supported by the Freie Universität Berlin, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Akademie der Künste Berlin.

The guest professorship is named after one of the most innovative dancers of the historical avant-garde, Valeska Gert (1892-1978), whose work was characteristic of the city of Berlin. She is thus representative of dancers and choreographers who are yet to be discovered and whose history is still to be written.

The function of the guest professorship:
Applying theoretical approaches in practice and, conversely, incorporating practical approaches into the academic discourse is an important part of the Master's degree programme in Critical Dance Studies. It is not so much a case of academics slipping into the role of the artist - rather, students should be given the opportunity to go through research processes based on concrete projects in which theory and practice intermingle. Practice here is definitely also dance-performative execution - but always with an analytical view that seeks to recognise and understand structures and procedures. This work leads to lively discussions about the differences and overlaps between artistic and academic research, as the seminars of previous guest professors have shown. The result is an exchange and dialogue between artists and prospective academics, a mutual insight into the respective working methods, which can certainly be very valuable for the students, but also for the artists.