Norbert Servos
Lecturer for Dance History
Norbert Servos, born in 1956 near Cologne, was a co-founder of the magazine “Ballett International” and served on its editorial board for seven years. During this time, the magazine became the leading European dance magazine. Since 1983, he has worked as a freelance choreographer and author and has published numerous books on Pina Bausch and the development of German dance theater, as well as contemporary poetry. (In French: “Pina Bausch ou l'Art de dresser un poisson rouge,” L'Arche Editeur, Paris 2001) He has choreographed some 20 works in Germany and abroad (including in Cairo, Athens, and Havana), which have been invited to numerous international festivals. In addition to his choreographic work, he serves as a guest instructor for contemporary dance and choreography. Since 1993, he has been the artistic director of DanceLab Berlin, for which he has created numerous works—most recently the award-winning dance film “Elements of Mine” for ARTE / NDR (2004, together with Khaled El Hagar) and the dance theater production “Drink, Smoke – Made in Havana” (2004) in collaboration with DanzAbierta Cuba. At the end of 2005, he edited the book “Tracing Steps – The Dancer and Choreographer Susanne Linke,” followed in 2008 by the book “As Long as One Is on the Move – The Dancer and Choreographer Reinhild Hoffmann,” both published by K. Kieser Verlag, Munich. He is currently writing a new book: “Body Images – On the Meaning of Sensuality.”
Norbert Servos, born in 1956 near Cologne, was a co-founder of the magazine “Ballett International” and served on its editorial board for seven years. During this time, the magazine became the leading European dance magazine. Since 1983, he has worked as a freelance choreographer and author and has published numerous books on Pina Bausch and the development of German dance theater, as well as contemporary poetry. (In French: “Pina Bausch ou l'Art de dresser un poisson rouge,” L'Arche Editeur, Paris 2001) He has choreographed some 20 works in Germany and abroad (including in Cairo, Athens, and Havana), which have been invited to numerous international festivals. In addition to his choreographic work, he serves as a guest instructor for contemporary dance and choreography. Since 1993, he has been the artistic director of DanceLab Berlin, for which he has created numerous works—most recently the award-winning dance film “Elements of Mine” for ARTE / NDR (2004, together with Khaled El Hagar) and the dance theater production “Drink, Smoke – Made in Havana” (2004) in collaboration with DanzAbierta Cuba. At the end of 2005, he edited the book “Tracing Steps – The Dancer and Choreographer Susanne Linke,” followed in 2008 by the book “As Long as One Is on the Move – The Dancer and Choreographer Reinhild Hoffmann,” both published by K. Kieser Verlag, Munich. He is currently writing a new book: “Body Images – On the Meaning of Sensuality.” Together with Eva-Maria Lerchenberg-Thöny, he curated the program for the international dance festival “Tanzwelten” in March 2010 at the Staatstheater Braunschweig, where his choreography “Valbarena” (CH: in collaboration with Jorge Morro) also premiered in late April 2010. In 2014, “Dressed To Kill” premiered at the Noorderzon Festival in Groningen as a co-production of DanceLab Berlin and Grand Theatre Groningen.
For more than 30 years, he was a personal collaborator of Pina Bausch.
With his publications, Norbert Servos ranks among the key pioneers of contemporary dance in Germany and is regarded as an internationally recognized specialist with publications worldwide.