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Johannes Birringer

A German-born performance and video choreographer, Johannes Birringer currently resides in Houston (USA) after 15 years of working in theatre, dance, performance art and video collaborations on both sides of the Atlantic.

He began his directing career in the early 1980s while finishing his PhD at Yale University, and then moved to Dallas and Houston to work in the independent visual art/performance scenes. In Houston he also worked for Radio Pacifica and started to publish articles and reviews on contemporary arts and culture. His first major exhibition performance at Lawndale Art Center was titled "Invisible Cities" (1989), a widely reveiwed work which put the emerging company on the map.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall and his residency in Chicago (1990-97), Johannes developed several long-term video and performance projects that involved interactions with theatre/media artists, musicians, visual artists and cultural workers in several locations: Houstin and Chicago (USA), Havana (Cuba), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Eisenhuettenstadt and Dresden (East Germany), while also directing workshops on dance and video choreography both locally and abroad.

Out of his collaborative productions evolved the formation of AlienNation Co. in 1993, later formed as a non-profit arts organiszation in Texas in 1998, an on-going documentay film ethnography on the border-lands in Germany, and new performance projects and technology workshops developed by the Company.

He taught performance studies at Northwestern University and finished a book on "Media and Performance" (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, 1998) and another book on his cross-cultural work, entitled "Border-Work" (London: Continuum, 2000). He has previously published "Theatre, Theory, Postmodernism" (Indiana Univ. Press, 1991), and works as contributing editor for "Performing Arts Journal" (New York) and "Performance Research" (London). Since moving back to Houston in the spring of 1997, he also writes for the Houston-based art magazines "Artlies" and "Spot."

After rebuilding the company and the DDA (Dance/Digital Art) Studio in Houston, he was appointed Curator at Winter Street Art Center in Houston, where he programmed the exhibition/performance seasons 1998-2000. From 2000-2003 he designed and directed the new MFA program in dance & technology at Ohio State University's Dance Department. To visit the "Environments" laboratory (OSU 2000-2003) , go to Dance & Technology

In 2002 he initiated plans for a new interactive media-performance lab in Germany in a postindustrial site (Göttelborn Coal Mine), which started in 2003 and takes place every summer: http://interaktionslabor.de

To visit the new telenatics lab Johannes directs at Brunel University in London (UK), where he is a professor of performance technologies go to DAP-Lab.

 

Recent professional work (directed, choreographed, performed) includes:

For recent and current productions, visit new site

Video/Radio exhibitions:

Webbased/telematic performances:

 

 

 


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