(Projekt)

How can contemporary dance be integrated into our everyday urban structures and made accessible to the public? Motion Portals Stuttgart is based on the vision of expanding art in public spaces to include dance content and making it tangible.

What if dance were to manifest itself

as sculptures in space,

movements that remain,

visible to anyone passing

the place where the dance once happened

Location-specific dance films were developed for seven selected sculptures in the centre of Stuttgart, in dialogue with the sculpture and its surroundings. Passers-by and visitors can access these short films directly on site using their smartphones via QR codes located in the immediate vicinity of the sculptures. The result is a virtual interactive walk through the urban space that combines dance, art and technology in a new way.

Each of the seven sculptures is a silent anchor of art in our city, places we often pass by in our everyday lives. Through dance, film and sound, new narratives emerge that bring form and space to life.

The dancers take up the characteristic qualities of the sculptures and translate them into movement. The cinematic design creates choreographies in which body, space and perception merge. A separate sound composition was created for each sculpture, incorporating live recordings of the locations and the sculptures themselves.

Motion Portals Stuttgart opens up new perspectives on art in public spaces and invites visitors to perceive movement, sound and form as a living interplay – in the hope that the films will inspire to engage with the sculpture and the urban space through motion.

The concept was first realised in Sweden in 2021 by Malika Ali and Måns Berthas, in collaboration with the contemporary dance company Norrdans. A total of 20 location-specific dance films were created in the cities of Östersund, Umeå, Örnsköldsvik and Sundsvall.