Face the Music

Face the music…and dance (2019)

Created and programmed as part of BewegGrund. Das Festival 2019

Concept and Rehearsals: Jürg Koch
Dance: Luzi Bader, Karyn, Barbara Hug, David Optalek, Elena Ramelli, Sandra Sasdi, Petra Stillhart, Doré Walther
Music: Street musicians and ambient music in Bern, 1. June 2019
Video: Adrian Scherzinger

Fragments of music emerge from shops and bars, street musicians play in various locations, somebody walks by with a boom box. The cast of dancers from the BewegGrund performance group face the music they encounter in the old city of Berne and dance to it with a scored improvisation.

jurg koch dance

bio

Born in Switzerland Jürg has been working internationally as a performer, choreographer and dance educator for the past fifteen years. He trained dance in Amsterdam and London gaining an MA at the London Contemporary Dance School.

Working with Candoco integrating disabled and non-disabled performers and dancing in contemporary repertory including works by Bill T Jones, Javier de Frutos and Fin Walker informs Jürg’s artistic and pedagogic outlook.

In January 2004 he joined the faculty in the Dance Program at the University of Washington as a lecturer. He was appointed Assistant Professor in 2008 and promoted to Associate Professor in 2014. He currently lives and works from Bern, Switzerland.

As a performer Koch has been a company member of Diversions Dance Company, Wales UK, and Candoco Dance Company, London. In Seattle Koch has regularly appeared as a guest artist for the Chamber Dance Company and in contemporary works by Mark Haim.

Koch’s choreographic work spans from solo repertoire (The Printer’s Tray) to community ensembles (the workshop, The Rite of Spring) and collaborations with new media artists (David Prior, Iole Alessandrini, Lyn Goeringer). Jürg’s works have been performed in the U.S., Europe and South Africa, at the Northwest New Works Festival, The Bridge Project and the Seattle International Dance Festival.

As an educator Jürg focuses on contemporary dance technique and composition. He has a specialized interest in Integrated Dance and creating access to training and choreographic content for a diversity of participants. He is the organizer of the Integrated Dance Summer Intensive in Seattle.

, Bern, Switzerland