Geradeaus auf verschlungenen Wegen

Martin Puttke and Peter Lüchinger

An account of a fascinating journey by an unsuspecting traveller through art, education and politics

A reading with author Martin Puttke and actor Peter Lüchinger.

The reading will be followed by a conversation with Martin Puttke and representatives from the worlds of culture and politics.

n the summer of 1961, eighteen-year-old Martin Puttke cycled through the Brandenburg Gate. Originally from the Ruhr region, his dream was to become a ballet dancer. The only state-run ballet school was in East Berlin. He held on to this spirit of adventure throughout his life: he became a dancer at the Staatsoper, studied dance education in Moscow, and went on to become first Artistic Director and later, for many years, Director of the Berlin Ballet School. Under his leadership, and with his teaching method, the school became one of the world’s leading institutions for ballet training. From then on, the verdict was clear: if you wanted the very best ballet training, Berlin was the place to be.

Martin Puttke’s memoirs are more than an artist’s biography. Informative and entertaining, they offer fascinating insights into his experiences of the two contrasting social systems of East and West – a historical document of life, education and cultural work in a divided Germany.

In this reading, Puttke looks back without nostalgia, but with clarity and passion, on a time when art was always political, too.

“And so Martin Puttke’s memoirs should be recommended not only to dance enthusiasts… The reader learns a great deal about German and international dance history, the legendary debates surrounding classical ballet and contemporary dance, the continuities and discontinuities in dance education, and the highs and lows of a fascinating profession, with its successes and losses… This is particularly true of the numerous anecdotes, not least those concerning the enduring tension between art and politics.” (Professor Dr Norbert Lammert, former President of the German Bundestag)

The conversation that follows will turn to Martin Puttke’s perspective on the cultural sector today. Together with Puttke and other guests from the worlds of culture and politics, we will explore the place and significance of the body in contemporary society and build a bridge to the social and political dimensions of artistic and dance practice.

Conversation moderated by: Anke Euler