Vis à Vis Tanztheater. Art of Movement & Expression

Selected Works

Vis à Vis Tanztheater

Founded by Anneliese Monika Koch, is a community of artists who share the vision that dance theatre is a space for healing and transformation.

Evolving out of the tradition of European dance theatre, our work goes beyond the boundaries of dance production, exploring expressive dance as a path toward inter-arts research and education.

Dance theatre is an attempt to find ourselves - our shared expression beyond culture and language - a space for building community beyond cultural and linguistic boundaries.

Whether in the gallery theatre, studio, or classroom we are concerned with the movement of a person from within. Movement, as an authentic expression, becomes a transition from the everyday world into the inner world - where an unseen force moves us forward.

Life does not repeat itself; it calls for our full presence, a readiness for the unknown in every fleeting moment, like a child deeply absorbed in play. As we move, we search for what lies beneath, an attempt to discover ourselves, the source of our pain and our joy, our hope, our space and our yearning for harmony.

"We must remain open, ready to begin a new life, to grow organically, and to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary."

Anatole Vassiliev

Current Projects

Dramaturgy via the Body

Vis à Vis Tanztheater Performance Laboratory

In today's fast-paced world, opportunities to engage in a sustained creative process are rare. The pressure to produce rapid results often leaves little room to develop work deeply over time. Vis à Vis Tanztheater offers Performance Research Laboratories — a dedicated space that provides opportunities for personal artistic development and profound ensemble growth.

At the heart of our practice is a Body-Centered Dramaturgy driven by dynamic creative energy, developed by Monika Koch. Our work is rooted in the tradition of European Ausdruckstanz and takes inspiration from the theatre of Anatoli Vassiliev and Pina Bausch. Carrying forward the living legacy of Hilde Holger, we treat improvisation as a deep investigation to uncover emotional truth and to reconnect with our shared humanity.

Drawing from literature, poetry, art, and everyday life situations, themes are explored through guided improvisations. Choreographic images evolve as the inner impulses — which are the source of all movement — are unlocked. Performances are developed through the process of intensive studio-based research and regularly shared with audiences as conducted rehearsals.

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"The boundaries you have in your mind are the only boundaries that exist."

Rumi

Longue Promenade

Art Performance Laboratory

An exploration of the relationship between movement, modern art installation, and architecture through dance theatre.

The artistic approach of our gallery work is based on an interactive dialogue between movement and space — architecture, sculpture, installation, and art. In the unique atmosphere of a space and through the presence of its visitors, images of movement emerge from the dynamic process of improvisation. Each new encounter with a space, its unique atmosphere, and the people who meet in it renews the inner life of movement, slowly forming traces that are incorporated into the evolving choreography.

From the perspective of the visual artist, the collaboration offers opportunities to interact directly with the dancers. Visitors are encouraged to experience works of art from a new, immediate perspective and through the nonverbal experience of the exhibition.

Schedule

The laboratory is designed to run for 3 to 7 days, with the possibility of extension by arrangement. Research, creation, and performance are all integrated into a single artistic process.

More information soon.

"I dream my painting, and then I paint my dream."

Vincent van Gogh

Biography

Monika Koch

After studies of Literature at the University of Bremen she trained at the London Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. In London, she met the expressionist dancer Hilde Holger, an expressionist Dancer originally from Vienna who fled Austria in 1938 and taught in London until 2001. Monika developed a deep artistic relationship with Hilde Holger, working as both student and performer, and Hilde's creative and healing approach to expressive movement deeply influenced her work.

Other influences come form performance research with theatre director Anatole Vassiliev in Moscow.

Rooted in Modern European Dance Theatre, her practice encompasses art-performance, research, and pedagogy. She has taught widely, including a lectureship in the MA programme in European Dance Theatre Practice at Trinity Laban, London (2001–2002), leading an Expressive Dance in Education programme at the University of Vienna (2015–2021), and directed a postgraduate training course in Expressive Movement Practice at St. Virgil, Salzburg (2017).

As Director of Vis à Vis Tanztheater, Monika has led annual Performance Laboratories for emerging artists from Eastern Europe, the UK, and Austria (2007–2018), and Art Performance Residencies in galleries and other locations. Another important part of their work is Untersberg Community (since 2013) supporting children living in care homes through dance theatre practice. Here, Monika combines dance, movement, and play in a holistic approach to arts education, offering seminars, creative projects, and professional development courses in the Holistic Art of Movement Practice.

"I see teaching as equally important and creative as my own artistic practice. I love guiding students as they discover themselves and develop their talents through engaging in a lively, creative dialogue with them. In this shared journey, I learn and grow alongside my students. It is more than technique; it all begins with play, an adventure of discovery where movements emerge naturally from curiosity and joy. To be able to move is to be able to improvise."

Festivals and Exhibitions

In the Footsteps of Isadora Duncan Forum (Nizhny Novgorod)

Laban Anniversary Festival (London)

Laban Guild Festival (Scotland)

Lange Nacht der Kirchen (Salzburg)

Nordic Common Studies Week (Tallinn)

Festival of Body Word (St. Petersburg)

Goldegger Dialoge Festival (Salzburg)

Labanfest (Bratislava)

LAB Summer Dance (Bratislava)

Pfingstvigil (Graz)

International Festival of Experiments (St. Petersburg)

Biennale of Contemporary Art (St. Petersburg)

SAPA – Sofia Summer Academy of Performing Arts

Lift Festival London

Selected Works

Vis à Vis Tanztheater

Current Projects

Dramaturgy via the Body

Longue Promenade

Biography

News

The Language of our Dreams

Dramaturg via The Body

Play in Motion

Festivals and Exhibitions

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