In its new piece Grenzgänge und der Rhein, the Walktanztheater explores the history, present, and future of two towns on opposite sides of the Vorarlberg-Swiss border: Lustenau and Au. With a team of professional dancers and actors, as well as a choir of dedicated amateurs, a focused performative exploration of the region is undertaken.

For our video report, we spoke with artistic director Brigitte Walk about working with borders: between Vorarlberg and Switzerland, between dance and performance, between studio rehearsals and performing outdoors.

A theater piece about the relations and history between the two border towns of Lustenau in Vorarlberg and Au/SG in Switzerland. The research looks back to find a picture of past connections, gives an overview of the present moment, and aims to design utopias for a future connection. Both places have been historically connected for a long time; although the Rhine marked a border, it was overcome with bridges and ferries, and economic and personal relationships endured for a long time. Today, there is an aging traffic artery with a bridge, customs, and a highway connection for heavy traffic that allows cars to quickly move from one community to another but has severed numerous connections between people. The integration of peripheral locations into a global market and transport system destroys established structures and leaves behind dystopian places that resemble film sets. (more information on the piece)

For more than twenty years, Walktanztheater (under the direction of Brigitte Walk) has been offering contemporary theater and dance in unusual locations. Whether in a social context or based on literary texts, their work is challenging, sensuous, and always contemporary. (more information on Walktanztheater)