Ortrun Stanzel / Movement Artist

Hi, I'm Ortrun – interdisciplinary artist & somatic + breathwork coach. My roots range from ballet, rock'n'roll acrobatics and ballroom dancing to the Graham Technique and contemporary dance. I also studied fine arts, today both fields influence my performances. For me, it's not the what that counts, but the how, no matter if it's about fine arts, Design, fashion or dance. Movement is an expression of the non-verbal for me. I love aesthetics and I believe that art should be much more than just "entertainment". Art should be allowed to ask questions that lead to helpful answers, inspire and eventually change perspectives. Here I would like to share my artistic work and workshops and enter to exchange with you. *** Foto: Manfred Hierdeis #contemporarydance, PERFORMINGARTS, MOVEMENTARTIST, BODYWORK, SOMATICS, BREATHWORK, INTERDISCIPLINARYARTIST

The body is our tool, our medium of expression – and at the same time a mirror of our inner self. I believe that dance can be more than a technical show-off or shallow entertainment: - Dance is authentic self-expression - Dance can be truth – often more honest than words - Movement can heal and liberate After more than 15 years of working with dancers and athletes, I know: Incorrect training, outdated assessment standards, pressure systems and poor conditions lead to injuries, pain, alienation and poor teaching quality. Conscious training, somatic approaches and applied anatomical knowledge lead to resilience, expressiveness and lasting joy in dancing - for teachers and dancers alike. With my work I would like to: - Educate – about grievances in dance education and the illusions of professional dance - Create inspiring exchange - Show ways in which we can find healing and self-empowerment through the right way to deal with the body How do you experience the professional dance world? Share! #dancecommunity #somaticmovement #healingthroughdance #movementartist

I'm a child of the 80s – growing up with training conditions that were anything but healthy. At the age of 30, I was already suffering massive consequential damage. A stage accident made me unable to work for 19 months. I was a full-body pain patient and suffered for a long time. I tried everything possible, but nothing really helped. But I didn't give up. Biokinematics brought me back and from then on I looked for my own way: - I have learned manual therapies and did the naturalpath education - Helped dancers & athletes in pain management, - Educated myself in somatics and neurobiology - and developed my own didactics in theater dance, integrating applied anatomy and sports science aspects Today I have turned my suffering into a strength. I have developed: - my own coaching program combining somatics breathwork and applied psychology - I help dancers and creative people to release blockages and pain - And I create interdisciplinary art that connects body and soul For me, pain is not the end, it's an indication that change is possible & needed. And that's where growth begins. Do you know that too, pain and blockadges what limit your dancing and the moment when pain is more than just a physical issue? Share your experiences! Photo: @carola.hoelting.photography #somaticcoaching, #danceartist, MOVEMENTARTIST, PAINTRANSFORMATION, EMBODIMENTJOURNEY

Enjoy a compliation of our dancers performing "(UN)Still" choreographed by Ortrun Stanzel @os_opensource „In a world that rushes incessantly, silence sometimes becomes an imposition.“ (In einer Welt, die unaufhörlich rauscht, wird Stille manchmal zu einer Zumutung.) Music: Dotted Line (Francesco Tristano Version), Recovery (Rival Consoles), Unfolding (Rival Consoles), Looped (Kiasmos) mixed by Ortrun Stanzel Light Design: @calvin.fitzlaff_official 🎥 and Editing: @dance_academy_balance_1_berlin Ortrun Stanzel lives in Berlin and has been working as a freelance interdisciplinary artist since 2008. She studied theatre dance in Berlin and deepened her training in modern dance techniques in New York. After her return, she specialized in contemporary dance. She teaches internationally and creates dance pieces as well as solo performances. Her artistic work has been supported by the the Künstlerinnenprogramm des Berliner Senats für Kultur und Europa, by Fonds Darstellende Künste as well as from Berliner Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalt. #dancechoreography #danceart #partnering #passionatedancer #danceacademybalance1berlin

The ensemble version of (un)still will be premiered on March 20th + 21st 2026 at Uferstudios. The Solowork was performed at the Tanzgala during Tanztage INTENSE 2025. In a world that never stops moving, silence can almost feel unbearable. This solo explores how modern overstimulation settles into the body — as restlessness, tension, subtle inner noise. What happens when we can no longer distract ourselves? What surfaces when we stay? Between inner voice and outer quiet, a dialogue unfolds. Movements appear like thoughts — fading, pausing, returning. An echo in the body. Sometimes fragile. Sometimes urgent. Grateful to have shared this work on stage. 🤍 UNSTILL, #DANCESOLO, TANZGALA, PERFORMANCEART, MOVEMENT, EMBODIEDART, LIVEPERFORMANCE, RUNDERTISCHTANZ, CHOREOGRAPHY, CONTEMPORARYDANCEONSTAGE Foto: Manfred Hierdeis

(un)still – Echo in the Body Solowork performed at the Tanzgala during Tanztage INTENSE 2025. In a world that never stops moving, silence can almost feel unbearable. This solo explores how modern overstimulation settles into the body — as restlessness, tension, subtle inner noise. What happens when we can no longer distract ourselves? What surfaces when we stay? Between inner voice and outer quiet, a dialogue unfolds. Movements appear like thoughts — fading, pausing, returning. An echo in the body. Sometimes fragile. Sometimes urgent. Grateful to have shared this work on stage. 🤍 UNSTILL, #DANCESOLO, TANZGALA, PERFORMANCEART, MOVEMENT, EMBODIEDART, LIVEPERFORMANCE, RUNDERTISCHTANZ, CHOREOGRAPHY, CONTEMPORARYDANCEONSTAGE Foto: Manfred Hierdeis

Feeling greatful looking back to Tanztage INTENSE 2025, my 2nd time to teach there and to share space with so many committed and inspiring people. Thank you to the wonderful team of @rundertischtanz for creating this valuable platform and for Marina dance accessible in all its diversity. From different techniques to different voices, the range and openess of this workshop intense truly matter. Always special to return to Würzburg 💜 fotos: @henrikkaalund , Manfred Hierdeis #artistatwork, TANZTAGE INTENSE, WÜRZBURG, RUNDERTISCHTANZ, DANCEFESTIVAL, CONTEMPORARY, DANCEWORKSHOP, DANCECOMMUNITY, GREATFUL, KEEPDANCING, DANCELIVE

**“RISSE” — a live unfolding of memory, fracture and resonance** Born from Orla Wolf’s text *RISSE*, this piece emerged as an improvised constellation of voice, sound and body. A meeting point where remembering becomes tactile, where forgetting whispers back, and where the cracks between us begin to speak. In the exhibition "Vergessen und Erinnerung- Eine Komposition in der Umsetzung" we followed the subtle tremors of what remains, the echoes of what disappears, and the quiet resilience of stories carried by women* across time. A performance of rupture and tenderness, of a body listening, resisting, recalling. Watch the full performance : https://youtu.be/HceM7kAet9I #performanceart, LIVEPERFORMANCE; INTERDISCIPLINARYART; IMPROVISATIONART; EMBODIMENT; MEMORYOFFORGETTING; FEMALEPERSPECTIVES; WOMENARTISTS; EXPERIMENTALPERFORMANCE; CONTEMPORARYART; SOUNDPERFORMANCE; ARTINBERLIN; TEXTANDMOVEMENT; SOMATICART; PERFORMINGARTS; LIVECOMPOSITION; MOVEMENTRESEARCH

Bodystorming for my new solo "(Un)still", to be premiered at Tanzgala for Tanztage Würzburg. A nice way for me to get the music known better. #bodystorming,TANZAGEWÜRZBURG, SOLOPERFORMANCE, NEWPIECE, CONTEMPORARYDANCE, IMPROVISATION, TANZGALA2025

Time really flies... pretty sure this photo is from 2019 — and somehow I’m still showing how to get your weight over your shoulder (and maybe not land on your head 😉). A new cycle begins — Year 1 at Tanzakademie Balance 1 starts again! After 7+ years of teaching there, I’m still amazed by how movement never gets old… only more interesting. #contemporarydance,DANCECLASS; TEACHINGCONTEMPORARY; NEWSEMESTER; TEACHINGDANCE; HAPPYMOVEMENT; HEUSCHRECKE, TANZAKADEMIEBALANCE1, DANCEBERLIN

Brief insight to Traces-12min. Funded by the "Künstlerinnenprogramm der Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Europa" supported by GEDOK Galerie Berlin. #contemporaryart #danceingallery #performance #interdisciplinary #floorwork

"Spuren-12min" shows the traces of my contemprary floorwork performance at GEDOK Gallery on 27th of April 2025. Funded by the " Künstlerinnenprogramm der Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Europa" Thank you for allowing me to create this experimental work, which follows on from a previous series from 2014! #contemporaryart #experimentaldance #traces #grafit #danceingallery #floorworkdance