As part of the German Dance Award, the German Dance Association is organising a Kultursalon at PACT. The German Dance Award is the best-known prize for dance in Germany and has been bestowed annually since 1983; the 2024 award goes to Sasha Waltz. Dieter Heitkamp receives the lifetime achievement award and explore dance – dance network for young audiences is honoured for extraordinary development in dance.

The festive dance gala and award ceremony will take place on 12 October in the Aalto-Theater in Essen. Taking place the evening before, the Kultursalon at PACT will give visitors an opportunity to discover more about the artistry and the work of this years’ prize-winners and honoured guests as well as to meet them personally.

The evening will be enriched with dance by the explore dance production ›Move More Morph It!‹, choreographed by Anna Konjetzky. ›Move More Morph It!‹ is a mobile pop-up production for young audiences aged 8 and up and poses the questions: Who, how and what can I be? A body sets itself to music, providing the soundtrack for a journey through different identities, self-designs and fantastic characters. Big effects and subtle sounds trick the perception and arouse curiosity about a creative approach to attributions.

The German Dance Award is sponsored by the City of Essen, the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, the Norbert Lammert Foundation and the Essen Cultural Foundation.