Spotlight on Brigitte Breternitz

After years of hard work she is going to open her own school of dancing, acting and music in Cologne on July 1st 2007.

How long have you been dreaming this dream for? Why is it so important for you?

- I always had this dream... But one day I just thought that this does not have to remain a dream… I can do something about it! And I started to write a concept and during the next few years different ideas were developed and became clearer. The result is a really good and especially a new kind of artist-school-system. I believe that this will be something new and something fresh for our scene…

When did the concrete planning begin? A project like this needs intensive support from familiy, friends, partners, banks… How did you manage this?

- About one and a half years ago I met Meike Schlegel. It is because of her unbelievable organizational talents that our common founded agency PAKAMELE Productions and the belonging talent-supporting-project Hot Per Suit were such a success last year. Right at the beginning Meike was convinced by the idea of MADCITY and so we started to work out our aims. We are a super team and that is the most important for me… Of course I also have awesome friends and an amazing family who are all supporting me as much as they can. The bank and many helping hands believed in our concept and invested in it… And thanks to their trust and to our motivation the opening will be next month already!

Were there already big problems you had to face?

- Just the regular madness. But it is really exciting!

What is so special about your school?

- Well, the first thing that is really special about it, is our flatrate. That means that our members are able to work out as much as they like for the same prize. Secondly we have really “good” coaches because of my long experience in the professional and amateur area. They are all interesting for professionals as well as for beginners. So I’d say that the niveau is special! Well.. and I love my job!

When will you open?

- Sunday, July 1st, there will be an opening workshop. The coaches will be: Marvin A. Smith, Eva Nitsch, David Hernandez and Camillo Lauricella – all good people from the German show “So you think you can dance…”. The workshop, the party and the show at night altogether will cost 29,90 Euro – that is one month rate for the school! The party at night is open to anybody and I hope that we will have a good start with it. In July there will be a special program in the form of project weeks. Every week there will be one piece rehearsed and the show will be on Saturday. Just like professionals… The style of the pieces will change weekly. On July 2nd there will start the fixed courses at the evenings at 8.30 pm to have a look at the coaches – but members are able to use anything for free… In August our regular schedule will start which is divided into different age groups. There will be open classes, professional classes and basic courses.

Who are the courses for – beginners, hobby dancers or professionals?

- There is a nice sentence by Merce Cunningham: “You have to love the dance to stick to it. It doesn’t give you anything for free – except those moments where you feel the living in you“. That is just my view as well. We are interested in all kind of dancers who are eager to dance… who have a desire.

Which styles are going to be taught?

- Our dancing styles start with jazz, modern, musical and ballet and move over hip hop newschool /oldschool, funky jazz to ladysalsa, afro and oriental dance to give students the possibilities to try different styles. We’d love to offer courses as well that train the dancer’s finess like yoga, dancers workout, floorbarre, girotonic and technique courses. We are educational structured and, at least so I hope, there will be many „allround talents” in our rooms. I am sooo looking forward to it!

Will StagePoolers receive some kind of discount?

- As Stagepooler you will get “professional status” and you will only pay the professional prize.

As soon as MADCITY is opened – have you then achieved everything in life you ever wanted for yourself? Or is there still more you want to reach for?

- Mhm… well I think when MADCITY is opened another step is done. But then the action will start. I have always enough ideas and I am a person who loves to go for my goals… I love to implement creativity and I have the feeling that MADCITY will be the right place for it. The future will be stressful but that is just perfect. There is always something to be done and that is probably something that will never stop…

We definitely hope that MADCITY will be successful – also seen in an economic way. Tell us how things go!

- Thank you very much. I definitely will.