The story of re_dance and who’s behind it

The interest on this topic started with Katelyn (left on the picture) who wrote her MA thesis on the topic of motherhood and dance at HfDMK in 2019. In this frame she interviewed several dancers and mothers including Patscharaporn (in the middle of the picture) who became a mother in 2018.

The experience of being interviewed generated an ongoing reflection on the topic for Patscharaporn, who questioned how other women were managing motherhood and dance. Patscharaporn and Katelyn’s shared interest in the topic led to a continued collaboration that became the re-dance platform, established in Frankfurt in 2020.

Later in the same year, Judith (right in the picture) – a former colleague and friend of Patscharaporn who is also a mother – joined as a collaborator. Their first project together was an artistic documentation on the topic of motherhood and dance and followed a sustainable working environment for dancers with family. This project connected the 3 women who are currently the core of this platform.

Patscharaporn Distakul

Patscharaporn is a dance artist and mother. Her dance training stretches back to Thailand, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands, where she studied various dances such as traditional Thai dance and classical ballet, eventually earning a degree in contemporary dance at Codarts, Rotterdam Dance Academy. Her movement practice is informed as well by the teaching of Yoga, physically and philosophically.

She worked as a dancer in various companies in Europe such as the Ballet Preljocaj, Compagnia Virgilio Sieni and the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz, as well as collaborating with choreographers in projects (Mia Lawrence, Paula Rosolen, Yasmeen Godder, Max Levy).

Her engagement with the re_dance platform has led her to make her own work “The Heimat Taken with Her” in which she is interested to connect to women with multiple cultural backgrounds to document and retell their stories in the context of dance. Her research on dance training “She Owns” deals with various aspects of female menstruation and its potential to inform one’s dance training. Patscharaporn received a further education in cultural management and partly works in art production.

Katelyn Skelley

Katelyn is a dancer working in education, research and performance. Growing up learning through dance, she trained at Minnesota Dance Theater and received her BFA in dance from New York University. As a performer she worked with companies and choreographers such as Kyle Abraham, Katrin Hall, the Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern, TU Dance company, and the Body Cartography Project.

In 2020 she completed her MA in Contemporary Dance Education from the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts and wrote her MA thesis on the topic of ‘motherhood and dance,’ where she collected data by interviewing mothers working in the dance field.

As a dance educator she teaches contemporary dance techniques and ballet at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts. She also gives workshops on oral history interviewing and as a practice, continues to conduct interviews as a way to listen and value the lived narratives of dance artists.

Judith Nagel

Judith was born in Germany and holds a BA in contemporary dance from the hoogeschool voor de kunsten ArtEZ, in Arnhem (NL). During her last year of study she joined Compagnia Zappala Danza in Catania, Sicily. After, she started working as a freelance dancer with renowned choreographers and artists such as Christoph Winkler, Stefan Panhans, Canan Erek, Sita Ostheimer, and Modjgan Hashemian, among others. Her own site-specific pieces “Fanny&Felix” and “halle9”, which she created in collaboration with other artists, were premiered in her hometown Miltenberg.

Furthermore Judith got funded in 2021 by the program Dis-Tanz-Solo from Dachverband Tanz to work on her research with the title: “Die Ambiguität des Schweigens – Die unterschiedlichen Dimensionen und Wirkungen des Schweigens in Mutterschaft und Tanz”. In the last years Judith also started to work as choreographer for film and TV-Series such as “Babylon Berlin” and “Ein Hauch von Amerika”. In October 2022 her performance project “Ver.Schweigen” which got funded by BLZT and Distanz-Solo will have its premier in her hometown Miltenberg.

Judith is a mother of two kids and is based in a small town close to Frankfurt am Main. Next to her profession in the dance field she finished a 4-year Yoga Teacher program (BDY_ 800UE) and is very passionate about combining the knowledge of dance and yoga.

Collaborating artists

Allison Brown

Filip Piskorzynsky