Belinda Winkelmann Dance is Transformation

Collaboration & Research

BELINDA WINKELMANN - STEPHANIE FELBER – KATHARINA SIMONS 

UNTAMED BODY – Choreographies of the Wild is a performative research project created in co-creation by the three artists Stephanie Felber (Munich), Katharina Simons (Fürth/Nuremberg) and Belinda Winkelmann (Freiburg).

In three residencies in Munich, Nuremberg and Freiburg, the artists, together with local expertise, explore wildness as an archaic intelligence and investigate how the wild and untamed can open spaces beyond normalization and the logic of efficiency. How can wildness be experienced as a different kind of intelligence, and how can it make new forms of thinking, feeling, and acting visible?

What happens when we let ourselves fall – and someone is there to catch us?

In équiLIBRE, Creative Performers Lisa Wethkamp, Belinda Winkelmann and Raúl Martínez meet in a space shaped by instability and balance, closeness and distance, trust and responsibility. Together, they search for a form of equilibrium that must be continuously renegotiated.

The performance is not a quest for harmony, but a courageous play with resistance. Falling and catching become gestures of dialogue – moments in which equilibrium becomes visible as both a physical and social process.

A dance piece about the fragility and strength of relationships, about coexistence and equality and about how we can shape sustainable connections with one another.

Premiere: 05 February 2026 – 18:30
Further performances: 06 February 2026 – 18:30, 07 February 2026 – 18:30

E-WERK Freiburg, Kammertheater

Dance and Medicinal Plants in the Annual Cycle

Public Workshops in Malvaux – Center for Ecosomatic Research in the Forest, Biel/Bienne, Switzerland

Connect with Your Butterfly Consciousness 

As part of Malvaux’s Summer School #2 in Biel/Bienne (CH), Belinda Winkelmann and Dafni Stefanou will be conducting joint research from August 25–29, 2025 on the themes of inner wilderness and belonging as part of nature.
Grounded in ecosomatic practices, they explore how embodiment can become a threshold to openness – in dialogue with the forest, its cycles, its silence, and the more-than-human beings around them.

The Presence of the Butterflies & WARRIOR

La Presencia de las Mariposas is an international dance project and a co-production between Costa Rica, Mexico, Argentina, Germany, and Switzerland. The production is based on the solo The Presence of the Butterflies, performed by Raúl Martínez and choreographically accompanied by Belinda Winkelmann. From this initial collaboration, a collective process emerged that intertwines personal stories with the complex history of Latin America.

Belinda Winkelmann is involved as a performer and part of the artistic direction in the creation of this interdisciplinary stage work, which explores biographical material, collective memory, and indigenous knowledge through dance.

The production addresses themes such as colonial history, identity, spirituality, and the cyclical nature of life and movement. A poetic dance language is developing through workshops, rehearsals, and residencies in San José (CR), Puebla (MX), and Querétaro (MX), carried by an international collective.

The premiere will take place on May 23, 2025, in San José, Costa Rica.

inner WILD

Ecosomatic Research

FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL NÓMADA, El Salvador

http://www.festivalnomada.com

Like a caterpillar that dissolves its entire being during metamorphosis to become a butterfly, dancer Raúl Martínez (El Salvador) embodies a transformation that affects us all in his solo "The Presence of the Butterflies". It is about the light and shadow of the past, the fleetingness of our present and a living future. 
"The Presence of the Butterflies" is a dance journey through the artist's biography, linked to aspects of Latin American history. A memory of the indigenous ancestors who lived in harmony with nature. But also a reminder of the conquests and colonialism. The dance solo is about the anger towards the exploitation of this continent, the potential of forgiveness and tells of a vision of the coexistence of life. It is a journey that hosts many people, tells many stories and dreams many dreams.

Performances
Premiere: Fri 01 Dec | 8:00 pm
Further performances: Sat 02.12 | 20:00, Sun 03.12 | 19:00
E-Werk Freiburg, Saal
 

Apapachar & The Presence of the Butterflies

at the Kommunales Kino Freiburg

Freiburg Window I Double Feature Dance

Link to the Kommunales Kino

“There are peoples who have an understanding that our bodies are related to all that is life and that the cycles of the earth are also those of our own bodies. We observe the earth, the sky and feel that we are not detached from other beings. … It's about memory, a cultural heritage from the time when our ancestors were at one with the rhythm of nature... Everyday life was an extension of the dream. … We must produce other bodies, other feelings, dream other dreams in order to be accepted and dwell in this world.”
Ailton Krenak, Ideas to Postpone the End of the World

«The Presence of the Butterflies» is an artistic examination of the biography of the dancer Raul Martínez with choreographic accompaniment by Belinda Winkelmann.

This dance research is a journey through Raul's biography as well as through the history of Latin America, Africa, the conquests, and the colonies; a journey of the ancestors who sowed, reaped, danced and enjoyed life. A journey of liberation and forgiveness for those who wanted to steal, exploit and destroy the Latin American continent. It's a journey back to where we all belong, a return to dancing with butterflies, to the coexistence of life. It is a journey that hosts many people, many stories, many dreams, many visions and a future for all living beings.

Based on this research, we, Belinda Winkelmann and Raul Martínez, are planning a dance production for 2023.

The dance film «Apapachar» is the result of the disDANCING research project:
The longing for connection leads to an inner journey. Hearts widen to listen to the depth of existence. On the ground of being there are memories, dreams and visions. The freedom to indulge in life. How does it feel to love? How do I dream the future? How do I meet the fire of life? Through immersion in the moment and total acceptance of diversity, the experience of «Apapachar»*, an embrace of the soul, becomes a transcendent experience.
The mixedable dance production by com.dance e.V. opens the view for touch and tenderness, for hugs and humanity. Authentic, honest and transformative.

*The Spanish word "Apapachar" has its roots in the indigenous language "Nahuatl" and means embrace of the soul or caress the soul.pachar

“disDANCING” is an inclusive dance project by com.dance e.V. It looks for points of contact between dancers and the viewers during a time of social distancing. Under the choreographic direction of Belinda Winkelmann, two dancers with Down Syndrome and two professional dancers create in an interdisciplinary dialogue with the film-maker Marc Doradzillo, a dance movie that wants to touch.

Neuroscience research shows how essential physical touch is for a person’s physical and psychological well-being. But (how) can people be touched in a different WAY if the external conditions do not physically allow it? We will deal with this question in the context of this project.

With “disDANCING” com.dance e.V. dares to try to enable closeness despite distance and touchability through dance expression.

Film Premiere
February 27, 2022
E-Werk Freiburg, Saal