Volkmar Draeger's estate is archived

The extensive estate of the dance critic and cultural journalist Volkmar Draeger is currently being archived and partially digitized as part of a cooperation.

In a cooperation between the Deutsches Tanzarchiv Köln, the Dachverband Tanz and the Mediathek für Tanz und Theater of the ITI, the extensive written legacy of the Berlin dance critic and cultural journalist Volkmar Draeger is currently being archived and partially digitized. Alongside Dietmar Fritzsche (1936 - 2012), whose estate is already housed in the German Dance Archive in Cologne, Draeger worked since the 1970s mainly as a freelance dance critic for the East German trade magazine Theater der Zeit, later for the Neue Deutschland and the Berliner Morgenpost, among others, and (to this day) as editor of Dance for You. Volkmar Draeger is both a profound expert on the GDR dance scene and a close observer of the years of upheaval in '89/'90 as well as the diverse developments in dance up to the present day. He is equally at home in classical ballet as he is in the independent scene: his journalistic interest is always focused on dance border areas, entertainment dance, folklore, show, revue and experimental formats. Together, the two archives of Volkmar Draeger and Dietmar Fritzsche paint a multifaceted picture of the historical development of dance in East Germany - and beyond.


The Deutsches Tanzarchiv Köln is also planning to publish selected reviews of the two publicists in book form. Volkmar Draeger is being supported in the preparation of this publication by a grant from the DIS - TANZ - SOLO program.