The Valeska Gert Visiting Professorship is hosted jointly by Freie Universität Berlin’s master’s degree program in dance studies, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), and the Akademie der Künste (AdK). The visiting professorship takes its name from Valeska Gert (1892–1978), one of the most innovative and prominent avant-garde dancers of her time, whose work was heavily influenced by the city of Berlin. The professorship’s namesake stands for dancers and performers who show great potential and are leaving their mark on the world of dance.

Navtej Singh Johar, a choreographer, yoga practitioner, scholar, and social activist from Delhi, was appointed Valeska Gert Visiting Professor at Freie Universität Berlin for the second time this 2023 summer semester. He taught the course “Repose to Power: Claiming the Immersive Practice of ‘Ease’” in the master’s degree program in dance studies. The course focused on the phenomenon of “ease” and was based on somatic practices that lead to a profound experience of ease, repose, pleasure, and spaciousness. In the daily documentation of these practices, the students reflected not only on the processes of the practice, but also on the lingering impact, as a way to question and revise habitual modes of perception.

Johar’s work is based on the principles of the classical Indian dance style Bharatanatyam, physical theater, and somatic approaches. A recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in Contemporary Choreography, Johar blends dance movement with critical theory work and social action. In his practice as a yoga teacher, he works with asana, pranayama, meditation, visualization, and Vedic chanting. In addition to his artistic practice, Johar is also well-known for his political advocacy for LGBTQI* rights. The law decriminalizing homosexuality, which was passed by the Supreme Court of India in the summer of 2018, bears his name.

The performance will take place at 7:00 p.m. in the foyer of the Institute of Theater Studies at Grunewaldstraße 35, 12165 Berlin-Steglitz, on Thursday, July 20, 2023. It will be followed by a discussion between Navtej Singh Johar, Professor Lucia Ruprecht, who is a scholar in dance studies, and the master’s students.