Dramaturgie im zeitgenössischen Tanz ist ? positiv gemeint ? ein heißes Eisen. Idealerweise sind Dramaturginnen und Dramaturgen während der Erarbeitung eines Stücks die besten Freunde der Choreografen. more
Crisis is nothing new to the press. Newspapers will continue to exist, alongside the Internet, soon in paperless form. They must offer their readers exclusive news, bold opinion and captivating language. Mathias Döpfner, head of the Axel Springer media empire, answers Rupert Murdoch.
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Berlin's favourite Russian writer Wladimir Kaminer sat on the scriptwriting jury at this year's Theatertreffen festival. He recounts the horrors of reading plays by the kilo and reminisces about his own dubious-sounding contributions to the dramatic arts.
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When did I start thinking about feminism again? Last year, the year of my sixth male boss in a row. For us young women, equality of the sexes went without saying. Then we
flirted with old-fashioned roles, and now we're suddenly back in a
man's world. Along with henna hair, drooping breasts and dungarees, have we abolished equality? By Heike Faller
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I want to see Turks en masse waving the German flag. Jobs, rules, the German language and free religion – these must be the pillars of a new German society. Today's West Germans, East Germans and foreign Germans are perhaps only the forefathers of the curious folk we will be in thirty years. And then, what belongs together will grow together. An appeal by Feridun Zaimoglu.
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The FIFA World Cup is approaching lickety split and Germany, being Germany, is all set. Only two things remain to be done. Germans have to learn how to smile and their team has to learn how to kick left. By Moritz Rinke
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Turkish-born German sociologist Necla Kelek has been accused of painting the Turkish community in Germany in a bad light. In an interview with Michaela Schlagenwerth, she explains that what she sees is what she writes. More dangerous than her portrayal, she says, is the pervasive blindness to the facts. (Photo Lebeck)
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Like hero, like author. Ilija Trojanow, world traveller, author of travel books and Mecca pilgrim, has written an astounding biographical novel about Richard Francis Burton, Mecca pilgrim, author of travel books and world traveller. By Karl-Markus Gauß
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Far from the over-exitement of today's artworld, the 4th berlin biennale for contemporary art wallows in the dark depths of things jettisoned and biographical, offering the art pilgrim twelve stations along Berlin's Augustraße. By Hanno Rauterberg
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Former GDR dissident and poet Wolf Biermann is pleasantly disappointed that a young aristocratic Wessi like Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck can breathe such convincing life into the Stasi phantoms of his past. The film "The Life of Others" might just be the start of Germany's properly in-depth confrontation with its second dictatorship. Winner of the 2007 Oscar for Best Foreign Film
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Grit your teeth and head out for a night of guerilla clubbing in wind-chilled Berlin. But expect low-key rather than excess, ping-pong not stage diving. By Phuong Duong
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Citizenship tests are now all the rage in Europe. Britain and the Netherlands have made tests mandatory, and Germany is thinking of following suit. But opponents claim the proposed questions unfairly target Muslims and could not be answered by many Germans. Are you fit to become German? Find out with the 100 questions proposed by the German state of Hesse.
Send us your answers to: editor@signandsight.com. Thekla Dannenberg, editor and clever-clogs in German politics and history, will review your applications and notify you of her decision.
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Europe must pluck up the courage to introduce reforms. It needs its own
armed forces and foreign minister, a directly-elected president and an
independent financial basis. These should be decided on by a referendum
binding only in states where a majority had voted in favour. We present
excerpts from a speech in which Jürgen Habermas calls on Europe to act - and sketches a critique of the Internet.
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In an arresting new play, five young Muslim women lift the veil on a taboo: sex. Director Neco Celik talks to Michaela Schlagenwerth about his own conflict with Islam and why he chose this explosive material for his first play.
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Viola player Volker
Hagedorn has toured with Bach far off the beaten track, a world away from the spoiled European metropolises. He describes the joys of Johann Sebastian, the relaxed travel companion and the joy he brings to the musically-under nourished.
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As Germany toys with the idea of introducing tests to screen prospective immigrants, Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht cautions not to confuse rules with culture and asks: what is the norm, anyway?
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