To see, to hear, to dance: Vivat John Dowland! | Historischer Tanzball
The historically popular dance ball, cherished by locals and their guests, cannot be missing from the program of the Wittenberg Renaissance Music Festival in 2026 – especially not since the festival motto is "Renaissance kisses Tango"! As usual, two dance masters, Mareike Greb and Mark Frenzel, will lead four joint dance rounds with charm, glamour, and ideas.
Essential to the Wittenberg ball evening is the authentic live music performed by experts in historical dance styles: The Playfords will again honor us this year. Thematically, all participants contribute their perspectives to the festival motto – with deep respect for John Dowland, whose death anniversary was commemorated for the 400th time in February. The dances are aligned with this thematic complex, which also leaves plenty of room for joy in movement – and for the joy of the danceability of John Dowland's music!
Speaking of dancing: With every music and for every historical ensemble, it is essential to observe the feet of the dancers to be able to penetrate and musically portray the essence of the various dances. The Playfords was founded 25 years ago as a dance band and has since gathered inspirations – also at the annual Wittenberg Renaissance Dance Ball! The dancers, in turn, experience year by year and from verse to verse how multifaceted the dances feel when The Playfords tirelessly affect and improvise: a fireworks display of interplay.
This year will be exciting when The Playfords introduces rhythmic colors and patterns of the tango. Some elements indeed share common ground between Renaissance dances and Argentine tango, such as the dissociation of the upright torso and the elegant legs – or in other words: their independence from each other. Both dance styles, Renaissance and tango, essentially consist of variations of a single step, referred to as "Singles" by John Playford and "Simples" by Thoinot Arbeau. The Caminar in tango, meaning walking, has been referred to by the Italian Renaissance dance masters Fabritio Caroso and Cesare Negri as "Passo grave" – here meaning dignified striding – and by John Playford as "Walking Step." In other dances like Branlen and in Boleos or Ganchos, the legs perform dizzying embellishments.
Between the dances, The Playfords will present entertaining melodies such as "Tango vivray" by Claudin de Sermisy, "Por una Cabeza" by Carlos Gardel, and "Guck doch nicht immer nach dem Tangogeiger" by Friedrich Hollaender with Björn Werner as Cantor de Tango, who knows how to depict the Mugre – the "dirt" – and the scars of the soul as a passionate tango dancer.
Imaginative garments and prior knowledge of historical dance are, as always, welcome but not a requirement for participation. Those who have long passed their debut on the dance floor will be delighted to enjoy their favorite dances and meet like-minded individuals. All guests who will experience a lavish ball night with historical dances for the first time are equally welcome. They are advised to study the dance steps of the evening during the day in the courses to then plunge into the fun perfectly prepared.
Admission 1 hour before the event begins.
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