Dresden
May 31- June 4
5/31:
~ 3.5 hours travel by
train from Wurzburg to Dresden (our first East German city,
the focus of Aline's research)
~ A friend of Aline's family, Will (from Ochsental),
contacted the Fritzsche family and boom, we were welcomed
into a wonderful home with more than willing tour guides!
~ Its a
small dance world...Leni Fritzsche's granddaughter is a
student at the Palucca School, which was founded by the
infamous Gret Palucca and a great research prospect!
~ Like a good grandmother Leni had plenty of pictures,
brochures, and knowledge about the school to share with us.
She immediately arranged an appointment for us with the
Director of the school, Jason Beechey.
~ She actually drove us to the school and gave us a
personal tour. We learned the hours of the library, which
contains many valuable archives pertaining to our research.
We peaked in on some classes and grabbed every brochure in
sight!
~ After familiarizing ourselves with the school, Leni drove
us into the inner city of Dresden to enjoy the sights.
~ The Frauenkirche: built
in 1726. Architect: George Baehr. Protestant Church. Bombed
in Feb.14,1945 attacks, note the only original stones are
black. Symbolized the destruction of Dresden, until the
reunification of East and West Germany.
~ Schloss:
Renaissance Palace. Wilhelm Walter painted the Procession
of Dukes on colossal mosaic tiles across the entire
building. This portrays every leader from a thousand years
past. Note Augustus II the Strong and his son Augustus III
the great patrons of the arts that brought such culture to
the city in the 18th century and beyond.
~ Leni told
us about the great efforts to restore the city. It has
taken years to recouperate from the great bombings that
destroyed 80% of the city. At least 35,000 people passed.
Today, the citizens are uniting to rebuild this great city
of beauty, arts, and ethos.
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6/1:
~
A successful day of research!! We met with the director of
the Palucca School, Jason Beechey, for a filmed interview.
He was extremely eloquent and provided us with detailed
answers to our questions. The time he took for us was
sincerely appreciated! It is a rare occassion to receive an
opportunity like this. Thank you Mr.Beechey!
~ After Mr.Beechey's interview, we changed our mindset from
English to German. Our next interview was with a modern
dance professor, and prior student of the Palucca School,
Ingrid Borchardt. She told stories about her past with Gret
Palucca as her teacher, and all of the changes the school
underwent during the political obstacles. Mrs.Borchardt
also gave us an idea of what choreography was like when the
Iron Curtain existed...some absolutely invaluable
information we will never forget! Danke!
~ The next thing on our "list of things to do" was to visit
the library within the school. Upon our entrance, the
librarian asked what we were looking for, and we
immediately received piles upon piles of useful
information: books, magazines, dissertations, review
compilations, etc....Good Stuff! We were absolutely
thrilled. Aline wanted to take everything with her, but
unfortunately- this was not allowed. :( So she had to make
photocopies of it all (5 cents per page)...not to mention,
everything was in German. Lots of translating to look
forward to when she returns to the States!
~ After a long, yet rewarding day, Leni and Josi joined us
for a lovely late lunch on the water.
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6/2:
~
Modern dance class at the Palucca School (10:00-11:00) with
Meredith Passow and Palucca School level three students
~ After a cool down, we did some filming of the school
facilities
~ Sightseeing around Dresden:
Zwinger- an eighteenth century Baroque palace built by
Augustus the Strong
It was damaged due to the 1945 bombardments, but was
eventually restored,
5 museums in one!!
- Old
Masters Gallery -
- Armoury -
- Salon of Mathematics and Physics -
- Porcelain Collection -
- Sculptures -
- All day
tickets for the entire museum only cost 12 euros per person
(plus a 5 euro photography/filming fee)
- It took us approximately three hours to get through three
of the five museums... We recommend going to one a day if
you have the time, otherwise it can be a bit overwhelming!
We took over 100 photographs, but unfortunately can't post
them all :)
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6/3:
~
Leni and Hartmut took us to several historical 'hot spots'
outside of Dresden
Schloss Moritzburg: built by Duke Moritz in 1542. It is
located on one of the Royal Saxon Hunting Reserves, and
served the purpose of the common royal hobby: hunting! The
walls are made of decorative leather, and there are
collections of reindeer and elk antler trophies in almost
every room! (There are even fossilized antlers of an early
Pleistocene giant elk that are estimated to be at least
8000 years old!) A feather room for August the Strong was
recently restored (it took 16 years to finish the
restoration alone!). Every piece in the room incorporated
feathers, the bed, rugs, tapestries,
everything...unbelievable.
Meissen: a small town outside of Dresden, known for its
porcelain, vineyards, and historical architecture. The
foundation of Meissen can be traced back to King Heinrich
I, who ruled around 929. During the reign of Augustus the
Strong, Johann Friedrich Boettger claimed to have
discovered the chemical formula to create gold. Augustus
locked him in the castle in Meissen and ordered him to make
the gold...but what he ended up with was porcelain (which
is why some call it 'white gold'). The Royal Saxon
Porcelain Manufactory was installed in the castle one year
later.
Schloss Pillnitz: This palace was built by the popular
architect Poeppelmann. The Riverside Palace, on the east
side of the Elbe river, was designed in the early 1720's.
The Mountain Palace is on the opposite side of the estate.
In between the two is a beautiful English style garden with
fountains. There is also a vast amount of greenery
surrounding the estate, home to hundreds of trees and
plants from around the world. The most famous of these is
the Camellia Tree, which is protected by a giant portable
glass case during the winter, which is moved to the side
and used as an entertainment room in the summer.
Saechsische
Schweitz (Swiss Saxony): One of Germany's most beautiful
natural wonders! Sandstone cliffs and pillars in the midst
of a sea of trees too far below for my comfort! People go
mountain climbing here, as well as hiking, biking, horse
back riding, etc. There is even a hotel and Panoramic
restaurant! We went on a very wet day, but the clouds of
mist gave this fantastic place a very intriguing mood.
Unfortunately, we didn't get to spend much time here, but
it was enough for us to promise a return for a day of
hiking next summer!
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6/4:
~
train ride to Leipzig