Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Heike Salzer is a German dance artist fluidly operating in performance, choreography and site specific screendance. Her work is seeking to discover the unseen, the in-betweenness and the things that are in transformation. She sees the body as a place of inquiry utilising the visceral experience of tuning into the environment as a way to inform, reveal and reflect on place and emotional geographies of individuals, communities and society.
Heike has lived and worked in several countries and is currently a Senior Lecturer in Dance Professional Practice at the University of Roehampton, where she convenes the MFA Dance and Embodied Practice, teaches on UG and PG degrees, and supervises PhD Practice as Research projects.
Under the name of Salts she collaborates with international artists and her screendances have been invited to numerous festivals. In 2014 Heike founded the screendance company WECreate Productions together with Ana Baer (US/MX) jointly directing screendances and multi-media performances.
A recent research interest is the field of Ludochoreology-The study of the art of movement in games, together with Deborah Williams.
She is the secretary of the board and European liaison of the International Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema (US) and has been a curator of the festival since 2015. She co-directed and produced Tees Dance Film Fest (UK) in 2015+16 including tours to Mexico and the United States.
Heike has been a faculty member at the conservatoires Fontys Dance Academy, ArtEZ Dance Academy, Stedelijk Lyceum (NL) and The Icelandic Ballet School (IS). She chaired the dance department at Teesside University (UK) from 2008-2017 and has been invited to teach and choreograph at international institutions such as Dancehallerne (DK), University of Malta (MT), Texas State University (US), Slippery Rock University (US), Appalachian State University (US), the Icelandic Dance Company (ICE) and Michoacán University of Saint Nicholas of Hidalgo (MEX).
Heike graduated as a certified Anna Herrmann Gymnastic teacher in Germany, trained at ArtEZ-Dance Academy (NL) and holds a MA Choreography from the University of Leeds (GB) / Fontys Dance Academy, (NL). She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and was awarded a PhD by Completed Work by the University of Roehampton (UK).
Qualifications
PhD by Published Work, University of Roehampton (UK)
MA Choreography, University of Leeds (UK) / Fontys Dans Academie (NL)
Dance Education / Dance Performance, Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Arnhem (NL)
Certified Gymnastic Teacher (Gymnastilehrerin), Anna Herrmann Schule (GER)
Teaching
Dance Practice, Screendance, Mediated Choreography, Dance and Embodied Practice, Dance Sustainability and the Environment, Choreography
Professional affiliations
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Secretary of the board - International Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema (Boulder, USA)
Links
Education/Academic qualification
PhD, Wanderlust in Screendance - The body in landscape
2017 → 2019
MA Choreography
2002 → 2004
Dance
1997 → 2000
Anna Herrmann Gymnastiklehrerin
1994 → 1997
External positions
External Examiner Master of Arts Dance Studies, University of Malta
12 Oct 2023 → …
External Examiner - MA Screendance, University of the Arts London
1 Mar 2023 → 1 Feb 2024
External Examiner- MA Screendance, London Contemporary Dance School
30 Sept 2020 → 31 Aug 2024
External Examiner, BA Dance, University of Chester
1 Sept 2020 → 1 Jul 2023
Secretary, Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema
2018 → …
External Examiner, BA Dance in the Community & BA Dance and Physical Education, University of Worcester
2015 → 2019
Keywords
- NX Arts in general
- Dance
- Choreography
- Performance
- Screendance
- Videodance
- Site Specific Choreography
- Site Specific Performance
- Somatic Camera
- Wandering
- Walking Practice
- Embodiment
- Emplacement
- Installation
- Designing Embodied Education
- Somatic Practice
- Embodied Research
- Landscape art
- Placemaking
- Being-in-Place
- Kinaesthetic camera
- Landscape
- Environment
- Eco-somatics
- Nature
- Embodied Visuality
- Rhythm
- Emotional Geography
- Dance Cinema
- Dance Practice
- Collaboration
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 1 Finished
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Exploring Interdisciplinary World Building in Games Design
Salzer, H. (PI), Williams, D. (PI), Jensson, I. (PI), Gunnarsson, Z. (CoI) & Burton, R. (CoI)
10/07/19 → 1/07/22
Project: Research
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Wandering with a camera – the body in somatic landscape screendance
Salzer, H., Jan 2025, The Routledge Companion to Site-Specific Performance; Chapter: . Hunter, V. & Turner, C. (eds.). 1 ed. Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group, Vol. 1. (Routledge Companion).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
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From Physical Sensation to Digital Presentation: Exploring Interdisciplinary World Building
Salzer, H. & Williams, D., 29 Oct 2024, Dance and Visual Art: Intersections on Material Culture. Rottenberg, H., Williams, D. & Dankworth, L. (eds.). Palgrave MacmillanResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
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HinterTerra: [installation]
Salzer, H. & Baer, A., 20 Mar 2024.Research output: Contribution to conference › Other › peer-review
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HinterTerra-Malta: [Screendance ]
Salzer, H. & Baer, A., 20 Mar 2024.Research output: Contribution to conference › Other › peer-review
Open Access -
Moving and Mapping: Exploring body-site relations through counter-cartography’
Salzer, H. & Hunter, V., 21 Mar 2024.Research output: Contribution to conference › Other › peer-review
Prizes
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5th Festival Internacional de Videodanza de la CMDX-Honourable Mention
Salzer, H. (Recipient) & Baer, A. (Recipient), 10 Oct 2020
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Athens International Digital Film Festival - Award for Best Documentary Short
Salzer, H. (Recipient) & Baer, A. (Recipient), Oct 2020
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
File -
Dance Magazine.Video of the Month award January 2020
Salzer, H. (Recipient) & Baer, A. (Recipient), 5 Feb 2020
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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D'Olhar Festival - honourable mention award 2017
Salzer, H. (Recipient), May 2017
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Frome International Climate Film Festival *Honouable Mention
Salzer, H. (Recipient) & Baer, A. (Recipient), Apr 2025
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Activities
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Urbá Terra Bartzelona- Official Selection Filmarte Short Film Festival
Salzer, H. (Presenter) & Baer, A. (Presenter)
1 Jan 2025Activity: Public engagement and outreach › Performance Arts/Exhibitions/Festival outside Roehampton
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Urbá Terra Bartzelona- Official Selection Coctelito de Videodanza
Salzer, H. (Presenter) & Baer, A. (Presenter)
Mar 2025 → Jun 2025Activity: Public engagement and outreach › Performance Arts/Exhibitions/Festival outside Roehampton
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Invited speaker - Wandering with a camera – the body in somatic landscape screendance
Salzer, H. (Invited speaker)
28 Jan 2025 → 29 Jan 2025Activity: Talk or presentation for an academic audience › Invited talk for an academic audience
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Female camaraderie, exploration, and being-in-place together -The site specific screendance practice of WECreate Productions
Salzer, H. (Invited speaker), Baer, A. (Invited speaker) & Nance, M. (Invited speaker)
2 Jul 2025Activity: Talk or presentation for an academic audience › Invited talk for an academic audience
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Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema - Black History Month Screening
Salzer, H. (Reviewer)
1 Feb 2025 → 28 Feb 2025Activity: Public engagement and outreach › Performance Arts/Exhibitions/Festival outside Roehampton
Press/Media
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Motion capture Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema returns to Boulder for its 21st year
28/08/24
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Press / Media
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Anuncian detalles del VI Festival Internacional de Mujeres y Danza. Announcing details of the VI International Festival of Women and Dance.
Salzer, H., Baer, A. & Urdaibay, R. L.
28/07/23
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Press / Media
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Llegará VI Festival Internacional de Mujeres y Danza a Morelia. --The VI International Festival of Women and Dance commences in Morelia
Salzer, H. & Urdaibay, R. L.
27/07/23
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Press / Media
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DVDanza Habana marca el ritmo del videodanza en abril 2023
Salzer, H., Baer, A. & Luna Urdaibay, R.
15/04/23
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Press / Media
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Colorado has more than just Telluride Film Fest. Here’s when you can see films in Denver, Vail, Breckenridge and beyond.
19/09/22
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Press / Media
Thesis
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Wanderlust in screendance: the body in landscapes
Salzer, H. (Author), Claid, E. (Supervisor), Protopapa, E. (Supervisor) & Whalley, B. (Supervisor), 18 Jan 2020Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis
File