Meldungen

A ceremony was held on September 12 at the Musisches Forum of the German Sport University Cologne to celebrate Prof. Wolfgang Tiedt’s 80th birthday. Numerous colleagues, former students, friends, family members, and representatives of the university gathered to honor the legacy of this long-serving professor. The ceremony focused on a retrospective of an impressive pedagogical and artistic career, as well as a reflection on Prof. Tiedt’s work in light of current developments. In his welcoming remarks, Spoho President Ansgar Thiel praised Prof. Wolfgang Tiedt as a professor who has shaped not only generations of students but also the development of the Institute of Dance and Movement Culture to this day. Throughout his career, Wolfgang Tiedt has consistently focused on the connection between music and movement, theory and practice, as well as artistic experience and pedagogical reflection. The evolution into what is known as the “Kölner Schule” of movement theatre can be traced in particular to his collaborative work with his colleague and wife, Anna Tiedt. Movement theatre, eurhythmics, and the integration of various forms of expression were not merely parts of the curriculum but became spaces for creativity, community, and personal development, according to the current director of the institute (and former student assistant to Prof. Wolfgang Tiedt), Prof. Claudia Steinberg noted in her commemorative address. The celebration unfolded entirely in this spirit. Contributions from friends and alumni, including comedian Achim Knorr, as well as performance segments from Maja Lührsen and Theo Vagedes’s improv theatre, were just as much a part of the program as musical performances by Dr. Wilhelm Künsting and Prof. Wolfgang Tiedt, featuring songs and their own lyrics. In keeping with the institute’s tradition, the entire gathering danced outside in the atrium under the guidance of Anna Tiedt and Petra Zierul, director of the “Kölner Klettenkette” which is dedicated to traditional dances from around the world. The German Sport University Cologne extends its warmest congratulations to Prof. Wolfgang Tiedt on his 80th birthday and thanks him for his many years of dedication, his inspiration, and his lasting contributions to dance, movement, and university culture.