Despite – or even because of – the terrible damage to the site, enough of its magic remained for theatre-makers, choreographers and art scholars from late-1980s Dresden and East Berlin to consider bringing it back to life.
Events since the end of the GDR
Shortly after the collapse of the GDR, the Russian soldiers left the former Festival Theatre and some initial initiatives were set up for the cultural restoration and re-appropriation of this tradition-steeped spot. The festival “Theater der Welt”, directed by Hannah Hurtzig, saw major international performances at the Festival Theatre. More and more institutions settled down on the Festival Theatre grounds; plans were made for its restoration and an architectural competition was launched. In 2002 the Dresden Centre for Contemporary Music moved into the Festival Theatre grounds; on 1 January 2004 it became the Hellerau European Arts Centre (Europäisches Zentrum der Künste Hellerau). Until the end of 2007 it was directed by one of its founders, the Dresden composer Professor Udo Zimmermann.
Thanks to funding from the Free State of Saxony, the interior of Hellerau Festival Theatre was restored according to the plans of the Munich architect Josef Meier-Scupin, in line with Tesserow's ideas. After two years of building work it was opened again on 7 September 2006. In 2003, regular events started to be held in the forecourt and annexes, followed by events in the Festival Theatre itself. In 2004 the world-famous Forsythe Company took up permanent residence in Hellerau. Under the artistic direction of Dieter Jaenicke, HELLERAU’s aim since January 2008 has been to pick up on the heyday of the old festivals and turn the site back into the most important centre for the contemporary arts in eastern Germany – with a packed programme and an interesting cast.
