Dessau Dancers (2014)
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Directors
Cast
Gordon Kämmerer, Sonja Gerhardt, Oliver Konietzny, Sebastian Jäger, Rainer Bock, Arved Birnbaum, Wolfgang Stumph
A young East German breakdancer's passion turns into a state-managed performance, prompting him to resist being used as a political puppet.
The story
In the summer of 1985, 18-year-old Frank discovers breakdancing after seeing Beat Street at the cinema. He and his friends Matti, Michel, and Alex form the group “Break Beaters” in Dessau, and their street performances make them prominent in East Germany's breakdance movement. Their growing visibility attracts the attention of the Stasi, which seeks control over young people's leisure activities. The group’s dancing is recast as “acrobatic show dancing,” and they are sent around East Germany as a dance troupe. As the group gains fame, Frank starts to recognize that their performances are being used for political purposes.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
When 18-year-old Frank sees the film Beat Street at the cinema in the summer of 1985, he discovers his new passion: breakdancing. Together with his friends Matti, Michel, and Alex, he forms the group “Break Beaters” in Dessau. They dance in the streets and quickly become the leading edge of the breakdance movement in East Germany, drawing the attention of the Stasi, which likes to keep control over its young people’s leisure activities. Breakdancing is thus turned into “acrobatic show dancing,” and the group is sent around East Germany as a dance troupe. But fame comes at a price, and Frank realizes that they are being made into political puppets. He begins to rebel.
Genres
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