Dirk Lienig

• lives with his family in Dresden / Hoyerswerda
• two daughters - Selina and Lotta
• born 1970 in Hoyerswerda / Germany
• 1988 – 1992 diploma at the Staatlichen Ballettschule Leipzig
• 1992 – 2000 employed at the state theatre Schwerin as a classical ballet dancer / soloist
• since 2000 freelanced as a film / theatre director and dancer
• since 2009 freelanced at the Kulturfabrik Hoyerswerda

My passion for dance started with a movie. In the eighties the american film 'beat street' by Harry Belafonte, with its socially critical view of youth culture in New York, appeared in my truly socialist lifestyle of Hoyerswerda, a small town in east Germany. We were so impressed with the cool lifestyle of our “enemy” that we started to imitate the moves of these dancers.

After this I started to study classical ballet in Leipzig, was employed at the state theatre of Schwerin, worked as a guest dancer for the 'German TV Ballet' and the art agency 'Phase 7'. Next to dance, I discovered a passion for camera work and travelling. The camera became a constant companion when I was travelling in countries like India, Guatemala, Australia, Cambodia, Colombia and Oman. I often produced films out of these journeys which were shown at international film festivals and on the German TV channels ZDF and ARTE. Next to my film work I produced film commercials for the Goethe Institute Australia, the German TV Ballet, the Panorama Hotel Lohme, voxxmed and PBI Peace Brigades International. My documentary’s were invited to film festivals like

• Internationale Hofer Filmtage
• Filmfest München
• DOC.fest München
• FIPA Festival de Programmes Audiovisuelles / Biarritz
• docu arts Filmfest der Akademie der Künste Berlin
• Filmkunstfest Schwerin
• Latin American Filmfestival Sydney
• Internationales Film Festival Cottbus
• Womex Musikfilmfestival Sevilla
• framline Filmfestival San Francisco

Since 2009, with and for the Kulturfabrik Hoyerswerda, a local socio-cultural centre, I have been creating art projects for the citizens of the town. In these projects the people dance, take photos, write, or work in front of or behind the camera.