Melanie Gruß

Melanie Gruß is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Theatre Studies at Leipzig University, where she has been employed since March 2018. She also works with the NFDI4Culture consortium of the DFG-funded National Research Data Infrastructure since January 2021. In addition to her university position, she voluntarily supports various projects of the Tanzarchiv Leipzig e.V., demonstrating her deep commitment to dance heritage preservation.

Dr. Gruß received her doctorate in 2015 from Leipzig University with a dissertation entitled "Synesthesia as Discourse. A Figure of Longing and Thought between Art, Media, and Science," which was supported by a scholarship from the Free State of Saxony and awarded the distinction "opus eximium." Her academic journey began with studies in theater studies, psychology, and general and comparative literature at Leipzig University and Université Paris X (Nanterre) through an Erasmus exchange program.

Her research spans dance and dance research in the GDR, research data management in dance and theatre studies, the institutionalization of the independent scene in Germany since the 1990s, and inclusion in dance and theatre projects. Her work consistently explores the interfaces between movement cultures and knowledge systems, as well as the connections between arts, media, and sciences. Current research projects include "Cultural Heritage Dance in the GDR" and work with the NFDI4Culture consortium on dance and theatre studies research data between collection and research.

Dr. Gruß has taught numerous courses at Leipzig University covering topics from digital dance platforms and folk dance documentation in the GDR to inclusive dance practices and Bauhaus media experiments. Her teaching connects historical dance practices with contemporary issues in dance documentation and theory, often incorporating hands-on experience with the "Tanz digital" online platform.

• Dance and cultural history of the GDR
• Research data management in performing arts
• Inclusive dance practices
• Historical dance documentation methods
• Interdisciplinary approaches to movement studies

Through her work with the Tanzarchiv Leipzig and various research projects, she contributes significantly to the preservation and analysis of dance heritage, particularly from the East German context, while advancing contemporary approaches to dance research data infrastructure.