K3 – Zentrum für Choreographie | Tanzplan Hamburg
K3 is the artistically independent choreographic center at Kampnagel and one of the few dance venues in the German-speaking world – the only one in northern Germany. K3 was founded in the 2006/07 season as part of the Tanzplan Deutschland initiative of the Kulturstiftung des Bundes. With the support of the Kulturbehörde Hamburg, the former exhibition hall k3 at Kampnagel was converted into the K3 choreographic center in 2007, with three professionally equipped dance studios.
Artistic work & residencies
K3's work focuses on various residency formats, artistic research, production, continuing education, and dance education. International and Hamburg-based choreographers – especially those at the beginning of their careers – are given the opportunity to develop new works, conduct research, and present their pieces to audiences. In addition, K3 offers numerous qualification formats: regular professional training, workshops, expert consultations, and continuing education programs accompany dance professionals in all phases of their careers and promote exchange within the dance scene.
Dance for everyone
K3 gets people of all ages moving. In addition to courses in cooperation with the Hamburg Adult Education Center, movement classes, teacher training courses, and workshops, several dance clubs invite participants to develop dance pieces over a longer period of time together with professional dancers and bring them to the stage. One special offering is Dance Well, a program aimed at people with Parkinson's disease and other mobility impairments. The weekly Dance Well Club and a monthly open class make dance a communal experience.
Dance for young audiences
One of K3's main focuses is on dance projects with and for children and young people. In school projects, youth formats, and professional productions, young people experience dance as a form of artistic expression. K3 is a co-initiator of explore dance – Netzwerk Tanz für junges Publikum (Network Dance for Young Audiences), which was founded in 2018 and has received several national awards. The cross-state network produces and tours dance pieces (stage pieces and mobile pop-up productions) for young audiences, thus closing an important gap in cultural offerings for children and young people – in Hamburg and beyond.
Networks & Collaborations
As co-founder of tanz.nord, K3 strengthens the connection between the dance scenes in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. Residencies, guest performances, new productions, and workshops create sustainable networks and new visibility for dance outside urban centers. Together with Kampnagel and the Hamburg Ballet, K3 is also a founding member of Tanztriennale Hamburg e.V. The association organizes the Tanztriennale Hamburg, an initiative of the German Federal Cultural Foundation. The first edition will take place from June 14 to 21, 2026.
K3 in Hamburg and worldwide
K3 has an international network, is committed to cultural policy, and is one of the key drivers for the visibility and further development of dance as an art form – in Hamburg, throughout Germany, and beyond. We open up spaces for artistic experimentation, promote exchange and collaboration, bring dance into new social contexts, and create diverse opportunities for participation. K3 – a place where movement stimulates thought, enables encounters, and brings dance to life.