Johannes Odenthal studied art history and archaeology in Cologne, Bonn and Paris. He has published numerous essays and books on cultural history and is a co-founder and editor of the magazines tanz aktuell and ballett international/tanz aktuell. From 1997 to 2006, Odenthal served as artistic director of the Music, Dance and Theatre Department at Berlin’s Haus der Kulturen der Welt. He has edited books such as “The Third Body. Das Haus der Kulturen der Welt und die Performing Arts” (2004), “tanz.de. Zeitgenössischer Tanz in Deutschland – Strukturen im Wandel – eine neue Wissenschaft” (2005) and “Tanz Körper Politik“ (updated and extended 2nd edition 2012) for the publishing company Theater der Zeit. Since 2006, Odenthal has served as programming director at the Berlin Academy of the Arts. Additionally, he has been a co-editor of the series “Positionen” (Positions) by the publishing company Steidl Verlag since 2009, the same year he developed the programme series “Politische Körper” (Political Bodies) in commemoration of modern dance in Germany.