What’s Happening in Berlin this January?

Berlin’s Christmas Garden

Not ready to let the holidays go? If so, you have until January 14th to take a walk and check out Berlin’s Botanical Garden’s Christmas decorations. The Garden’s 1.5-kilometer route is full of illuminations, 3D Christmas figures, and light installations. Plus, if you’re completely sick of Christmas and are ready for something new, the Botanical Garden is a beautiful place to visit nonetheless. Don’t forget to check out their impressive greenhouses, which hold plants from all over the tropical and sub-tropical world. Oh and a pro tip: if you take a stroll through the humid greenhouses you can almost pretend that you’re not in freezing Germany!

Days of Dance (Tanztage)

Days of Dance (Tanztage) is a contemporary dance festival held from January 4-20th at Sophiensaele in Berlin-Mitte. The goal of the festival is to uncover and uplift the next generation of choreographers and dancers in Berlin (and no, we’re not just talking about Gen Z.)

Tanztage is special in the way that it emphasizes interdisciplinary artistry. Its performances blend elements from visual arts, acoustics, music, and language. Some of the pieces draw inspiration from current sociopolitical happenings, adding more layers and meaning. Plus, the festival’s collection includes a diverse range of pop-culture influences, spanning everything from striptease and breakdance to club culture and more.

CTM Festival for Adventurous

The CTM Festival for Adventurous Music and Art is a celebration of experimental, contemporary, and electronic music, which takes place in different venues across Berlin (from Berghain to RSO.Berlin and more.) The event is a fusion of electronic music, multimedia installations, and live performances. With its program of concerts, exhibitions, workshops, and talks, CTM provides a platform for artists to experiment and pchallenge conventions in the music world. This year, CTM’s is titled “Sustain.” Their website explains that sustain is “a fascinating word that touches opposite polarities of our contemporary experience as it speaks of the empathy and determination that nourish us, as well as of our anxieties, losses, and pains.” If that piques your interest (even if that sentence utterly confuses you,) then go check CTM out! The festival is running from January 26th to February 4th.

So if you’re feeling stuck in the post-holiday blues, go check out one of these events happening this month in Berlin! And remember, spring is just around the corner.