Dessau Dancers

Dessau, in 1985. The American break dance movie “Beatstreet” is officially shown in East German cinemas. 18-year-old Frank and his friends Alex, Michel and Martina are fascinated. They watch the film again and again and try out breakdancing themselves. They dance in the street, on a piece of linoleum brought along. As more and more young people join them, the party officials become keen-eared. The American break dance is a thorn in their flesh. But they cannot stop the young people’s enthusiasm. So they try to “turn the decadent dance into a socialist one”. They suggest to Frank, Alex, Michel and Martina to officially form a band and perform in public. They even receive a so-called “artist badge”, i.e. a professional certificate, and a “Barkas” minibus for their tours. In return, they have to accept a few “minor” conditions: They must pretend to be “an acrobatic show dance group”, join a sports club and get assigned a trainer named Hartmann. Soon they tour as “BREAKBEATERS” throughout the GDR. In their euphoria, the four friends are not aware of being increasingly exploited by Hartmann. Only when they are to perform in golden glitter costumes in a popular GDR TV show, they finally see through the game and begin to fight back.