Physical theatre is a general term used to describe any mode of performance that pursues storytelling through primarily physical means. There are several quite distinct traditions of performance which all describe themselves using the term "physical theatre", which has led to a lot of confusion as to what the definition of physical theatre actually is.

Nature of Physical Theatre
The term "physical theatre" has been applied to performances consisting mainly of:

- Mime
- Contemporary dance
- Theatrical Clowning and other physical comedy
- Some forms of puppetry, especially large scale
- Theatrical Acrobatics

While performances based around all of the above could equally claim to be "physical theatre", it is often difficult to draw a distinct boundary between what is and what is not physical theatre, and distinctions are often made quite arbitrarily by critics and performing companies.

Physical Theatre may utilize pre-existing text, but the primary focus is on the physical work of the actors, expressed through the use of their bodies. It is a highly visual form of theatre. The action in physical theatre may have a psychological base, or point to an emotional centre, or have a clear storyline, and it can grow out of codified forms, improvisational work, or invented gestural language among other means of creation. However, the means of expression are always primarily physical rather than textual.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_theatre

So much for "physical theatre".

This text gives us an indication of what "Bewegungstheater" means:
"Körper- und bewegungsorientierte Inszenierungsformen, bewegungsbetonte Theaterformen, d.h. Pantomime, Schattentheater, ***Bewegungstheater***, Schwarzes Theater werden unter 'sportlichen' Gesichtspunkten für die Schule aufbereitet."
http://www.gew-sportkommission.de/alterposi.html