»tanz weit draußen« promotes and develops contemporary dance in rural regions. For our new Peer2Peer format »TUT EUCH ZUSAMMEN« (»JOIN FORCES«), we are looking for two dance artists who want to exchange ideas about the challenges and opportunities of dance in rural areas and visit each other or learn from each other.
The format comprises two to three visits of two days each. The aim is to get to know another artist and the respective location, gain new impulses for your own work and then share your experiences with »tanz weit draußen« and become active together with other artists.
What is offered?
Assumption of travel and accommodation costs (according to BRG) for 2-3 visits
A fee for the participating artists á 1000 Euro gross per person
Payment of PerDiems
Networking with other dance artists working in rural areas and the alliance »tanz weit draußen’
Visibility via the homepage of »tanz weit draußen« / map.weit.draussen
Who can apply?
A duo of two artists as Peer2Peer – application only possible in teams of two!
Dance artists with a work focus / focus on rural areas
Willingness to actively participate in 2-3 mutual visits, for artistic reflection and documentation of the exchange and to open up to the network
The call is aimed in particular at artists from the federal states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Schleswig-Holstein/Hamburg, Brandenburg/Berlin and Baden-Württemberg (where the current partners of »tanz weit draußen« are based). Ideally, the encounters should take place across federal states.
Peer2Peer process
Digital kick-off meeting with the »tanz weit draußen« project management team
2-3 reciprocal visits between May and September 2025
Documentation of the encounters, e.g. in the form of an experience report, photo or video recordings or an audio format for publication on the »tanz weit draußen« website
Possible topics
What structural challenges do you face in your work in rural areas? What challenges do you experience with regard to mobility? How do you get to the people? How do they come to you? What special aspects do you experience in relation to the topic of premises/places?
How do you talk to people about dance? What are the challenges here? What strategies or tactics help you to attract audiences and enable participation? What do you think is needed for artistic participation to work sustainably in rural areas?
What political challenges do you experience locally? How do you manage to network with local politicians? Do you receive local or regional funding? What is the current political mood in your neighbourhood? Does this influence your current work?
What are good and important strategies for networking locally and regionally? With whom is it useful to network?
Application
Join forces! Fill out our form together by 25 April 2025.(The form is only available in German.) Tell us about your joint project (topic and agenda of the meetings), your interest in each other and your artistic work with a focus on working in rural areas.
We expressly encourage people who are affected by discrimination – especially BIPoC, people with disabilities, queer people and people with migration or refugee experience – to apply. If they have the same artistic aptitude, these applicants will be given preferential consideration.
Selection
The applications will be reviewed by the partners of the »tanz weit draußen« alliance. Two Peer2Peer encounters can be assigned.
Every second Thursday of the month from 9 to 10 am, choreographers, dance mediators and cultural managers share their experiences of choreography and dance in rural regions in the Zoom series »Auf einen Kaffee mit …«.
They discuss challenges, opportunities and best practices – once again with international guests in 2025. Moderated by Pascal Sangl (Tanzszene Baden-Württemberg), the series sheds light on the path from vision to realisation, from individual initiatives to collaborations and sustainable structures. All interested parties are cordially invited!
Pascal Sangl is a choreographer, dancer and dance mediator working in the Stuttgart region and beyond. As a cultural mediator, he sees it as his responsibility to sustainably strengthen society through art and culture – for peaceful coexistence.
Coffee Talk Archive 2024 & 2025 – Watch all the insights on replay
September 25, 2025 I Bernardo San Rafael on how dance can challenge the far-right rise in rural Germany
In this talk Bernardo San Rafael discusses his work in the public spaces of Demmin, a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where he uses dance as a tool to counter the far-right shift in rural Germany. He emphasizes the importance of building strong networks and ensuring the sustainability of cultural projects to create a lasting social impact.
His career includes dancing for major German institutions such as Stadttheater Freiburg, Deutsche Rheinoper Düsseldorf/Duisburg, Theater Dortmund, and Oper Bonn, as well as performing with Angie Hiesl and Roland Kaiser in Cologne. As a teacher, he has led workshops in Istanbul (CATI), Skiathos (ERASMUS), Athens (ECHODRAMA), Freiburg (Bewegungsart), and Düsseldorf (Tanzhaus NRW). He has also collaborated with Plöger/Winkler/Becker in Düsseldorf and joined the Stuttgart-based theater company Lokstoff.
Today, Bernardo focuses on creating his own performances in non-theatrical settings, aiming to guarantee accessibility to the art of dance and foster dialogue in communities beyond traditional cultural venues. Learn more in Bernardo`s talk!
June 12, 2025 I Ralph Lister on UK based rural development organisation »Take Art«
Ralph Lister has led »Take Art«, a UK-based rural development organisation with a specialism in rural touring, for 30 years. »Take Art« is a non-building-based arts development organisation located on a farm in rural southwest England. It is funded by »Arts Council England« (ACE) and has an annual turnover of approximately €650,000. He led the first »SPARSE« project from 2018 to 2021 and also oversaw »Take Art’s« involvement in Ruritage, a Horizon-funded rural regeneration project from 2018 to 2022, in which its rural touring programme served as a model. He co-led the first »Perform Europe« project and was a founding member of the National Rural Touring Forum, representing UK rural touring schemes. Through »Take Art«, he also carries out advocacy, research, and evaluation functions for »SPARSE Plus«, contracted by the lead Italian performing arts partner, »AMAT«, based in the Marche Region.
In his talk, Ralph shares the story of building »Take Art«, its activities, and its importance to the Somerset region in southwest England, as well as his role in the EU project »SPARSE Plus« and its invaluable research insights on dance in rural areas.
»SPARSE Plus« is presented (by Bêbê de Soares) in another one of our Coffee Talks.
May 8, 2025 I Barbara Bess on the Artist-in-Residence Program »SOMATIC« (Mittelfranken)
Barbara Bess is a choreographer, dancer, and curator whose work explores the intersection of urban and rural spatial cultures. Since 2021, she has been developing the »SOMATIC« Artist-in-Residence Program for Movement Research at a former village school in the Bavarian region of Middle Franconia. The »Alte Schule« (Old School) serves as a dynamic research platform, providing artists from various disciplines the opportunity to realize projects, collaborate, and exchange ideas. It fosters sustainable modes of artistic production while facilitating knowledge generation through collective engagement. The program welcomes performers, visual artists, dancers, multimedia artists, sculptors, and more.
Built around 1900 as a brick villa, the »Alte Schule« is located on the outskirts of Kirchfembach, a quiet village near Nuremberg, surrounded by serene yet inspiring landscapes. The surrounding fields, meadows, and fallow lands create a rich environment for outdoor research and site-specific performances.
Learn more about »SOMATIC« and the potential of artistic practice in the rural settings in Mittelfranken Barbara`s talk.
April 10, 2025 I Collective »Kulturland Ogrosen« on combining art, movement, horticulture & education at a former farm in Brandenburg
Nadja Raszewski / choreographer and dance educator and Daniela Grosset / cultural manager and theater teacher have realized many artistic dance productions and socio-cultural projects in a variety of contexts in recent years, in Berlin, Germany and internationally. Their work involves a community art spirit and is always about participation and co-creation of the participants. Autobiographically motivated they have founded the »Kollektiv Kulturland Ogrosen« in 2019 as a response of their desire to expand their field of action into rural areas. Their local activities cover both cultural and educational aspects. They now live on the site of a former pig farm in Ogrosen / Niederlausitz organizing art events in the form of residencies, workshops and performances, and growing flowers as members of the slowflower movement (https://www.slowflower-movement.de/). Various dance productions have already been developed and shown in the expanded dance studios.
“Culture in rural areas should not remain unattainable as an elitist dimension, but rather it should be experienced by everyone.” By combining art, movement, horticulture and education Kulturland Ogrosen offers a wide range of cultural activities to the local community and warmly invites people to experience them. This is what we talk about in this conversation.
March 13, 2025 I Bebê de Soares on EU project »SPARSE Plus« on supporting and promoting arts in rural settlements of Europe
The initial »SPARSE« project has established rural touring networks in four European countries from 2018 to 2021. The current »SPARSE Plus« project running from 2023 to 2027 involves 11 partners from 9 European countries and will result in cross-border touring with the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Sweden. This project is funded as a medium scale Creative Europe Co-operation and it involves the following partners: Associazione Marchigiana Attività Teatrali (Marche, Italy) as Coordinator with SA Eesti Tantsuagentuur (Estonia), Artists Group Fish Eye (Lithuania), Shoshin Theatre (Transylvania, Romania), Riksteatern Varmland (Varmland Sweden); with new partners Pro Progressione (Hungary), SINUM (Hungary), Nova Sit (Czech Republic), Teatro 4Garoupas (Germany), Art Fraction Foundation (Poland) and Fondazione Toscana Spettacolo (Tuscany, Italy).
Bebê de Soares is the artistic director of the German SPARSE Plus partner »Teatro 4Garoupas«, located around Cologne. She is a board member of »ASSITEJ« International. Since 2019 she is back in Germany after 8 years in Chile, where she is producer and organizer of tours, residencies and collaborations on a European level, such as »PERFORM EUROPE« and »SPARSE Plus«.
In her talk Bebê de Soares gives an insight on her work within the international rural touring network.
December 19, 2024 I Final Coffee Talk 2024: »Tanz Nordwärts«, map.weit.draußen, video archive and get-together – with Sabine Chwalisz
In the final Coffee Talk of the year we look back together at our »Tanz Nordwärts« Touring that took place in November 2024 across three northern federal states of Germany. We report on reaching audiences with our mobile dance productions in exciting locations such as the »Zukunftsschloss« Gadebusch, the Kulturkirche Brügge, and several schools within the area. Secondly, we want to point your attention to our »map.weit.draußen«, an interactive mapping tool designed to illustrate where and how dance in rural areas is active. Last but not least, we celebrate the release of our Coffee Talk archive. It offers a chance to rewatch the previous talks or share then with friends and colleagues.
In a relaxed get-together, this Coffee Talk offers insights, exchange, reflections on the format, and time for participants’ remaining questions.
December 5, 2024 / Rui Silveira on Something Great, a non-profit organisation and live arts centre in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
On December 5, 2024, we had a talk with Rui Silveira, founder and co-artistic and managing director of Something Great, a non-profit organisation and live arts centre in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Since 2022, the centre has operated as an international residency for artists and will gradually open its four venues to the public between 2026 and 2030. Located within a large complex of outbuildings at Schloss Mentin in Ruhner Berge – a rural municipality of 14 villages near Parchim – the centre is just 1.5 hours from both Berlin and Hamburg.
In this Coffee Talk, Rui shares the story of Something Great and its transformation from an internationally renowned performing arts touring agency based in Berlin into a cultural charity and live arts centre rooted in an 18.6-hectare manor estate in southwest Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Dedicated to supporting, promoting, and presenting live arts, the centre primarily focuses on contemporary dance and performance art while also welcoming and supporting other art forms, such as visual arts.
November 21, 2024 I Sarah Soethoudt on connecting dance, interdisciplinary autonomy and accessible art in Venlo, the Netherlands
Sarah Soethoudt is a contemporary dancer, choreographer, cultural coach and founding member of the artist collective FLUJAS in Venlo, Noord-Limburg. This region consists mainly of villages and small towns, which is both a blessing and a challenge for any professional artist working in the area. As a dancer and choreographer, Sarah creates site-specific works, using the local forests as both inspiration and setting. She also develops performances for specific purposes, collaborating with partners such as museums and nature organizations. As a culture coach, she helps to lift off local artistic initiatives, supporting both professional artists and inhabitants within Venlo. Finally, FLUJAS is an artist-run collective dedicated to improving working conditions for independent artists across Noord-Limburg. Most creators in this region face challenges related to exposure, finances, collaborations and know-how. FLUJAS brings artists together and gives them the space for trust and creation without pressure.
In this Coffee Talk, Sarah speaks about her interface work as a cultural coach, her artistic practice and collective work with a focus of rural areas in the netherlands.
November 7, 2024 IChristina Elliot on the »Rural Touring Dance Initiative« in the UK
On November 7, 2024, we were excited to host a conversation with Christina Elliot, Head of Programming & Producing at »The Place«, London’s creative powerhouse for dance development. Christina leads The Place’s theatre program, artist development initiatives, as well as new production and touring projects.
In this Coffee Talk, Christina introduces the »Rural Touring Dance Initiative« – a UK-wide project that supports dance artists and rural promoters in bringing high-quality dance performances to rural areas. Since its launch in 2015, RTDI has brought some of the UK’s leading dance companies, such as Lost Dog, Protein, and Scottish Dance Theatre, to rural spaces. Christina shares insights into how RTDI has transformed rural dance touring in the UK and continues to positively shape the wider touring ecology.
October 24, 2024 I Bianca Kruppa on Community Work at »Falsche Farm« (Diebis, Bayern) and the joy of making mistakes
»What can modern, sustainable and culturally diverse rural life look like, where a large variety of people can participate and co-create?«
During this Coffee Talk, Bianca Kruppa shares some of her experiences as a community dance artist and facilitator in the context of her work at »Falsche Farm«. She mainly focuses on community building and personal research questions regarding dance in rural areas. Bianca lives and works in rural southern Germany. Currently she’s studying MA Dance: Participation, Communities, Activism at the London Contemporary Dance School.
With this key question, »Falsche Farm« can be understood as an ongoing place in progress. It holds space for content shaped by the creativity and expertise of its local people. As a co-founder of »Falsche Farm«, Bianca regards this progress as a collective resistance against the pursuit of the supposedly “right answer” – creating space for something new instead. In doing so, Bianca’s community often finds itself on an overwhelming spectrum between aspiration and reality while maintaining the joy of making mistakes.
October10, 2024 I Markéta Málková on connecting communities and nature through dance in South Bohemia, Czechia
On October 10, 2024, we were excited excited to host a special conversation with Markéta H. Malkova, director of the »REZI.DANCE« artist residency in Komařice, South Bohemia. Since 2016, »REZI.DANCE« has offered dancers from around the world a unique retreat to create in the tranquility of nature while engaging with the local community. Through projects like »The Body in the Region«, Markéta fosters the active participation of local villagers, from children to seniors, in the creative process. She organizes the »HARVEST« festival, bringing contemporary dance directly into the rural landscape.
In this Coffee Talk, Markéta shares her experiences and provides insights into the challenges and opportunities of producing dance in rural areas. She demonstrates how art, nature, and community can successfully come together.
September 26, 2024IRoberto Casarotto on Curating Dance Projects in North-East Italy
Roberto Casarotto is the co-director of »Aerowaves«, the European Platform for Dance promoting cross-border mobility of the work of emerging dance artists. He is also the initiator of »Dance Well« – Movement Research for Parkinson’s and other processes aimed at fostering participation in cultural activities both on a community and on an individual level. From 2006 to 2022, he was responsible for the dance projects and programs at »Centro per la Scena Contemporanea di Bassano del Grappa« (CSC) and »Operaestate Festival Veneto« in small cities and rural areas in the North East of Italy. He still develops international projects there now, supported by the EU Creative Europe and Erasmus + Programs, aimed at supporting artistic research, engaging local citizens and promoting artistic mobility and development in the field of dance. Prior to working for dance organizations, Roberto was a professional contemporary dancer.
In this Coffee Talk, Roberto gives insights into his wide range of experience in program creation and producing contemporary international dance in rural areas of northern Italy.
September 12, 2024IPablo Sansalvador on Guiding Dance Productions and Embracing Failure
In this talk Pablo Sansalvador delves into his dynamic approach to nurturing and promoting dance in communities beyond the metropolitan spotlight. Drawing from his extensive experience, Pablo reports on how he captivates potential stakeholders, builds dedicated audiences, secures funding and oversees the entire dance production process — from initial concept through touring and final dissemination. Pablo`s journey was not just marked by successes but also by setbacks, which he regards as invaluable learning experiences. He candidly shares these personal failures and the lessons they’ve taught him, emphasizing the importance of “learning by doing” in the often unpredictable world of dance production.
This Coffee Talk provides deep insights for dance makers and supporters alike, particularly those working in or aspiring to reach communities outside major cultural hubs. Pablo Sansalvador is a freelance creator, dance artist and the artistic leader of TanzLabor Ulm.
July 11, 2024 I Hannah Ma about radical solidarity in dance
»Lost in No(W/H)here? The need for community building through radical solidarity« – That`s the topic of this talk.
We need radical solidarity to build the intersectional bridges the world requires. What can dance do? How can dance be that bridge? How can dance have a radical solidarity effect? What can this impetus mean locally and translocally in the exchange between the Global North and the Global South? How do we deal with structural racism, classism, abelism, and all other forms of discrimination in our local contexts? How can we jointly translate findings globally? We have learned that neither applying theories nor translating terms (e.g. “Asian Americans” to “asiatische Amerikaner”) can reflect the realities, histories, and representations of marginalization. It needs the creation of safer and braver spaces where we can find deeper understanding and unlearn binaries. How can we create spaces around dance in rural areas where we work together long-term and form friendships, networks, and communities that cultivate and promote these spaces? How can we create spaces for dance in rural areas where we can work together long-term, form friendships, networks and communities that cultivate and promote discourse and reflection (on privilege), solidarity and empathy?
June 27, 2024 I Charlotte Mathiessen about the work of »TanzPlan Ost«
»TanzPlan Ost« is the unique funding platform for contemporary dance in the region of Eastern Switzerland/Principality of Liechtenstein. The two-year program cycle begins with the ChoreoLab, a workshop and exchange week for professional dance makers. Following this, two artists are invited to develop a new stage piece as part of the Associate Artist Program and present it on tour at various venues in Eastern Switzerland. The three formats contribute to effectively supporting dance creators, networking with each other, sustainably anchoring dance in the region, specifically strengthening it, making it (more) visible and attracting an audience for it. »TanzPlan Ost« is managed by Mona de Weerdt and Romeo Oliveras.
»TanzPlan Ost« is presented by Charlotte Mathiessen, dramaturge, choreographer and dancer. Charlotte was part of »ChoreoLab« in 2022 and has worked on two Associate Artist projects as a performer and dramaturge. In this Coffee Talk, she explains the project in more detail.
June 13, 2024 I Kick-off event with the team of »tanz weit draußen«
On June 13 a new series started. In the recording of the opening, Pascal Sangl and Elisabeth Nehring provide a thematic preview of the following editions with international guests, and the ‘tanz weit draußen’ network introduces itself and its work. Representatives of the regional teams from Brandenburg, Baden-Württemberg, Schleswig-Holstein/Hamburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, from Aktion Tanz and the project management team present the project, answer questions and engage in discussion.
Info.Zoom – exchange, networking, faqs
get to know »tanz weit draußen«
Under this motto, we open the doors to our Info.Zoom every two months on the third Friday from 10 to 11 am. Everyone is cordially invited to find out more about the network, get to know us, ask questions and network with each other. As a young network, we are particularly interested in what concerns you when it comes to dance in rural areas and regions.
»A cup of coffee with … « 2023 – Digital dialogue series
The successful series of events with experts for dance in rural areas “A cup of coffee with … Tanz weit draußen” continues.
Every second Thursday, choreographers, dance mediators and cultural managers report on their experiences and projects with choreography, dance and dance education in rural regions, reflect on challenges and opportunities and answer questions in moderated discussions from 9:00 – 10:00 am.
From the vision to the realisation of a project, from lone fighters to diverse collaborations, from the singular idea to sustainable structures – everyone who wants to take these steps in the countryside and needs inspiration and support is cordially invited “A cup of coffee with … Tanz weit draußen”!
PROGRAMME
26 January 2023, 9:00-10:00 am: “Community Dance: getting the region moving” – A cup of coffee with … Dörte Wolter, producer and project manager
Perform[d]ance has been committed to promoting contemporary dance art in Western Pomerania since 2001. The Stralsund-based association is committed to the idea of community dance and realises artistic dance productions and dance projects with children, young people and adults. Over 50 productions have been created since it was founded and many non-theatre spaces have been transformed into dance stages during this time. Project manager Dörte Wolter provides an insight into the practice of cooperation in rural areas and shares best practices on questions of conception, preparation, calculation and realisation of community dance projects. As part of further training courses, she will be offering individual counselling and mentoring from April 2023.
Dörte Wolter is a producer and project manager at Perform[d]ance e.V. and the Novoflot opera company and is on the management team of the MECKLENBURG-VORPOMMERN TANZT AN – TANZPAKT Stadt Land Bund project.
09 February 2023, 9:00-10:00 am: ‘ Dance Landscape Southwest: Contemporary Dance in Rural Areas between the Rhine and Danube’ – A cup of coffee with … Pascal Sangl, dancer, choreographer and dance mediator
As a choreographer and dance mediator, Pascal Sangl was actively involved in shaping the Tanz in der Fläche programme of Tanzszene Baden-Württemberg e. V. from 2019 to 2021. The programme’s collaboration partners covered the field of schools, cultural offices and cultural centres in smaller municipalities in Baden-Württemberg. Pascal Sangl presents the developments that he has driven forward under his own steam since the end of the Tanz in der Fläche project. A recapitulation of the last two years from the perspective of a dance maker who talks about the challenges and challenges of dance in rural areas and reflects on its success factors. Afterwards, there will be plenty of time for questions and feedback. As part of further training programmes, Pascal Sangl offers one-to-one advice and individual mentoring to support his own projects.
Pascal Sangl is a graduate of the Amsterdam University of the Arts and works as a freelance dance artist & cultural mediator inter:nationally from the Stuttgart region.
23 February 2023, 9:00-10:00 am: “Tanz in der Fläche: Projekte und Manual” – A cup of coffee with … Andrea Gern, Managing Director of TanzSzene Baden-Württemberg e. V.
Between 2016 and 2021, TanzSzene Baden-Württemberg e. V. realised a series of successful projects to promote contemporary dance in rural areas. The experience gained, success factors and challenges were identified, methodically developed and processed into a handout. The resulting illustrative workbook is intended to provide practical support for the organisation of similar projects. Andrea Gern led the dance projects and is the editor of the manual. In this interview, she presents her projects and the workbook. As part of further training programmes, Andrea Gern will be offering workshops on working with the manual and implementing her own projects later in the year.
Andrea Gern is a trained historian, has worked as a journalist and in PR and has been Managing Director of TanzSzene Baden-Württemberg e. V. since 2016.
09 March 2023: ‘Building projects and networks for dance in rural areas’ – A cup of coffee with … Martin Stiefermann, choreographer and artistic director of MS Schrittmacher
Martin Stiefermann has been working on various projects in and for rural regions since 2015. As a member of schloss bröllin e.V., he has been ensuring a greater presence of contemporary dance in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern with the project “MV tanzt an” since 2018. The project develops new presentation, production and mediation formats and initiates the exchange and further training of dance professionals. In addition, Martin Stiefermann and his group MS Schrittmacher launched the BRUCHSTÜCKE project in 2022, which aims to establish dance and performance in the rural Oderbruch region. Through workshops, dialogue formats and youth work, guest performances and new productions, the project has built up a dance-interested community in a short space of time. As part of this project, Stiefermann is involved in setting up the TANZ INITIATIVE BRANDENBURG. In this interview, he presents his projects and approaches. As part of further training programmes, Martin Stiefermann offers individual consultations to explore specific topics in greater depth.
Martin Stiefermann is a choreographer, artistic director of the MS Schrittmacher group, director of the BRUCHSTÜCKE project and a member of the management team of the MECKLENBURG-VORPOMMERN TANZT AN – TANZPAKT Stadt Land Bund project.
23 March 2023, 9:00 – 10:00 am: “Dance art, contact improvisation and yoga in rural Baden-Württemberg – and how it all goes together” – A cup of coffee with … Crystal Schüttler, choreographer, dancer, dance mediator in Baden-Württemberg
Since 2015, Crystal Schüttler has been running the dance studio “Semilla, Schule für Tanz, Performance & Yoga” in Mühlhausen, Baden-Württemberg, which guarantees her “livelihood” through her teaching activities. In 2019, she officially founded the association “Zeit Tanz Land e.V.”, which organises and produces dance and performance events in rural areas. As a result, productions of various formats have been created and shown: Sight-specific, outdoor & indoor, collaborations with musicians, short pieces, children’s & youth dance pieces, research, film productions. In 2020 she wrote “A set of cards for spontaneous composition & contact improvisation” based on her work as a researching teacher, dancer & choreographer. Crystal Schüttler will present the developments and challenges in the rural/outer-urban area of her school and the association, as well as the card set and its roots in contact improvisation.
Possible follow-up formats include mentoring, Zoom consultations, labs on composition, CI, improvisation, partnering and/or residencies.
06 April 2023, 9:00 – 10:00 am: “Realising dance mediation projects with the ChanceTanz funding programme” – A cup of coffee with … Martina Kessel, ChanceTanz project manager and Juschka Weigel, dance artist at Flusskultur e. V.
Aktion Tanz has been funding dance projects with children and young people throughout Germany with its ChanceTanz programme since 2013. In the current funding phase, a special focus is on dance projects in rural regions. We explain what it takes to apply and what the funding looks like. To illustrate this, Juschka Weigel gives an insight into her projects in Havelland funded by ChanceTanz.
Martina Kessel is the project manager of ChanceTanz and a founding member of Aktion Tanz e. V.
Juschka Weigel is a dancer and choreographer. After many years as a dancer with international tours, she moved to the countryside, where she realises dance projects with children and young people, among other things.
20 April 2023, 9:00 – 10:00 am: ‘As a migrant with dance in the Uckermark – the success story of UMtanz e. V. ‘ – A cup of coffee with … Yeri Anarika, choreographer, dancer, dance mediator, Templin, Brandenburg
Mexican dance artist Yeri Anarika lives between Berlin and the Uckermark; in this talk, she will talk about her previous experiences with contemporary dance projects for professionals, children and young people as well as for the community in the Uckermark (Brandenburg). In 2007, she and her family decided to give rural life a try and founded the organisation UMtanz e. V. This created a structure that enabled her to develop artistic projects and produce pieces that reach a different audience.
Using examples of current formats and the work of the organisation, Yeri Anarika will explain how structures can be set up to bring dance to places where it is not yet established – and also talk about her experiences as a migrant. A talk full of ideas and inspiration for organising dance projects in rural regions.
Possible follow-up formats include counselling and mentoring.
04 May 2023, 9:00 – 10:00 am: ‘I thought I was alone here …! – How does the independent scene work in a state like Schleswig-Holstein? On the strengths of peer-to-peer exchange’ – A cup of coffee with … Mark Christoph Klee, choreographer, dancer, dance educator, Schleswig-Holstein
Choreographer, dancer and dance educator Mark Christoph Klee talks about his structure-creating work in Schleswig-Holstein. Since 2018, he has been realising contemporary dance projects as part of the performance collective ‘Merle | Mischke | Klee’, which often offer audiences inexperienced in dance their first encounter with dance. Mark Christoph shares concrete strategies on how to start projects in small towns or villages where there is supposedly no space for dance. He also talks about the mediation formats the collective has developed over the years to get audiences interested in their artistic work. In 2020, Mark Christoph Klee also initiated the ‘Tanz und Performance Netzwerk Schleswig-Holstein’ (TuP.SH), a loose community of interest that has become an important forum for exchange for all those dance professionals who work as lone fighters across the state. The energy of this community and other partners (Kultur- und Bildungszentrum Bad Oldesloe, K3 – Zentrum für Choreographie | Tanzplan Hamburg, Dachverband freie darstellende Künste Hamburg e.V.) gave rise to the cross-state Tanzpakt project tanz.nord.
Possible follow-up formats are mentoring and individual counselling.
01 June 2023, 9:00-10:00 am: “Outside, in between, in the middle: Participatory dance projects in the border region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg and Poland”. A cup of coffee with …. Be Van Vark, choreographer and artistic director of Tänzer*ohne Grenzen e. V.
Be Van Vark’s work is characterised by a passion for realising participatory projects, bringing different people together and moving both one and hundreds of people. For her work, she was honoured by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier with the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. The laudatory speech summarises her work and the systemic relevance of culture in general: ‘Be van Vark shows that culture is not an elitist luxury pleasure, but part of everyone’s existence.’ Four days before the premiere of the current work ‘Das Fest_ Tanz auf dem Plateau’, a production with hundreds of people from the border region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg and Poland, Be talks about the challenges, the process and the practice.
The project is being realised in cooperation and as part of a village residency by the Kulturlandbüro Uecker – Randow. It is funded by the German Federal Cultural Foundation, the Trafo programme and the Metropolregion Stettin Fund.
15 June 2023, 9:00-10:00 am: Szene 2WEI – about the work of a mixed-abled dance company in the middle of the Black Forest (Lahr, Baden-Württemberg)
SZENE 2WEI was founded in 2009 by Timo Gmeiner and William Sánchez H. in Essen. The company works in the field of contemporary mixed-ability dance theatre. It creates art that questions and stimulates thought, does not shy away from discussion and discourse and brings its very own style to the stage. The common goal is to seek dialogue with people on and off stage and to use art as a universal language to explore different ways of communicating.
The dance company SZENE 2WEI is based in Lahr in the Black Forest (Ortenau district), around 38 kilometres north of Freiburg. The surrounding nature has a major influence on the company’s artistic work and has thus become one of its main pillars alongside mixed ability. In an interview with William Sánchez H., we find out how the two dance artists built up the company and how it has changed over time.
This project is funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media via the ‘Verbindungen Fördern’ programme of the Bundesverband Freie Darstellende Künste e.V. (Federal Association of Independent Performing Arts).
