NOVEMBER 29th, 15 pm CET, on Zoom platform (details below)
The “UP2DANCE Updating professional profiles towards contemporary dance – FINAL CONFERENCE” will be held on Monday 29 November 2021, on Zoom Platform, from 15:00 CET. The project was supported by the ERASMUS+ Program of the European Union and realized in collaboration between six European dance companies: Balletto di Roma (Italy), Derida Dance Center (Bulgaria), Magenta Consultoria (Spain), Polish Dance Theatre (Poland), ICK (Netherlands) and Companhia de Dança de Almada (Portugal).
The online event involves the main representatives of partner organizations with the aim of sharing and disseminating theoretical conclusions and practical results achieved by the European exchange, inaugurated in January 2020 with the first official meeting in Poznań (Poland). On the occasion of the conference, further initiatives born in the context of Up2Dance will be previewed: among these, the official presentation of the Manual of Good Practices in Contemporary Dance, the result of the research conducted within the project between 2020 and 2021, with the cooperation of dance professionals from each of the partner organizations. The online conference will once again make the “virtual meeting” between different countries and European partners possible and it will be articulated through dialogue and QA sessions that will bring them even closer by sharing their experience.
Not an end, but the beginning of a new path with the hope that the good practices exchanged also lead to future collaborations. A point of arrival and departure through shared visions: the network born during the fruitful meetings between partners will continue the UP2DANCE project, investigating the different needs of the sector in terms of competences and skills, to promote a wider recognition of the same competences at EU level, and to facilitate dance professionals’ mobility and recognition.
The initial goal of the UP2DANCE project was to investigate the profound changes occurred in the system of contemporary dance in the last 20 years, which can be considered a “revolution” that still affects the entire world of dance. Dance companies willing to differentiate their offer face numerous challenges, such as the needs of a re-definition of curricula and general update of training programs in accordance with the most recent trends, new languages and methodologies; as well as the need to smooth out differences between Northern EU and South-eastern in a proper diffusion in the vocational training programs.
For this, the UP2DANCE project aimed to support the modernization of education and training systems, in particular through a better use of EU transparency and recognition tools and the exchange of good practices concerning the dance sector at European level, in order to boost the process of harmonization and update of curricula of the professional profiles, according to the requirements of the contemporary scenario and also with the development of specific skill for today and tomorrow contemporary dance professions.
From January 2020 to November 2021, several meetings between the partners addressed those subjects creating a common ground and looking for ways to implement the good models shared without forgetting political and cultural differences. Furthermore, relevant professionals in each country were called to collaborate, participating in roundtables and peer learning workshops for the discussion (and practice) of each of the topics.
The global pandemic, which began in March 2020, did not stop the UP2DANCE project, which continued constructively through online meetings and workshops. Starting from summer 2021, finally, the partners were able to meet in person, first in Almada-Portugal (July) and then in Rome-Italy (November) on the occasion of the Transnational Final Meeting: intense days, full of ideas and discussion, with the precious contribution of directors, choreographers, professionals of the important European organizations involved.
The Manual of Good Practices in Contemporary Dance, which will be presented during the final conference, was designed to support both individual professionals and dance organizations in the management of programs and individual careers, as well as to contribute to passing awareness and understanding about the importance of developing and regulating national and European performing arts systems. For many years, little has been done to establish on a European level the need for structuring and socially supporting the very important professional roles in dance in general and in contemporary dance in particular. The document is not intended to be a definitive one, but rather it aims to contribute as a guide useful to bring a new and sustainable approach to a subject that is in deep need for further research and application.
The final conference will be held in English
KEEP READINGIn order to disseminate the project results, each partner organized a final national event during the last months in 2021:
The events, held mostly in vivo or in blended modality and in local language, have been relevant to give local stakeholders a feedback about the project main findings. Around 70 professionals have attended the events: local, regional and national dance companies; dance professionals (dancers, dance teachers, choreographers); freelancers; regional, national, European policy-makers; public bodies responsible for the recognition and validation of skills, competences and qualifications (e.g. Regions, Ministries, Public Agencies, etc.); dance schools, VET providers and institutions, Universities. The dissemination events were a key activity for the exploitation of the results of the project, as they promoted the use of the results and their dissemination.
KEEP READINGJSTE C5: “Dance Training” was introduced in the project to give partners the opportunity of finally explore in vivo several of the practical aspects linked to the dance practice (training methodologies, approaches…) that could only be theoretically or partially practically addressed, since the consortium was forced to hold most of the JSTE online. Being the project about the dance practice, partners found relevant to hold a final JSTE in vivo, where to practically explore different training practices and to commonly reflect on the overall project findings.
The JSTE was held at Ca.Da. premises in Portugal, from September 30th to October 2nd 2021 and attended by professionals from the participating organizations. The training workshop was hosted during the 29th edition of Quinzena de Dança de Almada – International Dance Festival, organised by Companhia de Dança de Almada – Ca.DA, a space for dance presentation and promotion, which offers its audiences a complex of events well representative of national and international contemporary dance. For three days, project partners had the chance to exchange practices and lessons learned during the project, while also widely disseminating project results with the international audience of the festival.
The main aims of the activity were:
Participants were selected among teachers, trainers and/or professionals belonging to the staff of partner organisations according to their function, previous experience, language competences and motivation in working in a transnational context.
During the first day, the JSTE developed the following program:
During the second day, the JSTE developed the following program:
During the third day, the JSTE developed the following program:
Peer Learning Workshop C1 “Transition from classic/neo-classic to contemporary dance models: definition and classification of the dance categories” was held in Portugal at Ca.Da. premises in the period 4 to 10 July 2021. Professionals from the consortium, dancers from the Ca.Da. School and external stakeholders had the amazing chance to work together sharing theoretical and practical sessions about the classic and contemporary language and training programs.
Taking in consideration the main aim of the project, the elaboration of a manual of good practices with the main guidelines for the dance professions selected, the JSTE explored the different approaches, techniques and practices traditionally referred to the classic / neoclassic or to the contemporary dance, exploring differences and similarities in the roles definition, in the dance practice, as well in the skills and competences the different professionals (dance, dance teacher, rehearsal director, choreographer) need to acquire/practice/strengthen. The JSTE followed a practical approach, where dancers and choreographers of the different partners led a dance lesson, sharing partners’ most relevant practices. Each session was followed by a common reflection on the project topics.
The JSTE was run according to the following schedule:
DAY 1 (5th July 2021) 1.30PM to 6.00PM: introduction to the workshop; Observation of ballet class for intermediate level students was presented by Raquel Tavares (Ca.DA); Observation of a contemporary warm-up class offered by Agnieszka Jachym (PDT); advanced ballet class offered by Azzurra Schena (BDR); shared discussion about ballet classes.
DAY 2 (6th July 2021) 10.00PM to 6.00PM: Warm-up ballet class was offered by Maria João Lopes (Ca.DA); discussion session on the competences expected from the contemporary dancer; Observation of contemporary class by Rita Judas (Ca.DA School) for intermediate level; Contemporary dance class offered by Jivko Jeliazkov (DDC) via zoom, with the assistance of Isabel Mitkova; open session on “Philosophy and pedagogic aims in European Dance schools”, was open via zoom to external stakeholders.
DAY 3 (7th July 2021) 10.00PM to 1.45PM: Warm-up contemporary class offered by Bruno Duarte & Luís Malaquias (Ca.DA); presentation by Susana Rosendo (Ca.DA School) about the theme “The experience of long-distance dance teaching”; open discussion among partners about contemporary classes and its main guidelines
DAY 4 (8th July 2021) 10.00PM to 5.30PM: warm-up class with Vincent Colomès (ICK Amsterdam); observation of Ca.DA’s daily rehearsal in preparation for next performance in Italy: Excerpts from “Marvel”, by Luis Marrafa, and “SubRosa” by Bruno Duarte; observation of Street Dance/Sensorial Toolkit class attended by students of the 5th year of study in Ca.DA’s dance school, offered by Marley Braaf (ICK Amsterdam); discussion session on the role of the rehearsal director/repetiteur; contemporary class incorporating body awareness exercises offered by Emanuele Burrafato (BdR).
DAY 4 (8th July 2021) 11.15PM to 5.15PM: Discussion session among partners and participants about “Creativity in Dance Training”; observation of Creation Class offered by Emanuele Burrafato (BdR); closing, Reflection, & Evaluation Session.
KEEP READINGThe 2nd Transnational Project meeting, held online the 1st and 2nd July 2020, had the aim of discussing in an operative way on the activities started in the previous months by the consortium and deepened during various virtual alignment meetings held before.
The objectives of the meeting were the following ones:
The 1st day of the meeting was dedicated to one-to-one discussion among Ca.Da. and partners in order to deepen some aspects of the desk research held in each Country, related to the state of the art of the dance professional sector. The discussion allowed partners to get aligned on the situation in all countries as well as to promote the exchange of ideas. Main topics were addressed with each company according to the results emerged in their countries and after discussion, and Ca.Da. gathered all the necessary information to create a first draft of the comparative analysis to be sent to partner so that they could have a better idea on how to address the professional profiles during the round tables to be organised.
The 2nd day of the meeting was about the organisation of the round tables to be held in each Country with key local and national stakeholders, in order to discuss the dance professionals’ roles, their knowledge and skills needs, as well as to discuss the recognition of qualification and effective learning paths. Partners discussed how they envisaged the round tables in terms of structure, contents, stakeholders to be invited, results and supporting documents to be collected. Partners also discussed the importance to follow the “Strategy for the round tables” – previously created through the collaboration between Companhia de Dança de Almada, Balletto di Roma and Magenta Consultoria – in order to have important information regarding the logistic organisation of the round tables, communication with stakeholders, topics to be discussed, results to be achieved, together with the EQF leaflet and facilitation strategy provided my Magenta Consultoria, to give important tools and techniques for their realisation. Partners also had the opportunity to confirm the implementation period of the round tables, to be held between July and December 2020.
KEEP READINGAfter conducting several workshops aimed at new models of management in the field of contemporary dance and new contemporary dance languages, the realization of the Up2DANCE Project (Project code: 2019-1-IT01-KA202-007609/ Project National ID (CUP): G85G19000110006) continued with the third transnational meeting among partners, which was held online, and organized by Magenta Consultoría Projects (Spain).
The meeting was held to monitor the implementation of the project, discuss financial aspects, communication and dissemination of project results, the comparative analysis prepared by Companhia de Dança de Almada – a foundation of the recommendations which will be one of the tangible results of the project, the organization of the next workshop, and upcoming activities.
All the partners were excited to welcome some new additions to the international team – Joana Casado from Companhia de Dança de Almada
During the video conference, the differences between countries in terms of dance were highlighted. Therefore, it was suggested that the produced documents shall be divided by country.
To address the mismatches between qualification frameworks and contemporary professional figures, it was necessary to study the situation in each of the countries involved in what concerned the different dance professions.
The inquiry by a questionnaire applied to the partners of the project allowed the consortium to build the first draft of a comparative analysis of the situation of the professions in each country. This served as a basis to develop the roundtables with national specialists about each professional role.
From these round tables, recommendations were drawn according to the debated themes that were considered the most pertinent in each national situation, and we are delighted to share with you some of the highlights.
The main recommendation that came out of the discussions lead during the round tables in Bulgaria, is related to the need that the state categorizes dance artists working in the field of contemporary dance.
In Spain, concerning the needs and competencies not covered by the official training system and deficits to be gapped, the main deficits regarding the artists’ situation are the establishment of a proper statute and its regulation. This statute covers different realities going from freelance workers to employees in dancing companies, teachers, directors, etc. The regulations also need to cover the transition from the student to the professional world and make that step available for all students.
In Italy, it is necessary to precisely define the roles in question, since they are closely linked to the artistry of the skills required, therefore shaded and enriched by practical experience “in the field”, and the current difficulty of the bodies in charge of certifying them.
In Portugal, the only dance profession that is somehow regulated (by the Ministry of Education) is that of the dance teacher, in the educational system. The matters that need to be addressed in order to regulate and bring security to the professional field are teacher certification for different dance styles and techniques; regulation of the sector concerning different contexts; the regulation for dance schools, particularly during pandemic constrictions; status of the dancer; arts worker status; support for arts and culture: dance.
In Poland the subject has already been addressed concerning the different contexts of intervention – primary dance education; higher education, skills developing, Master vs. Apprentice; structures for dance and choreography development; recognisability of the Dance Art and the choreographer profession status.
The dance professions in the Netherlands are quite regulated through different institutions (Central Register of Higher Education, Accreditation Organization of the Netherlands and Flanders – NVAO, The Dutch Union for Higher Education, Ministry for Education, Culture and Science) depending on the role and on the context. The problems and needs of the dance field have been studied and discussed a lot in this country, resulting in important documents that can contribute to the development of the field and the unity in the professional world. Even with a lot of directives and coordination among the many different dance professional players, supported by a strong association culture, many needs and competencies not covered by the official training system have been identified.
Despite the differences between the dance field in the different countries, the consortium managed to apply some recommendations to all involved in the project, that will be published and shared with all the stakeholders involved.
What was to come in the implementation of the Up2DANCE Project was the realization of the next Peer Learning Workshop, that was held in Almada, Portugal by Companhia de Dança de Almada from July 5th to July 9th.
The workshop consisted of dance classes, discussions, and brainstorming among partners in regards to the professional profiles of the dancer, dance teacher, and choreographer.
MORE DETAILS SOON!
For more information about the development of the project, please visit the official website: https://www.up2danceproject.eu/
The Up2DANCE Project is being realized in collaboration between Balletto di Roma (Italy), Derida Dance Center (Bulgaria), ICK Dans Amsterdam (Netherlands), Companhia de Dança de Almada (Portugal), Polski Teatr Tańca – Polish Dance Theatre (Poland), Magenta Consultoría Projects (Spain) and is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Program of the European Union.
KEEP READINGPeer Learning Workshops are an essential part of UP2DANCE project. Organized by dance companies, they aim to facilitate the exchange of good practices among partners, leading to the production of a Manual of Good practices which is one of the tangible results of the project.
We are please to announce that the UP2DANCE project reached another fundamental milestone – between 12th and 15th of April 2021 the fourth Peer Learning Workshop, took place, hosted online by ICK Dans Amsterdam. This time, the aims of these workshops were to analyse the training methods and the documentation of artistic work related to those trainings in order to identify the core skills and capacities which are being expected from dancers. The second goal was to introduce and discuss the role of Dancer,
Dance, Teacher, Choreographer, and Repetitor.
ABOUT THE HOST OF THIS WORKSHOP
The International Choreographic Arts Centre (ICK) is a platform for contemporary dance founded in 2009 by Emio Greco | Pieter C. Scholten. This city dance company of Amsterdam is built on three pillars: ICK-Company (producing international dance performances), ICK-Artist Space (supporting new makers) and ICK-Academy (stimulating education and research projects). The ICK Company is supplemented by a junior company: ICK Next. From 2021, the ICK Artist Space is the Amsterdam production house for contemporary dance.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PROGRAMME
Researcher Suzan Tunca was the facilitator of the whole UP2DANCE workshop:
• Every morning a Double Skin/Double Mind class was given by ICK Researcher Suzan Tunca. You can read more about DS/DM method founded by Emio Greco | Pieter C. Scholten below.
• Monday 12th: Sharing practices – a contemporary dance class combining different techniques in a personal way from 15:00 – 16:15. The partner running this practice was Bruno Duarte – Dancer and Choreographer from Companhia de Danca de Almada.
• Tuesday 13th: Sharing practice ‘Spiritual Body’ from 13:15 – 14:30. The partner running this practice was Valerio Longo – Balletto di Roma
• Thursday 15th from 13:15 till 14:45: a lecture and workshop on the Toolkit Sensorium by Artistic Coordinator Academy and Dance Teacher Kelly Hirina – ICK Dans Amsterdam.
ABOUT THE ICK STAFF
Suzan Tunca is a researcher and a dance teacher. Essential elements in dance are ‘trusting each other’, ‘how to make the difference in conveying the message of a choreography’, and ‘discovering the sensitivity of your body, what possibilities it has. Which techniques can you take from dance for that? Ingredients that a dancer
cannot do without, and that can also be learned a lot from in the world outside dance.
Kelly Hirana is artistic coordinator of the arts education branch of ICK and a former ICK dancer. She is also an avid dance, pilates and yoga teacher. Kelly uses a variety of pedagogical methods that help students feel comfortable and safe in the classroom while building motivation for “learning”, thereby achieving their
learning goals.
ABOUT THE DOUBLE SKIN/ DOUBLE MIND METHOD
Double Skin/Double Mind (DS/DM) is the dance method of Emio Greco and Pieter C. Scholten. You discover the sensitivity of your body through the basic principles of Breathing, Jumping, Expanding and Reducing. You need the sensitivity for the possibilities that arise from your body when creating choreographic material. The
method is therefore the basis of all performances by Greco and Scholten.
“DS/DM is a way of preparing the body for dance that is inherent to your thinking and your imagination. It needs a connection with your own choices, also during the improvisation with other elements and choreographic materials. The experience creates a condition and an opening, it is not something fixed by rules that say: this is how you should dance. It is rather the opposite, you use it, and then you contrast it in an open field of intervention and manipulation”.
– Emio Greco-
MORE ABOUT UP2DANCE
UP2DANCE (2019-2021) is an Erasmus+ project aimed at harmonising knowledge, competences and skills in the dance profession and dance education at European level. The aim is to increase the mobility of dance professionals within Europe.
This project is a collaboration between Balletto di Roma (Italy), Derida Dance Center (Bulgaria), Polish Dance Theatre (Poland), ICK Dans Amsterdam (Netherlands), Companhia de Danca de Almada (Portugal) and Magenta Consultoria Projects(Spain), co-funded by the Erasmus+ Program of the European Union.
For more information and updates, please follow the @up2danceproject Facebook page.
KEEP READINGPeer Learning Workshop 3 in the frame of UP2DANCE project
Peer Learning Workshops – an overview
The Peer Learning Workshops are another important part of the realization of the UP2DANCE project – collaboration between Balletto di Roma (Italy), Derida Dance Center (Bulgaria), Polish Dance Theatre (Poland), ICK Dans Amsterdam (Netherlands), Companhia de Danca de Almada (Portugal) and Magenta Consultoria Projects (Spain), co-funded by the Erasmus+ Program of the European Union.
They are aimed to share innovative/effective methodologies to integrate contemporary languages into the training of trainers and professionals involved in the dance industry, so as to enhance their perspectives and increase their employability, thus being absolutely functional to the achievement of SO3 (To strengthen cooperation and the exchange of good practices among partner organizations concerning vocational training in the field of contemporary dance).
These Peer Learning Workshops are being organized by dance companies and are aimed to facilitate the exchange of good practices among partners, leading to the production of a Manual of Good practices which is one of the tangible results of the project.
Peer Learning Workshop 3 – New management models to be addressed when running contemporary dance
Peer Learning Workshop 3 will be hosted by Derida Dance Center via Skype due to travel restrictions between 22nd and 26th of March 2021. Each training day will take place in the morning and attended by two representatives of each partnering organization. It will last 3 hours – from 09:30 (CET) until 12:30 (CET). 24th of March would be organized as a reflection day for 1:1 call to solve possible doubts.
Given the specific objective of this workshop, mainly addressed to organizational and management change inside the dance organizations, it will be mainly attended by managing staff and connecting figures between management and artistic staff.
Day one of the workshop would start with a short presentation led by Atanas Maev – CEO of Derida Dance Center and will include overall information about the forthcoming days of the workshop, main organizational, management aspects and good practices leading to new management models required when working on contemporary dance languages. Representatives of each partner organization would be given the chance to present their own organization in terms of organizational, management aspects and good practices leading to new management models required when working on contemporary dance languages. The day will end with a discussion between the participants regarding the similarities and differences in the method of work of their organizations and what they stem from – geopolitical, historical, demographic factors. The partners will brainstorm about how they could implement the initially shared good practices in the work of their organizations and how this would affect both nationally and internationally in the field of contemporary dance.
Day 2 would start with a definition of specific management aspects addressed by transition to contemporary dance – staff recruitment (artistic and technical), artistic production (activities schedule and timing); marketing and communication (towards new public, but also keeping the old one). All partners would share their own experience by sharing success cases and good practices from their own work or experience, and concluding their presentation with needs and bottlenecks.
Day 3 would be a reflection day aimed at conducting one to one conversations between partners and Derida Dance Center considering unclear topics and further questions.
Day 4 of the workshop is planned to be a video chat with guest speakers working in the field that would share relevant good practices. The invited professionals are Katherina Vasiliadis, who has vast experience in the field of cultural management and the international relations for independent choreographers as well as organizations, Anna Arthur (administrative director of “Aerowaves – dance across Europe”) and Kirsten Seeligmueller (co-founder of DOCK11). The day will end with a shared definition of the management models partners will introduce in the final output: Manual of good practices.
The last day of the workshop will include observation/participation in dance class led by Jivko Jeliazkov, Artistic Director of Derida Dance Center and will end with conclusions and evaluation.
Background
The transition from classic to contemporary dance not only affects the different aspects related to artistic gesture and codification of languages; it affects the whole chain of a dance training and performance production inside dance companies, from an organizational and management perspective.
Contemporary production requires an overall new approach towards production: the consequentiality of production steps traditionally foreseen in classical dance is often non-respected; several figures and professionals required in classical production may be incorporated in only one professional in contemporary dance, while new professionals and technicalities may be required (being, for instance, the use of ICT for set design widely used). At the same time, a new effort has to be done in (re)positioning with old and new audiences, used to classical language and performances; dance schools addressing the contemporary need to carefully design an audience strategy, able to involve new potential audiences without losing the old, more traditional, ones.
Given all the aspects underlined, organizations willing to introduce contemporary dance in their production need to re-think their management models, in terms of positioning, management, production procedures and timing.
The third Peer Learning Workshop will thus have the main aim of enhancing participants’ reflection on new management models required when working on contemporary dance languages. Main needs, bottlenecks and possible solutions will be shared, and the final conclusion will be used in the design of the Manual of good practices
KEEP READINGThe UP2DANCE project continued with the realization of the round tables in Italy, Poland, and Bulgaria.
On October 23rd, Polish Dance Theatre held a roundtable discussion on the topic “Professional development of a dancer in the context of the educational and institutional offer in Polland”.
The agenda and goals of the meeting were:
A Dancer is best described in the European Qualification Framework among all profiles related to the dance field. In Poland, it has strong roots in ballet schools but how a dancer profile is perceived is changing. Professional development after ending stage career for dancers is a very big challenge. Is the educational system in Poland offering as much as dancers need? What if there are gaps in the educational and institutional environment?
Among guests were representatives of the Music and Dance Institute responsible for the Dance Professionals Transition Program and dancers from the Polish Dance Theatre. Participants have discussed gaps in the dance education program in Poland especially in relation to the physical and psychological aspects of dancer development and the importance of proper training of young artists in dance schools.
Balletto di Roma held their first round table, combining two of the professional roles considered in the project, on October 27th via Zoom on the topic “Round table discourse on the roles of dancer and dance teacher. State of the art in Italy”.
The stakeholders involved were Emanuelle Burrafato (BDR teacher), Letizia Piccione (BDR teacher), Valerio Longo (BDR choreographer and deputy director), Valeria Diana (Academia Nazionale Danza), Adriana Borriello (International master, predagouge), Christophe and Jonathan (Directors of Sine Qua Non-Art).
The round table included a discussion on each profile in terms of the definition of the role and skills it must have, bodies entitled to issue the official certificate of the role (recognition of professional qualifications), EQF validation (knowledge, skills, and abilities), identification of needs and skills not covered by the official training system and the gaps to be filled, possible recommendations and new methods to address the discrepancies between qualifications frameworks and contemporary professional figures, and ended with conclusions and agreement on the main results achieved.
It was facilitated by Francesa Magnini (Artistic Director of Balletto di Roma) and the guest facilitator Stefano Cascino (Regione Lazio, Programming Area Of The Training And Orientation Offer. Direction Of Education, Training, Research And Work
The target group of the round table consisted of professionals in the sector, renowned artists, and researchers in the field to make the discourse more articulated through the dialogue between multiple expressions of the art of dance and points of view coming from personal experiences.
On November 4th, Balletto di Roma held their final round table, combining the profiles of choreographer and rehearsal director in “Round table discourse on the roles of choreographer and rehearsal director. State of the art in Italy”.
Upcoming round tables are those to be held online by Derida Dance Center on the 21st and 22nd of December. The topic of discussion would be the professional profiles of Choreographer, Artistic Director, Dancer, and Dance Teacher.
The UP2DANCE project was associated partner in the realization of the „CLASH! International Festival. The Hybrid in Dance Models, between Classic and Contemporary. Six events dedicated to dance were broadcasted every day on the official website http://clashproject.eu/festival/ and on Facebook/Vimeo sharing the roundtables and the screendance performances produced by the partners involved in the project „Clash! When Classic and Contemporary Dance Collide and New Forms Emerge“, co-funded by Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.
The topics that the festival comprised were:
For more information about the “Clash! When classic and contemporary dance collide and new forms emerge” project, please visit:
www.clashproject.eu or the official Facebook page of the project: https://www.facebook.com/clashprojecteu
The UP2DANCE project – a collaboration between Balletto di Roma (Italy), Derida Dance Center (Bulgaria), Magenta Consultoria (Spain), Polish Dance Theatre (Poland), ICK (Netherlands), and Companhia de Dança de Almada (Portugal), with the support of Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, will carry on with implementing the round tables in all partner organizations, as well as with creating a public report on the results of the discussions made.
For more information and updates, follow the @up2danceproject Facebook page, which was launched at the beginning of July.
Photograph: Alwin Poiana
KEEP READINGFollowing the successful development of a strategy in regards to organizing round tables on the topics of the professional dance profiles, namely Dancer, Dance Teacher, Choreographer, and Rehearsal Director, the realization of the UP2DANCE Project proceeded with their launch.
The first round table organized by Companhia de Dança de Almada, Portugal, was on the professional profile of the Dancer with the name: “Professionalization of the Dancer: The role of Schools of Artistic Training Specialized in Dance”. It was held on 22nd July 2020 on Zoom from 18 h to 20 h. The table was moderated by Ana Macara and counted on the active participation of Susana Rodrigues (Ana Mangericão Dance School); Madalena Xavier (Escola Superior de Dança); Albino Moura (Lugar Presente – Escola de Dança); Cristina Pereira (Dance Art School of the National Conservatory); Carla Albuquerque (Ca.DA Escola). Representatives of professional associations who can contribute to this process were also invited: Iolanda Rodrigues (1st Position Association); Pedro Fidalgo Marques (Pro-association of dance professionals); Administration, teaching staff, and dancers of Ca.DA school, and selected dance professionals. The target group of this round table was administration, teaching staff, and dancers of Ca.DA school, and selected dance professionals. Everyone saluted the organization of the meeting which brought into contact several institutions that work for the same purpose but which are usually not very much connected, wishing it will start good possibilities of collaboration for the future.
Companhia de Dança de Almada organized their second round table on the profile of the Dance teacher. It was held under the name “Classical and Contemporary Dance: The role of the dance teacher” on October 3rd. The approached topics included: fundamental knowledge, techniques, and skills for practicing the profession of classical or contemporary dance teacher today; role and existing difficulties in the training of teachers in the dance area; training models for dance teachers;
recognition of the profession of dance teacher and regulation on the necessary qualifications for teaching.
The 3rd round table lead by Companhia de Dança de Almada on the profile of Rehearsal Director / Repetiteur was held on October 7th under the name “The role of the rehearsal director/repetiteur in the dance company: Relationship with choreographers and dancers”. The addressed topic included:
basic knowledge, techniques, and skills for the exercise of the profession; role and difficulties in exercising the profession of rehearsal director/repetiteur in dance; recognition of the profession.
Next partner to implement the round tables in their activity was Polish Dance Theatre (Poland). They focused on the professional profile of the choreographer and set the name: “Choreographer vs. Polish Dance Institutional and Educational Environment.” The aim was to present different points of view of professionals that have experience and knowledge in the field.
A choreographer profile is not described precisely in the Polish Qualification Framework. Many recognizable choreographers don’t have a title given by universities but they have great experience and portfolio.
Polish Dance Theatre invited to the round tables people from the public institutions as well as freelancers and those who have chosen different paths for their careers.
“Dancer-Teacher: role, competences, professional development opportunities” is the second round table that will be held by Polish Dance Theatre on October 22nd. According to them, Dancer Teacher is a very important profile but underrepresented at the higher education level. Still, there is a limited number of universities that teach dance and hiring dancer-teachers in Poland. What we can do to make this profile to be more appreciated and recognizable is the leading question of discussion.
In these round tables, ICK Dans Amsterdam, on the other hand, aimed to map and identify some of the current needs related to each profile on both artistic and socio-political levels. ICK wishes to activate a field of discourse about the ideal dancer, the ideal dance teacher, the ideal rehearsal director, and the ideal working conditions for the further evolution of contemporary dance in the NL, as it is imagined and practiced by the different players in the field.
In line with the dance research at ICK Academy on vocabulary development through dance (an)notation, documentation, and knowledge transmission, they also aim to cultivate a discourse about the verbal articulation of the tacit, unspoken, and mostly yet unrecognized knowledge of dance. ICK wants to evaluate the potentials of this knowledge in relation to the collectively shared challenge of the Corona crisis, the high mobility of securities triggered by it, and in relation to the future of dance.
On September 22nd, ICK dans Amsterdam hosted their second roundtable on the profile of the Dance Teacher. Statements about the ideal profiles proposed by the participants of the roundtables were the departure point for the discussion. The vocabularies used in these statements were compared with each other and in relation to the competencies articulated in the Dutch Beroeps- en Opleidingprofiel Dans (2017)[1] (Professional and Educational Profile Dance), as well as in relation to other relevant sources contributed by the participants.
On September 29th ICK dans Amsterdam conducted their third roundtable on the profile of Rehearsal Director. They invited dancers, dance teachers, artistic directors, policymakers, choreographers, rehearsal directors, and educational policymakers to participate in the roundtable. For the rehearsal director, they had a choreographer who also has experience as a rehearsal director, Artistic coordinator Academy, researcher, and ICK production manager. Because of the low response in the field, they will try to set up more 1 on 1 conversation in the near future.
The organization and holding of round tables in Bulgaria – Derida Dance Center and Italy – Balletto di Roma is forthcoming.
The UP2DANCE project –a collaboration between Balletto di Roma (Italy), Derida Dance Center (Bulgaria), Magenta Consultoria (Spain), Polish Dance Theatre (Poland), ICK (Netherlands) and Companhia de Dança de Almada (Portugal), with the support of Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union will carry on with implementing the round tables in all partner organizations, as well as with creating a public report on the results of the discussions made.
For more information and updates, follow the @up2danceproject Facebook page, which was launched at the beginning of July.
Photograph: Photo: Alwin Poiana
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