PARTNERS OF THE PROJECT „DANCE HIGWAYS” / ERASMUS+

DANCE HIGHWAYS is a European project that brings together six contemporary dance partners the L’espace ASDC in Palermo, the Fundacja Rozwoju Teatru „NOWA FALA” in Warsaw, the THEATER DER KLÄNGE in Düsseldorf, Dansearena Nord in Tromsø, La Fundicion in Bilbao and the Galerie Chorégraphique in Carcassonne.

L’espace ASDC de Palerme, la Fundacja Rozwoju Teatru „Nowa Fala” de Varsovie, le Theater der Klänge de Düsseldorf, Dansearena nord de Tromsø, La Fundicion de Bilbao et la Galerie Chorégraphique de Carcassonne.

This international project, supported by the European Union within the framework of Erasmus +, will implement until September 2022 a European calendar of transnational mobilities, with the aim of sharing good practices between experts and offering ongoing professional training workshops for contemporary dancers.

The objective of the project is to support and improve the quality and accessibility of Arts and Culture, by consolidating the cross professional relationship: Art-Education-Health and Integration. Dance Highways thus aims to strengthen a synergy between project proposals and structures in an artistic, cultural and social context.

From February 2021 to September 2022, five two-day transnational meetings and a total of five five-day workshops will be organised to, respectively, bring together twelve international experts and carry out innovative artistic experiences involving 18 professional dancers from the DANCE HIGHWAYS consortium, during the 25 days of workshops. In addition, the six partners will generate international festivals and various dissemination programs, which will generate opportunities to share the fruits of this process with a wide audience.

For the six partners of DANCE HIGHWAYS, it is a question of finding answers linked to the crisis caused by the pandemic both for the choreographic sector and for vulnerable populations, through the range of tools provided by contemporary dance practices.

La Galerie Chorégraphique, leading partner of DANCE HIGHWAYS, will host the first transnational meeting of the project in Carcassonne on 24 and 25 February 2021.

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FRANCE

La Galerie Chorégraphique

Founded in 2001 by Thierry Gourmelen and Jean-Pascal Blanchard, the artistic agency and production office La Galerie Chorégraphique, supports the development of the choreographic sector and more broadly of the contemporary performing arts in the Occitan region and internationally. Since 2012, it has been developing an artistic programme for the region in Carcassonne, punctuated by an annual federating event, the international festival Danses-Cités-Carcassonne.

THIERRY GOURMELEN

Director of La Galerie Chorégraphique, When he left Tahiti to live in Paris at the age of 20, he wasn’t really destined to embark on a career in show business: he worked as an accountant in a public works company. However, through a series of encounters, he discovered a passion for contemporary dance. He has collaborated with artists in France and abroad, as a dancer, artistic agent, administrator or producer. In Carcassonne, he conceived the Femmes En-Jeu(x) festival to celebrate the international day of women’s rights. Despite three promising editions, the festival ended in 2015, and with his team from the Choreographic Gallery and the complicity of the artists, he continued to forge links and encourage exchanges, aware that „artistic creation must have its place in the hearts and minds of the greatest number of people. „In places familiar to the Audois.es, Thierry Gourmelen invites the public to discover the contemporary performing arts: digital arts, choreographic arts and other performing arts. The public responds, „poetics and innovation speak to people”.

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GERMANY

THEATER DER KLÄNGE

an artistic collective founded in 1987 in Düsseldorf, experiments on the principle of structured, transdisciplinary and interactive improvisation with music, dance, acting and digital arts in order to create an original and individual aesthetic for composing choreographic and musical scores, creating costumes, sets and lighting. The creative principle consists in combining, according to the productions, different artistic currents such as Asian theatre forms, European medieval theatre and Commedia del Arte with contemporary approaches such as Bauhaus, Piscator, Le Corbusier, contemporary dance and Digital Arts. The specificity of THEATER DER KLÄNGE.

is the transdisciplinary, interactive, intermediary artistic creation and the design of workshops to raise awareness of the tools of contemporary dance in different territories.

https://theaterderklaenge.de/en/home-2/

„Lackballet”

JACQUELINE FISCHER

Choreographic director THEATER DER KLÄNGE – Artist working within community work. Project-leader for the Mercator Foundation, Coach in providing „advice and monitoring, member of the Arts Advisory Council for dance and theater, Düsseldorf. 1984-88 Studied contemporary dance at University of Arts Folkwang, Essen. In 2000 acquired pädagogical qualification at CND,Paris. Cofounder and co-artistic director of Theater der Klänge since 1987; Has directed many dance projects within the National Education Programm since 2005; Was leading the project “Arts in the Cultural Education-Artistic processes and Transmittingmethods“ for Mercator Foundation and Danse au Coeur. 2013 Led project ATEDAL- Alternativ techniques for engaging with disadvantaged Adults learners. 2015 Led project „dance and literature“ within the Heinrich Heine University. 2018 Cooperated and organized German-Greek youth project for and with the German organisation Arbeit und Leben DGB/VHS nrw e. V.

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ITALY / L’espace

L’espace was founded in 2005 in Palermo, with the aim of promoting and spreading contemporary dance and culture. It is a reference point for avant-garde art and research, with a revolutionary and holistic approach. Over the years it has organised workshops, courses, events and performances, collaborating with organisations and institutions including the A. Scarlatti Conservatory of Palermo, the Institut français, the Goethe Institut, the Cervantes Institute and local authorities. Since 2018, it has joined forces with the Quarto Tempo association, creating the Xinergie project. Added value of the Association, is the Zappulla DMN Dance Company that bases its research on an innovative dance method created by Giovanni Zappulla and Annachiara Trigili. The method Danza Movimento Naturale (Natural Dance Movement) is born from the substantial union of contemporary dance, Taijiquan and Zhineng Qigong. This method is the expression of a model of study consistent with human nature in all its aspects: bio-mechanical, energetic and psychic.

GIOVANNI ZAPPULLA

Dancer, choreographer, creator and promoter of the Centro Coreografico L’Espace in Palermo, creator of the Danza Movimento Naturale method. He trained at the National Conservatory of Music and Dance in Boulogne Billancourt and in 1999 he obtained a French degree at the R.I.D.C. in Paris (founded by Françoise and Dominique Dupuy, directed by Brigitte Hyon), becoming a professor of contemporary dance. He is a qualified Qigong operator, a FISTQ (Italian Federation of Tuina and Qigong Schools) teacher and a 2nd level Taijiquan Chen style instructor (national diploma issued by CSEN), a student of Master Wang Haijun (12th generation of the style). He has danced in various French companies including Gigi Caciuleanu and Ruxandra Racovitza and for the Choreographic Centre Vallée D’Or. He founded his first company „Arteos” in Palermo in 2001 to produce the piece „Coin café”. He also created ”Lezioni di Volo” and ”L’Aviateur”; he staged the pieces ”Coming soon” and ”Tech no trash”, ”Jubilaction’ and ”Apollo e Dafne” with the new company of the Centro Coreografico L’Espace. He is currently engaged in the diffusion of his last show „Natural Landscapes” and in the new creation „Wunderkammer”.

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NORWAY

Dansearena nord

We promote dance as an artform in Northern Norway, working with artists that are based in this region. Dansearena nord is a centre for dance and contemporary performing arts with both national and international orientation. We offer residencies to dance artists and contemporary performing artists in Hammerfest, the northernmost city in the world! Having access to a cosy house and a large fully equipped dance studio, artists may work during the Midnight sun or the Aurora Borealis close to the sea and vast mountain areas. In our work as producers, we give preference to companies working or living in Northern Norway, but they may have their focus on the international market. In the Erasmus+ we will do the workshop in the city of Tromsø during the performing arts festival Varscenefest.

http://www.dansearenanord.no/

„LuxTempus” / Mathilde Caeyers

MAIKEN GARDER

Maiken Garder is a producer at Dansearena nord. Her work is closely related to international relations in collaboration with artists from northern Norway. Maiken has participated in several international networks over the years, such at kedja, Ice Hot Nordic Dance Platform, Cinars, IETM and several EU projects. In Norway she manages a national touring network, administrates artists in residence and works as a producer for several independant artists. When not at work, Maiken is hiking the mountains of Northern Norway or kayaking in the Barens Sea.

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POLAND

Theatre Developement Foundation ‘New Wave’  / HOTELOKO movement makers

The Foundation ‘New Wave’ was founded in 2009. The Foundation aims is to promote and integrate the artists associated with the contemporary dance and theatre. We carry out dance productions and dance events in Warsaw. Our activities include Dance Nights – the evening of meetings between debuting and mature dance artists.
We are interested in the exchange of experiences between Polish dance artists and such artists from Europe. The dance collective HOTELOKO movement makers operates within foundation. The collective was founded from the Theatre HOTELOKO established in 2011 by director and actress Agata Życzkowska. Currently she is working with the dancer and choreographer Mirek Woźniak. Her core interests evolve around new choreography and dance experimentation. Topics such as community, freedom, city, tolerance, ecology, equality, education are closest to the artists.They have created their own language of expression, a slightly freak dancing style highlighting the diversity stemming from the different backgrounds and roots of the performers.

AGATA ŻYCZKOWSKA

Director, dramaturge, dancer, actress, dance promotor, manager and producer. A graduate of the Acting Department of the Film and Theatre University in Łodź (2001). She performed in many shows collaborating with choreographers such as Jérôme Bel (a Polish version of “The Show Must Go On”) or Anna de Manincor/ZimmerFrei. Former Editor in Chief of the cultural periodical “TOGETHER. The world through our eyes” (2003-2007). Founder and president of the Theatre Developement Foundation ‘NEW WAVE’ (2009). The director of the Dance Art Center in Warsaw (2016-2019). Member of the Polish Dance Society Forum (since 2019). She carries out artistic, educational and social projects including dance workshops in Warsaw.

Founder of the HOTELOKO movement makers contemporary and experimental dance collective (2011) where she produced, directed and starred in a dozen or so shows. The collective has developed as well the following performances to date: “frau/mujer/femme”, “#myfriendsaredancing”, “Absolutely Fabulous Dancers“, “Darklena”, “Insta Show”, “frau blush” and “Axiom of Choice”.

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SPAIN

La Fundición

La Fundición is a venue that organizes different programs of dance and new tendencies throughout the year. Organising, at the same place, courses and workshops for dancers, performers, and also for amateurs, with invited companies and regular teachers. The residences are another significant resource to improve the pedagogic, training and knowledge moments. La Fundición also organizes two dance Festivals: DANTZALDIA, in different venues in Bilbao; and LEKUZ LEKU, an outdoor festival. Both of them are used to generate a meeting point between choreographers, dancers and artists form other artistic disciplines. Moreover, La Fundición collaborates with external projects, managed by different kind of organizations and Festivals to produce exchanges and create a mobility network for the artists.

 

Notwithstanding, connecting with audiences is another crucial aim of La Fundición. Putting them in contact with this artistic community through pedagogical projects and activities to expand the pleasure of sharing dance practices and creating highly enriching experiences.

https://www.lafundicion.org/

LAURA ETXEBARRIA

Laura Etxebarria and Luque Tagua decided, 35 years ago, to open in Bilbao one space specially dedicated to contemporary dance: La Fundición, a meeting point for the artists and a place to accompany their processes. And at the same time, a place where audiences could enjoy dance and get closer to the artists through masterclasses and other formative activities open for everyone, from amateurs to more experienced professionals.

Since then Laura Etxebarria has been working as co-director of the Theatre and in the coordination of different projects concerning the artistic community: programming, residences, diffusion, mobility networks, internationalisation…And at the same time, from this unique/pioneer space in the Basque Country for many years, she has been collaborating with public and other independent organizations and initiatives whose aim was to improve the conditions of dance and artists. In the last years, the focus has been set in the transmission of their innovations and knowledge and the contact with society in its diverse groups.