The Tanzzentrale is consistently committed to strengthening the independent dance scene and improving working conditions for dance professionals in the Nuremberg region. To this end, it is in regular contact with the cultural policy representatives of the municipalities and other lobby groups representing independent performing artists.
The need for action is seen primarily from a financial perspective: first and foremost an increase in funding for the independent dance and theatre scene in the municipalities is necessary in order to be able to realize more independent projects, to enable all participants in artistic projects to receive appropriate remuneration (keyword: minimum wage!) and also to be able to fill all necessary project (e.g. organisational) positions. An increase would enable the independent scene to fully develop its creative potential. It is also urgently necessary to review the funding structures by creating various levels of funding. In addition to the one-year project funding, further funding programs must be created that improve the conditions for artists by focusing on different areas, at the same time revitalizing and diversifying what is presented to a (potential) audience. Examples of this include support programs for young talent, multi-year funding for larger projects (especially in order to guarantee long-term security for artistic work), research grants, etc. The regional dance scene has enormous potential and the Tanzzentrale is committed to realizing and strengthening this.
The Tanzzentrale defines the aspect of cultural education as an extremely important area of activity. Its members develop a wide variety of engagement formats, such as audience development, barrier-free engagement, projects in schools and pre-school centres, projects with elderly or with young people. The Tanzzentrale supports its members to the best of its ability and establishes contact between local stakeholders and network offices in the municipalities.
Cultural education empowers, opens up potential and allows everyone to gain personal experience. The value of cultural education in dance for individual development in particular should not be underestimated: by engaging with one's own body, being part of creative action, "seeing and being seen", skills can be discovered, developed and nurtured. By working in a group, highly relevant behaviour skills for social interaction can be learnt and tried out: taking responsibility, experiencing difference as normality, experiencing one's own usefulness. These many different and important aspects are highly relevant for our coexistence and mean that the Tanzzentrale is committed to this field.
The Tanzzentrale offers space for research, investigation and experimental work in many areas. The spectrum ranges from individual body and movement research, to production and topic-specific research, to the new or further development of innovative approaches in the performing arts and beyond. Scientific approaches from a wide range of disciplines are transferred into the movement and dance context, often at an early stage, in practice and on the stage. The necessary adaptation of social or technological changes, such as those brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, has caused rapid development. The majority of professional artists conceived new project formats almost spontaneously, for example by incorporating (online) technologies.
The research focuses of individual artists are crystallizing: Alexandra Rauh, for example, is researching the integration of artificial intelligence and robots in her productions. Henrik Kaalund has also turned his attention to the increased use of new technologies. In one of his projects, he allowed his online audience to decide on the course of the respective performance, causing specialised movement sequences to be performed on command. Susanna Curtis deals with inclusion in contemporary dance as part of the EveryBody initiative she launched in 2021. EveryBody brings professional artists with and without disabilities together on stage, thereby expanding and changing the audience's viewing habits. In addition, barrier-free formats to accompany the performances are specially designed, tested and revised in order to expand access to theatre spaces.
Tanzzentrale and the Producing Artists regularly work together with cooperation partners such as the FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg (Institute for Theatre and Media Studies) or LEONARDO (Center for Creativity and Innovation). The doors of the Tanzzentrale are always open for innovative ideas and discourse events. Inherent to events such as the public showings of the Artist-In-Residence program or Raw & Polished is the fact that every audience member is invited to be part of the process. Questions, feedback and criticism are important components of any research.
The Tanzzentrale is an access point for all dance professionals and those interested in dance in the Nuremberg region. It would also like to act as a point of contact for the transition from invested interest to professional status. With the professional training of stage dancers and/or dance teachers at MAD, Mind and Dance, Nuremberg, and the study programmes at the Institute for Theatre and Media Studies at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, every year there are new graduates in dance and theatre, in theory and practice, who are commited to finding their position in this field of work. With the 10-15 productions created each year by the Producing Artists, the Tanzzentrale offers a wide range of opportunities to find out about artistic processes and/or independent production. Whether as an intern or assistant, for a few days or the entire production period - please contact info@tanzzentrale.de if you are interested. At the same time, the studios in the Tanzzentrale offer the opportunity for experiment and presentation. Raw & Polished creates a low-threshold framework for opening up the process to the audience and receiving feedback. The Tanzzentrale is committed to assisting in making contacts, exchanging ideas and participating in current discourses.