American Dance Abroad

I can’t believe I waited this long in my life to experience Israel! What an amazing and thrilling trip to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. A week is clearly not enough time.

Andrea Snyder, Atanas Maev and Mary-Louise Albert outside the Old City

I was invited to attend the Jerusalem International Dance Week presented by MASH (Machol Shalom Dance House) from December 2-6, 2017, which lines up conveniently in advance of International Exposure at the Suzanne Dellal Centre in Tel Aviv. The convening in Jerusalem is a fairly intimate gathering (approximately 60 international presenters and guests, only three of which hailed from the U.S.) focused on independent dance artists. Exposure is in its 23rd year of showcasing a range of Israeli companies and artists, some with international recognition, for several hundred international presenters and guests (including a larger group of Americans).

First, a few impressions about the cities themselves. Jerusalem is magical for its centuries-old history, the dynamics of four cultures (Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Armenian) functioning in close quarters within the Old City, the light, sounds, smells, food, marketplace… every sight and moment is thrilling. Tel Aviv has a different feel, for sure, but still interesting. The city is more laid back than Jerusalem, and the beach/sea dominate the environment and focus. I was only there for a very short time, and spent 99% gravitating to the Dellal Centre, so my appreciation of the city was limited.

Participatory performance in the Tower of David Museum, Jerusalem

Although I saw more dance work in Jerusalem than in Tel Aviv, overall the choreography reflected the general environment and current climate – themes generated around aggression, relationship struggles, and gender politics. One or two works focused on healing, sharing, and trust. The dancing was rich with passion, intensity, honesty, humor, and great skill. Both festivals were lively with interaction, hospitality, and friendliness.

My purposes in attending both festivals were several-fold. First, I was able to inform international colleagues about American Dance Abroad’s upcoming projects, SPOTLIGHT: USA and American Dance Recon, both of which were met with great enthusiasm.

Andrea Snyder presenting information about SPOTLIGHT to colleagues in Jerusalem

Second, I had the chance to talk with MASH’s leadership about future efforts for international residency exchanges, a focus that American Dance Abroad has on its radar.

Third, it was a terrific opportunity to meet new international colleagues and introduce them to American Dance Abroad’s efforts on behalf of U.S. dance artists and companies, as well as to learn about and be inspired by their own initiatives. There were ample opportunities for striking up conversations – at the sumptuous hotel breakfasts, on buses to the various venues in Jerusalem, at receptions, or sitting next to someone new in a theatre, to name a few.

It was a great, intense, valuable and positive trip!

internationale tanzmesse nrw is a biennial international marketplace and festival for contemporary dance. Dance companies and artists from all over the world present their work live on stage. For choreographers, dancers, agencies, presenters and cultural institutions alike, it is a platform of vivid networking and exchange. It is an opportunity to meet roughly 2,000 professionals from all over the world, providing a space for topical discourse on recent developments in the field of contemporary dance.

Photo © D. Matvejev

Six months ago, Dieter Jaenicke took over the artistic direction of internationale tanzmesse nrw 2018 and 2020. The experienced curator, festival manager and artistic director is the fourth director in Tanzmesse’s nearly 25-year history. He seeks to further develop cooperation with the international dance field as well as to curate a high-quality dance festival, both for international professional visitors and local audiences. As the current artistic director of HELLERAU, he draws on very diverse experiences in the dance field, as well as in the cultural field in general, including experience as curator for festival Boticário na Danca in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, festival director in Aarhus and organizer of the World Culture Forums 2004 and 2006.

First and foremost, he aims for holistic fairness and universality. To achieve this goal, Dieter Jaenicke seeks to provide a high quality artistic program and an open, welcoming attitude. Not only does Tanzmesse provide a broad space for the different genres and facets of contemporary dance, it also reflects societal issues by means of dance. Dieter Jaenicke values new ways of thinking and creating, cross-overs with other art forms, such as fine arts, new media or design, and particularly the fusion between tradition and innovation. To live up to this aspiration, all world regions need to be adequately represented at Tanzmesse. Jaenicke states: “It is international, global, and universal. We will especially take care that Africa and South America – who have had very little presence in the past – will be part of internationale tanzmesse nrw and its festival in 2018.”

Artists and choreographers who wish to participate are welcomed to send their proposals for performances until November 13, 2017. Artists need to be represented by a booth in order to apply for the festival program. Jaenicke encourages artists to “contact us personally if you have any questions, doubts, concerns!”

Find all the details at:
www.tanzmesse.com/en/tanzmesse/2018/exhibitors/performance-proposal/

Photo © D. Matvejev

American Dance Abroad is pleased to announce “Spotlight: USA,” a platform of American dance in Bulgaria, from March 26-28, 2018. ADA Co-Directors Carolelinda Dickey and Andrea Snyder are currently in Bulgaria, formally announcing the platform in conjunction with our partner, One Foundation for Culture and Arts, at press conferences in Plovdiv and Sofia.

A prestigious international jury curated the platform from a select list of 50 proposals, ultimately choosing a variety of artistic voices based in Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Portland, and Seattle. Read the full press release for details on the artists participating from your area, as well as information on our jury, goals for the platform, and our sponsors. 

International Dance Theatre Festival has been organized by Lublin Dance Theatre since 1997 and is one of the longest running and biggest contemporary dance festivals in Poland and Eastern Europe.

The Festival is built and reformed in relation to the ever-changing needs of both dance enthusiasts and the artistic community on every level: local, national and international.

The programming and organizational foundation of the Festival reflects the range and diversity of the dance phenomenon, both Polish and worldwide, their differences and common features, as well as possibilities for dialogue between sometimes radically different elements. As such, there is space for understanding the evolution from traditional and classical dance to its more contemporary forms, to present both young artists and the dance icons on which these choreographers have been brought up, to showcase both intimate solo works and large scale performances, to describe the way of dancing in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as grasping the ideologies and concepts of dancing in the West.

Photo: Chunky Move ©Rom Anthonis

Lublin Dance Theatre is a partner in the European dance network Aerowaves – dance across Europe. In 2013, with support from the Institute of Music and Dance, LDT acted as an organizer of the meeting of the Aerowaves experts committee and since then regularly presents chosen performances from the priority list of “top twenty” artists.

From 2016-2018, International Dance Theatre Festival in Lublin is focusing part of its programming to showcase particular national dance scenes from all over the world. It started by highlighting Israel, this year the focus will be Scandinavia, and in 2018 artists presented in Lublin will be invited from the USA.

Dance workshops, movie screenings, photo exhibitions, book publications, and panel discussions with audience participation are organized within the framework of the Festival. All these elements are creating a vast socio-cultural contest for the presented performances and artistic events taking place during the Festival.

To reach Konrad or other members of the collective:

Peowiaków 12 str., 20-007 Lublin
Tel. + 48 (81) 466 61 46
http://www.20.mstt.pl
www.dancefestival.lublin.pl
www.ck.lublin.pl
www.ltt.art.pl

Dance Massive is the biennial Australian dance festival held in Melbourne over the course of two weeks in March. It is a massive celebration of contemporary dance, including well-established choreographers, indigenous contemporary voices, and emerging artists. Organized by three presenting venues (Dancehouse, Arts House, and Malthouse), it is easy enough to move among the three sites and walk the city.

One of its purposes is to showcase the works of selected choreographers/companies to Australian and international dance presenters. Dance Massive is geared towards interested presenters; being an official presenter delegate has its benefits. Each week contains a combination of essential events (“must go to” or participation in) and a dense schedule of performances. International delegates came and went throughout the two weeks, some for several days, and a few for the entire stretch of time.

My purpose in attending was to scope out the gathering in order to advise U.S. dance artists about the possibilities for relationship-building, and to continue to build awareness of international programmers who might appreciate the opportunity to attend a future American Dance Recon (ADR). I was delighted to have reunions with ADR international “graduates” during the five days I attended (Cathy Levy, Jarmo Pentilla, Angela Conquet, Anna Chan, György Szabó, Jerry Remkes, Tay Tong, Josh Wright). I was also thrilled to spend some time with the few U.S. delegates attending during the time I was there (Paul King, Walter Jaffe, Ben Pryor) and to cross paths with Claudia LaRocca (teaching a workshop) and artist Emily Johnson (involved in a collaboration).

I arrived on Sunday, March 19, and departed Friday, March 24. Over those five days, I saw seven performances, presented a 3-minute Pecha Kucha about American Dance Abroad, listened to a panel discussion about dance curation, participated in a series of Roundtable discussions with choreographers, visited a former Temperance Hall now being re-established and renovated as a performance space, and with Paul and Wally met with the Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Consulate to share what we are doing as well as learn about the Consulate’s interests and priorities. Nothing definitive to report here, since the State Department is in transition, staff is on the move, and budgets are in flux.

As opposed to the current state of unknown about the NEA, the day before I arrived the Australian Arts Council received news that over half of the $100m funding that was siphoned off by the Minister of Culture several years ago (for his own determination) was being restored. There was plenty of sympathy and understanding from the internationals for what the U.S. is facing with the new administration.

I was struck by the similarities between U.S. and Australian dance. Much of what I saw came from a very strong physical base, the dancers were highly skilled, and the content was, for the most part, abstract. There were several outstanding productions. I wondered if the European presenters thought the same about U.S. and Australian dance (“lights and tights”, too physical, and not context-driven enough)?

In conclusion, Dance Massive seemed primarily geared towards making connections between Australian artists and interested national and international presenters.  I did, however, have conversations with several Australian colleagues who were impressed and intrigued with what American Dance Abroad does for U.S. dance.

I recently attended TPAM in Yokohama, Japan. I was eager to go as I had attended one of the early TPAMs. In 1996, TPAM was the Tokyo Performing Arts Market and I was part of an official delegation of 20+ American programmers, managers and funders. It was a prominent list of programmers from arts centers, universities, festivals, foundations and agencies. I was honored and thrilled to be part of the group.

At the time, Japan was the primary Asian focus for American presenters of contemporary work. As programmers, we were clamoring to jump on tours of Japanese artists. There was Dumb Type, H Art Chaos, Min Tanaka, Dairakudakan, Sankai Juku, and, of course, Kazuo Ohno. At one performance I sat directly behind Ohno and spent so much time watching him watching the performance that I have no memory of what company we saw.

It was an immersive and thought-provoking trip. We attended seminars at the Saison Foundation offices enlightening us about theater, dance, and music of Japan. It is likely that the trip in 1996 first imprinted on me the importance of “going” and understanding that one cannot create authentic cultural partnerships from behind one’s desk.

Fast-forward 22 years and I am at TPAM again, but it is now the Tokyo Performing Arts Meeting. Or, was it Performing Arts Meeting in Yokohama 2017? Both names seemed to be used interchangeably. The bottom line is that there was no marketplace, whereas the market back in the 1990s was a destination to easily meet people. The current TPAM was a meeting packed full of TPAM-sponsored panels and equally interesting discussions self-identified by the attendees. Attendees came from over 40 countries.

Parallel meetings of the Asian Dramaturgs’ Network Meeting added to the quality of the programs. Without question, TPAM’s meetings were fascinating and informative. I felt more of an observer than a participant as the complexity and magnitude of Asian networks continue to grow. There is Arts Network Asia (ANA), which has been around for many years. There is early stage discussion about an Asian dance house center, similar to the European Dancehouse Network. Do we have a Dancehouse Network?

The organization of the performances in Yokohama and in Tokyo was extensive. The highlights for me were Host, an enthralling solo by Eisa Jocson that juxtaposed the images of female hosting across Asian cultures and Picnic in the Cemetery (presented by Point of View/Creative Links), a theatrical chamber music performance located in the subterranean level of a bar. There was also some terrific new circus and a re-envisioning of Wheat and Soldiers (1938), which celebrated the dance company of Takaya Eguchi and Misako Miya. Who knew of such contemporary work in Japan of the 1930s?

With my CityMaps2Go app on my iPhone and a spare power bank in my pocket, I traipsed around Yokohama and Tokyo to the studios, black boxes and concert halls to see mostly terrific performances. I was glad for my map app because I was alone most of the time. Alone time is not a bad thing, but it was a reminder for me that American dance remains largely absent at most international gatherings. Occasionally, there will be a handful of American presenters who are “invited,” a code word meaning that organizers are covering the cost of travel, lodging and/or registration. When feasible, American Dance Abroad hosts U.S. choreographers and managers to travel with us to major dance meetings, festival, and marketplaces as American Corner delegates. The importance of being there, meeting people, joining conversations, seeing work – it is critical for American dance and, more importantly, important for American choreographers.

By the end of my week in Yokohama, the few Americans who had attended had left and a deeper realization set in. American work and American artists were absent from virtually all of the discussions. We were invisible. This was not about politics. Those Americans in attendance were very welcomed, but we need to do more. We need to make international engagement a core value of our daily work. We talk about the decline or loss of international touring, but sitting there listening to others discuss their co-productions and new networks, I developed a new mantra, “Forget touring, go forth and network.” I wanted to shout “Learn, insert yourself, or we will be left behind.”

(New York, NY, October 14, 2016) American Dance Abroad is honored to be a recipient of an Arts and Cultural Heritage grant by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The $250,000 award will be utilized to expand American Dance Recon (ADR), a signature program of American Dance Abroad, over a three-year period. Read the full press release.