TaikaBox

The Goethe-Institut, in partnership with Arts Council England (UK), NRW KULTURsekretariat (DE), Dance4 (UK), Dansateliers (NL), TaikaBox (FI), TanzFaktur (DE), Theater im Pumpenhaus (DE) and The Work Room (UK) calls for dance artists from across Finland, the Netherlands, the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia (DE) and the UK to apply for our 2021 dance residency programme, CROWD – international dance exchange. Taking place across the 4 countries during 2021, each artist involved will have the opportunity to collaborate with other participating artists to share experience, develop their practices and build their networks.

CROWD is a residency programme initiated by the Goethe-Institut and developed collectively with all partners in a time when international sharing and human togetherness is needed more than ever. The programme aims to support dance artists with an established practice in community engaged dance making to build their professional network, exchange with others in the field and develop their practice while generating new knowledge in the area of community engagement in dance.

Across the programme, CROWD invites six dance artists (two from the UK, two from North Rhine- Westphalia (DE), one from the Netherlands and one from Finland) to collaborate in two groups of three. Throughout the year, each group of three will come together for 3 two-week residencies, each hosted by a different institution. As a participating artist you will be grouped with two other artists for the sharing of practice and exploration of new ideas in the area of community engaged dance. No performance/product is expected so you are not required to apply with an existing project plan. International exchange is an important feature of the residency programme and we are therefore looking for artists with a collaborative outlook who are interested in how non-professionals can feed your creative practice in different contexts, across borders as well as how communities can benefit from engaging with dance and creative projects.

Alongside the three residencies that each artist will undertake, the partners will host a series of digital sessions exploring the artists’ research in greater detail, allowing those participating to disseminate their learnings and have feedback or input from other experts working in the field. Research documentation will be collected throughout and shared within the networks of the partners, encouraging international dialogue.

Eligibility

This call is open to dance artists with demonstrable experience in engaging with community members in the ideation, creation or performance of their work. Applicants should come with an excitement and willingness to collaborate and share knowledge internationally, between artists and institutions. Participants must be based in the UK, North Rhine-Westphalia, the Netherlands or Finland and will need to be able to work in both the UK and the EU. We will support with obtaining visas (where required). The working language across the programme will be English so a reasonable knowledge is required. Artists are to take care of their own insurances (health, travel, etc.). Selected artists must be able to commit to the proposed residency dates (see form below).

Ethical statement

CROWD is designed to be delivered in line with the partners’ ethical and sustainability standards. We will endeavour to minimise the project's ecological impact through digital communication and limiting air travel. We are committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive community. We therefore encourage application from those from under-represented backgrounds and seek to accommodate those with additional access needs or caring responsibilities. Our decision making team will include diversity and disability. Where venues have access limitations we will discuss possibilities with the artists involved. Bursaries are available for those with additional access needs or caring responsibilities on a case by case basis, please provide your details in the application form.

Covid-19

All planned activity and dates may change due to the progress of the pandemic and restrictions to travel and social interaction across the host countries, therefore we remain flexible. You may be required to take Covid tests or prove vaccination in order to travel and attend the residency phases.

Application

Please send your application as a single PDF document to residency-london@goethe.de by Sunday 21 February 2021, including:

• the completed application form
• a letter (max 1 page) or video/audio (max 5 minutes) of motivation for taking part, relating to your experience and willingness to share with and learn from peers
• a current CV or career biography (max 2 pages or as part of same video/audio)
• links to documentation of recent, relevant work if possible

Applications must be submitted in English. Should you have any questions or special requirements please email residency-london@goethe.de.

Decisions will be made by the partners by the end of March 2021.

CROWD is funded by the Goethe-Institut, Arts Council England and NRW KULTURsekretariat. Thanks to all partners for their in-kind contributions.