About us
The aim of the explore dance network, which was established in 2018 by several federal states, is to develop a sustainable structure for the production of contemporary dance pieces for young audiences and to fill the gap that still exists in the cultural offerings for children and young people in Germany. Through the production, touring and reception of dance pieces, a cooperative, cultural-federalist concept is used to establish and expand the field of dance for young audiences nationwide at a high artistic quality level and to permanently strengthen the visibility of dance as an art form.
Experiencing theater and dance performances is an essential artistic experience for children and young people – making this experience possible for them is a fundamental cultural policy task. explore dance wants to open up access to dance as an art form and participation in artistic experiences to all children and young people, regardless of their place of residence and social background.
The network focuses on the diversity of current contemporary dance styles and innovative formats. In addition to stage productions, the network primarily develops mobile pop-up pieces that provide access to dance as an art form away from the theater stage – for example in schools, museums, cultural centers or in public spaces. Children and young people are actively involved in all phases of the artistic work processes. In doing so the network also strengthens the visibility of dance in the long term: contemporary dance is to be anchored permanently and on an equal footing with other art forms and genres in the standard programme of cultural activities available to children and young people.
Seven years of explore dance show the potential that explore dance opens up for young audiences: 34 dance productions with over 560 performances nationwide and internationally, rehearsal visits, workshops and discussion formats as well as collaboration with over 430 schools and 180 artists bear witness to the network’s success. In addition to the 2019 Perspective Prize of the German Theater Award DER FAUST, the network received the award for outstanding development in dance as part of the German Dance Award 2024.
PARTNER INSTITUTIONS
The network has been a registered association since 2024 and is supported by the four partners HELLERAU – European Center for the Arts Dresden, K3 – Center for Choreography | Tanzplan Hamburg, fabrik (moves) Potsdam and Fokus Tanz / Tanz und Schule e.V. München. In the future, explore dance will be expanded to include partners from other German states.
fabrik moves Potsdam
INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR DANCE AND MOVEMENT
fabrik moves is a subsidiary of fabrik Potsdam and holds the project explore dance Potsdam.
fabrik Potsdam – International Centre for Dance and Movement Art – is a house for professional dancers and companies, as well as a house for each and everyone who wants to watch and experience dance on their own.
fabrik Potsdam advocates independent research in the areas of dance, movement art, performance and choreography. The fabric was founded in 1991 as an initiative of choreographers, dancers, musicians and cultural activists. As the only theatre for dance in Brandenburg, it has since distinguished itself through its local ties, as well as its national and international networks.
Dance performances by young dancers, as well as worldwide renown choreographers, residency programs, the Potsdamer Tanztage as a yearly, international festival for contemporary dance, workshops and regular courses for bodywork and dance (for amateurs, professionals, children and adults) characterize the fabric Potsdam’s profile, making it a place, where dance is researched, produced and communicated.
Employees for explore dance:
SVEN TILL
Artistic direction Potsdam & management fabrik moves
sven.till@fabrik-moves.de
JOHANNA SIMON
Project management Potsdam
johanna.simon@fabrik-moves.de
GIULIA DEL BALZI
Dance outreach formats Potsdam
giulia.delbalzi@fabrik-moves.de
+49 [0] 331 280 03 14
fabrikpotsdam.de
K3 – Centre for Choreography | Tanzplan Hamburg at Kampnagel is competence centre for expertise in contemporary dance and choreography. Its programme focuses on residencies that combine artistic research and production, courses and qualification programmes for dance professionals, as well as dance mediation and cultural outreach. The choreographic centre is one of the few dance houses in the German-speaking region and the only one in northern Germany. K3 | Tanzplan Hamburg was founded in the 2006/07 season as part of the Federal Cultural Foundation’s Tanzplan Deutschland initiative (2006 to 2010). In 2007, the k3 exhibition hall at Kampnagel was renovated with funds provided by the Hamburg Cultural Authority. The resulting three dance studios, as well as the adjacent studio stage P1, now form the basis of K3 | Tanzplan Hamburg. K3 is an artistically independent institution operating within the organisational structure of Kampnagel.
As a globally affiliated dance house, K3 is a key initiator for the continued visibility and empowerment of dance as an art form in Hamburg, regionally, nationally and internationally. The three main areas of activity – residencies, classes and training, dance outreach – are contextually closely interwoven in order to render the boundaries between artistic work and dance outreach permeable. They are also the basis for, often longstanding, collaborations with academic and artistic institutions in various local, national and international contexts. Regular classes and professional trainings, specialised qualification formats as well as orientation and counselling services are also directed at professional dance makers and cultural practitioners. Programmes and courses for dance enthusiasts of all ages combine dance practice and discourse. A special focus is placed on cultural education formats for children and young people, both in the context of partnerships with schools, in projects with and by young people, and through dance pieces for young audiences.
Employees for explore dance:
KERSTIN EVERT
artistic direction K3
UTA MEYER
KATRIN BRESCHKE (Vertretung 2025)
project management Hamburg
BIANCA KLOSS
project asstistance Hamburg
FELIX WITTEK
funding management and Controlling
felix.wittek@kampnagel.de
+49 [0] 40 270 949 45
tanzplan@kampnagel.de
Fokus Tanz | Tanz und Schule e.V. ist ein gemeinnütziger Verein, der seit 2006 mit den Schwerpunkten Tanzvermittlung und Qualifizierung Kindern und Jugendlichen im schulischen und außerschulischen Kontext durch professionelle Tanzschaffende Zugang zur künstlerischen Praxis ermöglicht. Die Vermittlungsarbeit ist Teil der Initiative ACCESS TO DANCE – Tanzplan München, die zur Förderung und Stärkung des zeitgenössischen Tanzes in München und Bayern beiträgt. Fokus Tanz konzipiert Fortbildungsangebote für Tänzer*innen und Tanzpädagog*innen und realisiert partizipative Kunstprojekte in Zusammenarbeit mit Museen, Orchestern und Theatern.
2011 gründete Fokus Tanz das Think Big! Festival für zeitgenössischen Tanz, Performance und Musiktheater für junges Publikum. Zunächst in Kooperation mit Campus/Bayerisches Staatsballett und ab 2018 in Partnerschaft mit der Schauburg, Städtisches Theater für junges Publikum, trägt das biennale Festival maßgeblich dazu bei, die darstellenden Künste mit Schwerpunkt Tanz an ein diverses Publikum zu vermitteln und schafft Orte für internationale Vernetzung und Austausch der Tanzschaffenden. Der Verein wird gefördert durch das Kulturreferat der Landeshauptstadt München und kooperiert für explore dance insbesondere mit: Muffatwerk, HochX, Tanztendenz München e.V.
Hauptspielort ist das HochX (siehe Bild).
fokustanz.de
thinkbigfestival.de
Mitarbeiterinnen für explore dance:
SIMONE SCHULTE-ALADAG
Künstlerische Leitung München
simone.schulte@fokustanz.de
ANJA BRIXLE
Geschäftsführende Leitung München
anja.brixle@fokustanz.de
LARA SCHUBERT
Projektleitung München
lara.schubert@fokustanz.de
+49 [0] 89 30700238
HELLERAU – European Centre for the Arts was founded as festival house and academy for musical and rhythmic education according to the visions of Heinrich Tessenow, trailblazer of modern architecture, and music educator Émile Jaques-Dalcroze in 1911. As the first cultural centre in Germany’s first garden city, the legendary edifice drew artists from all over Europe to Hellerau, among them Rilke, Kafka, Diaghilev, Van de Velde, Kokoschka, Gropius, Van der Rohe, Werfel, Busoni, Milhaud, Le Corbusier, Nolde, and Stefan Zweig until 1914. In the 1930s, the building was used as Police school and SS barracks, it was later a Soviet barrack and military hospital. The 1990s saw the houses revival through art.
Today, HELLERAU acts as an interdisciplinary and international centre for dance, performance, music, theatre, media art and visual arts. HELLERAU offers spaces for productions, festivals, concerts performances, exhibitions and discourse, cooperates with various regional cultural partners and is firmly connected internationally.
The residency apartments are as unique as opportunities for artistic research, production and encounters. Dresden, with its geography at the borders of Poland and the Czech Republic as well as by its history within Germany, occupies an important East-Western hub. Therefore, one important programmatic aspect deals with the role taken by the arts in trans- formational social processes in Eastern Bloc States after 1989. Other topics deal with neighbourhoods, generations, heritage and remembrance as well as with digital transformation and ecological sustainability. Carena Schlewitt has been artistic director since the season 2018/19.
Employee for explore dance:
Franziska Ruoss
ruoss@hellerau.org
+49 [0]173 369 63 66
+49 [0]351 264 62 85
www.hellerau.org
