360° – Building Strategies for Communication in Contemporary Dance Erasmus Project

Project Title

360° – Building Strategies for Communication in Contemporary Dance

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2016

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Creativity and culture

Project Summary

‘360°: Building Strategies for Communication in Contemporary Dance’, a project funded under the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission, is the result of the work of 6 European dance organisations who collaborated over a period of 16 months. Through 7 transnational meetings, they engaged with over 50 dance professionals across Europe, to develop an online publication to support choreographers, dance makers and dance practitioners to deepen their skills, methods and approaches to communication with the diverse stakeholders they encounter throughout their careers.
Dance professionals are trained to be experts in communicating their thoughts through movement, but they often lack fundamental skills and competences when it comes to communicating this work to key stakeholders and audiences whose primary language is not movement. But strong communication skills are needed within the context of the professional field today, where governmental financial support has decreased and both cultural institutions as the independent artists need to act as entrepreneurs. Thus, dance professionals need specific communication skills and tools in order to raise their visibility and competitiveness in the field of the European creative industry. ‘360°’ aimed at bridging this gap.
The title ‘360°’ highlights that communication in contemporary dance does not only include the traditional understanding of communication (press work, marketing, PR, etc.) but that communication starts in the moment a choreographer begins a creative process. Thus, communicating an artistic project starts at the moment an artist thinks of the next project and invites other people in. 360° communication in this sense refers to all possible people and target groups an artist might encounter during an artistic process and can include: cooperation partners, stakeholders, presenters, team members, collaborators and audiences. It can also include institutions such as funding bodies, venues, theatres and festivals and, as such it also includes the staff members of the different departments of each institution (from the technical department to the artistic director).

Over the duration of the project, the directors and staff of the six European dancehouse organisations met with a range of international communication experts, dance makers and other dance practitioners who are at different stages in their artistic careers and engaging in diverse contemporary dance practices.
The results of these meetings is live at the website www.communicatingdance.eu.
The website is structured in three tool sections: THINK, USE and PLAY.
THINK presents texts that examine keywords that emerged on the partners journey and that all partners agreed were crucial to consider for successful communication in the field of contemporary dance.
USE offers a collection of practical advice, usable templates and FAQs on press and marketing issues.
PLAY presents a flexible ‘game’ that inspires dance professionals to create (and play!) with their own communication plan in a visual, interactive format.

The project was a learning opportunity for the staff of the partner organisations and enriched their international networks and collaborations. It was also a learning and networking opportunity for the artists and dance professionals who were invited to participate, contribute and test the tools created. Based on formal and informal feedback received to date, the project has already provided a deep learning experience to all involved, and has resulted in a visible professional development platform which will contribute to improved communication about contemporary dance among many different stakeholders. This expanded ability to communicate about the art form dance will contribute, in the longer term, to expanding the awareness and appreciation of contemporary dance in European society today and into the future. Furthermore, the project’s results will raise awareness amongst dance professionals of the importance of strategic and professional communication plans, will enhance communication skills of dance professionals and thus will strengthen their competitiveness in the creative industries’ job market. Already through the duration of the project and as per its dissemination plan it was clear that the topic itself is of high interest to those working in the sector, and the project is generating interest among dance professionals, organizations and dance institutions as well as networks across EU and beyond. The toolkit is also adaptable to other cultural fields such as theatre, music and other performing arts.

The project partners are renowned competence centers for dance from six countries: Centro per la Scena Contemporanea (Bassano Del Grappa), Dance Ireland (Dublin), Dansateliers (Rotterdam), Hrvatski institut za pokret i ples (Zagreb), K3 – Zentrum für Choreographie / Kampnagel Internationale Kulturfabrik GmbH (Hamburg) and La Briqueterie – CDC du Val-de-Marne (Vitry-sur-Seine).

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 67100 Eur

Project Coordinator

KAMPNAGEL INTERNATIONALE KULTURFABRIK GMBH & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Le Pied à Coulisse
• HRVATSKI INSTITUT ZA POKRET I PLES
• Association of Professional Dance in Ireland Ltd
• STICHTING DANSATELIERS
• COMUNE DI BASSANO DEL GRAPPA
• LA BRIQUETERIE CENTRE DE DEVELOPPEMENT CHOREGRAPHIQUE DU VAL DE MARNE ASSOCIATION