Tanzplan Potsdam: Artists in Residence - Education and Research Programme fabrik Potsdam
Current Activities
The City and State of Brandenburg no longer wanted to fund any further international residences on account of budget restraints, but there is money for cultural education projects. Despite this, fabrik Potsdam has succeeded in increasing its public subsidy by 81,000 euros to maintain its basic structure and the residency programme will receive 20,000 euros of this money. Potsdam’s negotiations for continued funding after Tanzplan ends have therefore been partially successful. (May 2011)
Project description
Just in time to celebrate the opening of its refurbished space, the fabrik Potsdam - International centre for dance and movement is setting up an extensive programme for short and long-term residencies. The type of application, areas of specialisation, and target audience will differ according to the length of residence: students and artists from all fields may apply, as long as dance is at the centre of their artistic work. Residencies are flanked by additional support and enriched by co-operative projects, especially the pilot project for the Hochschulübergreifendes Zentrum Berlin, a centre that brings together various institutions of higher learning.
The programme is a meaningful addition to the fabrik Potsdam, which was re-opened in early 2006 after being renovated from the ground up. The programme will have its own artistic director, and a board will work with the artistic director to select the artists in residence.
The residencies afford the artists the (free) space necessary for reflection and retreat, as well as creativity and production. They will be provided with a studio, lodgings, and a grant. Furthermore, there will be access to materials, technical support, and re-imbursement for contingent travel expenses. An exchange programme with artists from other disciplines and projects in the Brandenburg region are intended.
The first short-term residencies will be awarded in the summer of 2006 („Choreography Workweeks“), long-term residencies from February 2006 on. Further information to the application process can be found at www.fabrikpotsdam.de.
(Current as of January 2006)
Contribution by Sandra Luzina in
"Jahresheft Tanzplan Deutschland 2006/07" (March 2007)
Tanzplan Potsdam is a new residency programme for artists in Brandenburg that is specially designed for choreographers, dancers and performers. In terms of its premises and personnel it is part of the fabrik Potsdam, a dance centre with good international networks that produces, co-produces and works with the public. For around 15 years, choreographers from all over the world have given guest performances here, either in the programme or during the “Tanztage Potsdam” festival. Thanks to the artists’ residency programme, they have also since last year been able to research, experiment and trial their works and ideas in Potsdam.
The new programme has been made possible by funding from the Tanzplan Deutschland funding project. 280,000 Euros have been made available to "Tanzplan Potsdam’s artists in residence teaching and research programme of the fabrik Potsdam" annually, with the financing working on the matching principle, as do all Tanzplan vor Ort (Tanzplan on location) projects. The German Federal Cultural Foundation contributes 50 percent, with 25 percent provided by the City of Potsdam and the state of Brandenburg.
The spatial and technical preconditions for setting up the programme were made possible through the 18-month rebuilding of the fabrik Potsdam, which was funded by the EU. With the completion of the last building phase, six studios and four guest rooms are now available on the premises and in the city of Potsdam another living space is rented to accommodate artists. As well as using these spaces, Artists in Residence can be provided with a monthly scholarship of a maximum of 450 Euros and have their travel costs reimbursed.
After funding was approved for Tanzplan Potsdam in January 2006 residencies for the second half of the year were immediately announced by the artistic directors – Sabine Chwalisz, Sven Till and assistants Ulrike Melzwig and Frauke Niemann. Young artists and experienced choreographers can apply for the residency programme and there are no age limits. References from mentors are helpful for younger artists who cannot yet show the results of previous productions. Mentors and artistic consultants are on hand to advise successful applicants during their residency in Potsdam. The entire programme is in turn critically and constitutively supervised by an artistic advisory board, currently consisting of Nele Hertling, Peter Pleyer and Lorenz Kielwein.
The team no longer uses the original two-part model of short-term and long-term residencies. The residencies now last for periods ranging from two weeks to three months. The process had to be made more flexible because the fabrik Potsdam was oriented towards the artists’ needs in terms of time on the one hand, and on the other hand it also wants to involve guest choreographers in the fabrik’s other programmes.
In Potsdam they think in terms of process-orientation. The goal of the residencies is not to develop complete, finished pieces, but rather to create free space. In this process, the main aspect is the idea of artistic self-determination. The artists themselves select topics, approaches, methods and working structures. The residencies provide them with an “exposed shelter”, where they can give their creativity free rein, regardless of the dictates of the market. The concept of transmission and therefore the social contract is just as important to Chwalisz and Till. Guest choreographers are expressly requested invite an audience to a presentation at the end of their residency. They are free to choose the format, whether it be a showing, an improvisation, an open studio or a public discussion.
The artists in residence programme started in the summer of 2006 with the “Choreographers’ Work Weeks”. Seven young choreographers from Berlin, Tallinn and Toronto were invited to develop and pursue their own project ideas in Potsdam from the 30th of July until the 12th of August. They were all very enthusiastic about the concentrated and intensive work. Having a studio available around the clock was an unheard-of luxury for most of them. The opportunity to be advised by a mentor was the special aspect of this programme.
The American Patrick Scully has shown that a two-week residency can also be used for intensive research. He was in Potsdam in January 2007 as Artist in Residence with performers and friends Kats Fukasawa, Laurie Van Wieren and the transsexual Venus. The four of them shared a clearly defined cognitive interest: the cabaret of the Weimar Republic, which was strongly shaped by Jewish and homosexual artists, as is well known. Together they visited the memorial at the former Sachsenhausen concentration camp, the Holocaust Memorial, the Jewish Museum and the Schwule Museum (Gay Museum) Berlin. Dance scientist Susanne Foellmer discussed Valeska Gert and the cabaret scene of the Twenties with them. During the day the artists did their research and worked nights in the studios. At the conclusion of their residency they showed the two programmes "Shadows of Cabaret" and "Deeper Shadows".
Australian choreographer and dancer Diane Busuttil also showed how a seven-week residency can be used to gather material and pursue artistic research. In her project with the working title “The Perfect Woman”, she investigated the influence of the media on women’s self-image. She initially held workshops with two generations of women in the fabrik; a group of 65 to 80-year-olds and a group of 13 to 21-year-olds. Movement and theatre exercises were accompanied by intense discussions on the topic of “Secrets and lies“. Diane Busuttil then went into the studio with Julie Bougard and Silvana Suárez Cedeño, to research with the professional dancers how fears and phobias are linked with body image and women’s perception of the themselves. Video artist Laura Scarborough was also present from the outset, and documented the results of the workshops on video.
In addition to the topic of gender, research into method has crystallised as a further focus of the Artists in Residence programme. Contemporary dance is a self-reflexive art form. Choreographers are also constantly concerned with the artistic process and choreographic methods of working. This has changed the notion of “authorship” and new models of collaboration have also been trialed. French-German group ‘Practicable’ for example, who will be guests in Potsdam in March, want to develop a “horizontal working structure, linking research, creation, transmission and production”.
The Artist in Residence programme has enabled the fabrik Potsdam to profile itself as an artistic centre where dance and choreography are researched, produced, taught and communicated. The fabrik is already part of an international network and further cooperative projects are planned through Tanzplan Potsdam. Collaboration with the Hochschulübergreifendes Zentrum für Choreographie (Cooperative Dance Education Centre) in Berlin is already on track, and contacts with other European artists’ residences will be built up. A permanent exchange among choreographers, performers and dancers, and between artists and audiences is designed to deepen knowledge and awareness of contemporary dance.
Current Activities
The City and State of Brandenburg no longer wanted to fund any further international residences on account of budget restraints, but there is money for cultural education projects. Despite this, fabrik Potsdam has succeeded in increasing its public subsidy by 81,000 euros to maintain its basic structure and the residency programme will receive 20,000 euros of this money. Potsdam’s negotiations for continued funding after Tanzplan ends have therefore been partially successful. (May 2011)
Project description
Just in time to celebrate the opening of its refurbished space, the fabrik Potsdam - International centre for dance and movement is setting up an extensive programme for short and long-term residencies. The type of application, areas of specialisation, and target audience will differ according to the length of residence: students and artists from all fields may apply, as long as dance is at the centre of their artistic work. Residencies are flanked by additional support and enriched by co-operative projects, especially the pilot project for the Hochschulübergreifendes Zentrum Berlin, a centre that brings together various institutions of higher learning.
The programme is a meaningful addition to the fabrik Potsdam, which was re-opened in early 2006 after being renovated from the ground up. The programme will have its own artistic director, and a board will work with the artistic director to select the artists in residence.
The residencies afford the artists the (free) space necessary for reflection and retreat, as well as creativity and production. They will be provided with a studio, lodgings, and a grant. Furthermore, there will be access to materials, technical support, and re-imbursement for contingent travel expenses. An exchange programme with artists from other disciplines and projects in the Brandenburg region are intended.
The first short-term residencies will be awarded in the summer of 2006 („Choreography Workweeks“), long-term residencies from February 2006 on. Further information to the application process can be found at www.fabrikpotsdam.de.
(Current as of January 2006)
Contribution by Sandra Luzina in
"Jahresheft Tanzplan Deutschland 2006/07" (March 2007)
Tanzplan Potsdam is a new residency programme for artists in Brandenburg that is specially designed for choreographers, dancers and performers. In terms of its premises and personnel it is part of the fabrik Potsdam, a dance centre with good international networks that produces, co-produces and works with the public. For around 15 years, choreographers from all over the world have given guest performances here, either in the programme or during the “Tanztage Potsdam” festival. Thanks to the artists’ residency programme, they have also since last year been able to research, experiment and trial their works and ideas in Potsdam.
The new programme has been made possible by funding from the Tanzplan Deutschland funding project. 280,000 Euros have been made available to "Tanzplan Potsdam’s artists in residence teaching and research programme of the fabrik Potsdam" annually, with the financing working on the matching principle, as do all Tanzplan vor Ort (Tanzplan on location) projects. The German Federal Cultural Foundation contributes 50 percent, with 25 percent provided by the City of Potsdam and the state of Brandenburg.
The spatial and technical preconditions for setting up the programme were made possible through the 18-month rebuilding of the fabrik Potsdam, which was funded by the EU. With the completion of the last building phase, six studios and four guest rooms are now available on the premises and in the city of Potsdam another living space is rented to accommodate artists. As well as using these spaces, Artists in Residence can be provided with a monthly scholarship of a maximum of 450 Euros and have their travel costs reimbursed.
After funding was approved for Tanzplan Potsdam in January 2006 residencies for the second half of the year were immediately announced by the artistic directors – Sabine Chwalisz, Sven Till and assistants Ulrike Melzwig and Frauke Niemann. Young artists and experienced choreographers can apply for the residency programme and there are no age limits. References from mentors are helpful for younger artists who cannot yet show the results of previous productions. Mentors and artistic consultants are on hand to advise successful applicants during their residency in Potsdam. The entire programme is in turn critically and constitutively supervised by an artistic advisory board, currently consisting of Nele Hertling, Peter Pleyer and Lorenz Kielwein.
The team no longer uses the original two-part model of short-term and long-term residencies. The residencies now last for periods ranging from two weeks to three months. The process had to be made more flexible because the fabrik Potsdam was oriented towards the artists’ needs in terms of time on the one hand, and on the other hand it also wants to involve guest choreographers in the fabrik’s other programmes.
In Potsdam they think in terms of process-orientation. The goal of the residencies is not to develop complete, finished pieces, but rather to create free space. In this process, the main aspect is the idea of artistic self-determination. The artists themselves select topics, approaches, methods and working structures. The residencies provide them with an “exposed shelter”, where they can give their creativity free rein, regardless of the dictates of the market. The concept of transmission and therefore the social contract is just as important to Chwalisz and Till. Guest choreographers are expressly requested invite an audience to a presentation at the end of their residency. They are free to choose the format, whether it be a showing, an improvisation, an open studio or a public discussion.
The artists in residence programme started in the summer of 2006 with the “Choreographers’ Work Weeks”. Seven young choreographers from Berlin, Tallinn and Toronto were invited to develop and pursue their own project ideas in Potsdam from the 30th of July until the 12th of August. They were all very enthusiastic about the concentrated and intensive work. Having a studio available around the clock was an unheard-of luxury for most of them. The opportunity to be advised by a mentor was the special aspect of this programme.
The American Patrick Scully has shown that a two-week residency can also be used for intensive research. He was in Potsdam in January 2007 as Artist in Residence with performers and friends Kats Fukasawa, Laurie Van Wieren and the transsexual Venus. The four of them shared a clearly defined cognitive interest: the cabaret of the Weimar Republic, which was strongly shaped by Jewish and homosexual artists, as is well known. Together they visited the memorial at the former Sachsenhausen concentration camp, the Holocaust Memorial, the Jewish Museum and the Schwule Museum (Gay Museum) Berlin. Dance scientist Susanne Foellmer discussed Valeska Gert and the cabaret scene of the Twenties with them. During the day the artists did their research and worked nights in the studios. At the conclusion of their residency they showed the two programmes "Shadows of Cabaret" and "Deeper Shadows".
Australian choreographer and dancer Diane Busuttil also showed how a seven-week residency can be used to gather material and pursue artistic research. In her project with the working title “The Perfect Woman”, she investigated the influence of the media on women’s self-image. She initially held workshops with two generations of women in the fabrik; a group of 65 to 80-year-olds and a group of 13 to 21-year-olds. Movement and theatre exercises were accompanied by intense discussions on the topic of “Secrets and lies“. Diane Busuttil then went into the studio with Julie Bougard and Silvana Suárez Cedeño, to research with the professional dancers how fears and phobias are linked with body image and women’s perception of the themselves. Video artist Laura Scarborough was also present from the outset, and documented the results of the workshops on video.
In addition to the topic of gender, research into method has crystallised as a further focus of the Artists in Residence programme. Contemporary dance is a self-reflexive art form. Choreographers are also constantly concerned with the artistic process and choreographic methods of working. This has changed the notion of “authorship” and new models of collaboration have also been trialed. French-German group ‘Practicable’ for example, who will be guests in Potsdam in March, want to develop a “horizontal working structure, linking research, creation, transmission and production”.
The Artist in Residence programme has enabled the fabrik Potsdam to profile itself as an artistic centre where dance and choreography are researched, produced, taught and communicated. The fabrik is already part of an international network and further cooperative projects are planned through Tanzplan Potsdam. Collaboration with the Hochschulübergreifendes Zentrum für Choreographie (Cooperative Dance Education Centre) in Berlin is already on track, and contacts with other European artists’ residences will be built up. A permanent exchange among choreographers, performers and dancers, and between artists and audiences is designed to deepen knowledge and awareness of contemporary dance.
Tanzplan Deutschland
[ Local Contact ]
Ulrike Melzwig
fabrik Potsdam
Internationales Zentrum für Tanz- und Bewegungskunst
Schiffbauergasse 10, PF 600607
14406 Potsdam
Phone: 49 (0)331.2800314
www.fabrikpotsdam.de
[ Local Partner ]
fabrik Potsdam
[ Local Sponsors ]
Landeshauptstadt Potsdam
Brandenburgisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kultur
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Ulrike Melzwig
fabrik Potsdam
Internationales Zentrum für Tanz- und Bewegungskunst
Schiffbauergasse 10, PF 600607
14406 Potsdam
Phone: 49 (0)331.2800314
www.fabrikpotsdam.de
[ Local Partner ]
fabrik Potsdam
[ Local Sponsors ]
Landeshauptstadt Potsdam
Brandenburgisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kultur
Tanzplan Deutschland
|