For one whole week Stuttgart will become the city of dance as students from every dance academy in Germany meet here for the 8th Biennale Tanzausbildung. Whether in person or virtually, the pandemic has had a profound effect on the dance scene and even though we have been able to catch our breath, these times still demand a great deal of flexibility.
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research supports and promotes talented young dancers through the Biennale Tanzausbildung, with the aim of providing a forum for performances at a professional standard. At the same time it opens up space for discussions around different training cultures, promoting quality in training for a profession that is subject to constant change. Dance may combine the rational and the emotional but unfortunately it is not able to provide artists with any guarantee of success.
The 8th Biennale Tanzausbildung also focuses on the artistic examination of solidarity, closeness and sustainability. The symposium is an opportunity for deep discussions, while workshops broach the issue of power and the abuse of power in dance, providing students with a space to exchange their ideas with each other and with professional artists, to increase their awareness of structures and consider connections between dance techniques and ways of working.
I wish all participants in the 8th Biennale Tanzausbildung a week full of new insights, thought-provoking discussions and fresh impulses for your training.
Bettina Stark-Watzinger
Member of the German Federal Parliament
Federal Minister of Education and Research
COMING TOGETHER, sharing space and time, is what we all wish for after almost two years of living in a pandemic. As we are writing these welcome words we are still not certain if we will be able to meet in person for this 8th edition of the Biennial Dance Education. Our current modes of working and our daily lives are constantly shaped by new regulations, more uncertainties and the necessity to react on very short notice. Real encounters are rare and precious moments. No matter in which form we will be coming together for the Biennial, the wish is to take time for each other, to observe and listen closely to the experiences and the perspectives of each other.
Solidarity, encounter, sustainability, those are three burning issues we are challenged with in our ever-evolving world. Though they were present before, the pandemic has drawn our attention to them like under a burning glass. During this Biennial we will address these topics on different levels, both with regard to dance practice, the field and its impact on a global level.
However, coming together only arises when a work is perceived and above all valued by others, and when this results in an exchange. In order to do so, we need to tune our antennas to listen to the nuances and refine our abilities to voice what moves us. Therefore, we will begin this Biennial with a communication workshop that invites all participants (from students to teachers to workshop facilitators and the organisational team) to establish a common ground for constructive dialogue and conversation.
We wish everyone a week of exciting encounters, new insights, fruitful reflections and last but not least fun and pleasurable moments in COMING TOGETHER!
Looking forward to being in Stuttgart with all of you,
David Russo, Susanne Triebel und Britta Wirthmüller
Curators Biennale Tanzausbildung 2022
