The new funding programme TANZPAKT Stadt-Land-Bund is the result of an intensive dialogue between municipalities that promote dance, federal states and the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM). This dialogue has been continuously led, prepared and supported since 2012 by a Stadt-Land-Bund initiative group comprising various actors on the dance scene who together developed the conceptual considerations and framework conditions, which were then co-ordinated and approved with city, federal state and federal government representatives.
In the parliamentary process to draw up the 2017 federal budget, the Budget Committee of the German Bundestag approved funding to the tune of 5.625 million euros for an initial project phase to implement a programme to promote excellence in dance in the coming years. The extension of TANZPAKT Stadt-Land-Bund was agreed by the federal Budget Committee, which approved a further 5.125 million euros for this purpose, meaning that excellence projects in dance could again be funded, up to 2025.
The promotion programme is being managed jointly by the Dachverband Tanz Deutschland (German Dance Association) and the non-profit agency Bureau Ritter gUG (formerly DIEHL+RITTER gUG). A board of trustees is supporting the cultural-political implementation of the programme.
TANZPAKT Stadt-Land-Bund is aimed at established artists, ensembles and production structures with an international reach. It also addresses institutions that are drawing up innovative development concepts that are exceptional from a national standpoint. The aim is to realise substantial projects that contribute to the artistic and structural further development, strengthening and profiling of the art from of dance in Germany.
The cultural-political and structural strengthening of dance at the local and regional level is crucial both for the emergence of substantial projects and improved financing in the long term. A key aspect of the programme is therefore to encourage, through continuous dialogue, the long-term engagement of municipalities and federal states.
TANZPAKT Stadt-Land-Bund supports multi-annual projects that are funded by the federal government and match-funded to at least the same amount by municipalities, federal states and other sponsors if necessary.
The principle of additionality applies generally to funding. This refers both to project content – developing new work fields and the qualitative further development of existing activities – and finance.
The promotion fund TANZPAKT Stadt-Land-Bund covers the following funding priorities; a combination of T1, T2 und T3 is preferable:
An independent jury of experts will decide on the applications submitted.
Two application rounds have been conducted in 2017 and 2018. There was a further, staged call for applications in 2021.
The long-term objective is to put the funding instrument on a permanent footing beyond 2025, combined with an annual application round.