explore dance – Netzwerk Tanz für junges Publikum (Dance for Young Audiences Network) is a long-term co-operation of three partners – Fokus Tanz – Tanz und Schule e.V. München, fabrik moves Potsdam and K3 | Tanzplan Hamburg – that began in 2018 and has since been developing a sustainable structure for the production of contemporary dance pieces for young audiences. As part of the joint project, established choreographers within the national network are invited to Potsdam, Munich and Hamburg to develop and present new works for young audiences.
Each city produces two formats for each performance season: a pop-up that can be shown in classrooms or public space, and a stage production. In the pilot phase up to July 2022, 18 artistically outstanding productions for young audiences are thus being created and toured regionally and nationally. The artists open up their work processes for children and young people in order to engage in an artistic dialogue with them and integrate them into their creative work in different education formats such as workshops, rehearsals visits and research sessions. This results in a transfer of knowledge between artists and young audiences, and viewpoints and thoughts are shared. Workshops relating to the performances give the children and young people an opportunity to take a deeper look at the pieces and their content. explore dance lays emphasis on the development of innovative formats and models in the linking of aesthetic education and artistic production. In 2019, the project won the Perspective Award of the German Theatre Prize DER FAUST.
HELLERAU – European Centre for the Arts in Dresden joined the project as its fourth partner in July 2022, strengthening the visibility of the dance world for young audiences through the expansion of the network to four federal states. The artistic focus of explore dance in the new funding phase from July 2022 up to the end of 2023 will be on education offers and pop-ups as mobile productions that open up access to dance in schools, museums, cultural centres and theatres, both regionally and nationally. Three festivals with specialist seminars will be presenting the nine resulting productions and providing space for networking and for dialogue on cultural and educational policy.
explore dance – Netzwerk Tanz für Junges Publikum | Imagetrailer