The 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.
The funding programme promotes excellence in dance and is aimed at established artists, ensembles and production houses with an international reach. It also addresses institutions and individuals who are developing concepts and initiatives that are both outstanding and innovative on a national level. The goal is to realise substantial projects that contribute to the artistic and structural development of dance in Germany. As well as supporting new projects, the programme will also be open to projects that have previously received TANZPAKT funding, enabling them to continue and expand their activities.
TANZPAKT Stadt-Land-Bund supports multi-year projects with a standard term of 36 months. The funding from the federal government is dependent on co-financing of at least the same amount from municipalities, federal states or other funders. The minimum grant amount that new projects can apply for is generally 90,000 euros, and the maximum amount is 600,000 euros. The maximum grant amount for projects that have previously received TANZPAKT funding is 300,000 euros. All grants are based on actual costs, which means that any reduction of costs or increase in match funding or other income will result in a reduction of the grant.
Funding from TANZPAKT Stadt-Land-Bund is based on the principle of additionality. This means that the activities realised as part of the funded project need to be in addition to the organisation’s regular, ongoing activities (e.g. exploring new artistic practices or expanding the scope of existing activities). While we advise that the co-financing should also be additional and thus awarded specifically for the funded project, it is also permissible to declare existing multi-year funding as co-financing. One-off project funding, however, does not count as co-financing.
An independent jury of experts will select projects for funding from all submitted entries, based on their quality and feasibility, as well as their relevance to the objectives of the funding programme.
There is no legal right to funding.
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.
Funding period 2017–2025
Since the start of the programme, which has received 1.125 million euros every year from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, the jury has selected 28 projects for funding. Each project received up to 600,000 euros, significantly strengthening the dance sector in our cities, states and municipalities. Bureau Ritter organised three funding rounds, awarding a total of around 8.2 million euros to the selected projects, while local authorities, federal states and other funders provided match funding of around 11.6 million euros. It is an impressive result and a clear demonstration of the leverage and impact of TANZPAKT Stadt-Land-Bund on the German dance scene. Departments of Culture, State Ministries and the Federal Government have built trust by supporting dance sector professionals during the coronavirus crisis. An important step in this process was a decision made in 2021 to allow projects that had already received funding from TANZPAKT to re-apply in further funding rounds. This commitment continues to stand, and projects will be permitted to apply for additional funding in the future.
Funding period 2025–2030
Two further calls for proposals are planned for the 2025–2030 funding period. All information on the tendering procedure, the application process and advisory services can be found under the menu item Application.
To the Funding Principles
