This year's Tanznacht Forum discourse format takes matters into its own hands and looks for new skills and tools for the Berlin dance scene. The aim is to initiate an active approach to current cultural/political events.

This year, Tanznacht Forum aims to create a space for learning new skills and exchanging tools for the Berlin dance scene on the edge of a breaking point. Doomed by financial cuts, structural instability, an endemic lack of spaces and resources, and surrounded by a political discourse that tends more and more toward authoritarianism, the questions that arise are: how to resist, how to exert influence, how to make a difference?

Inspired by hacker practices of radical knowledge sharing, defense of the commons, and subversive imagination, the two workshops address two current issues to create a deeper understanding, as well as new narratives, potential (cultural-political) solutions, and self-organization for a movement of resistance. 

The think-tank workshops are participatory and primarily dedicated to players of the Berlin dance scene but are open to the audience with a limited number of places available.

↪ Workshop#1: Tanz und Widerstand
12.12.2024 - 17:00 - Grüntaler 9   

Inputs: Emilia Roig, Mila Pavicevic, Renan Laru-an

The resurgence of right-wing populism, fascists in European governments, and the new social acceptability of racist narratives—faced with these disturbing developments, we are brought back to an age-old yet highly relevant question: What is the relationship between art and politics? What can art—specifically the performing arts—achieve, and what influence can art or art institutions exert on society and politics? Is it time for us as an art institution to step outside our immediate circle, the art bubble, the community of cultural actors, to seek new points of contact or create new ways of engagement? How can we resist the broad rightward shift in society—even in the context of the Berlin area? Does dance need to become more political? And what does that mean for art, for aesthetic impulses, for the creation of choreography?

↪ Workshop#2: Paradoxes and Power(lessness) of Structures
13.12.2024 - 11:30 - Grüntaler 9    
An open board meeting of ZTB and guests
With: Julia Barrette-Laperrière, Armin Hokmi, Martha Hincapié Charry, Günther Wilhelm, Jasmin İhraç
And: Florian Bücking , Jasna Layes Vinrovski, Nara Virgens. 

How could a different, restructured association help work more effectively and better represent the interests of dancers, artists, and choreographers in Berlin? In an open exchange, the ZTB board will discuss potential adjustments to their structure to bridge the gap between institutions and artists and better respond to current challenges and crises.

Artists, institutional representatives, and board members from other associations are invited to join this dialogue and develop new perspectives and strategies to strengthen Berlin’s dance scene. This event is dedicated to the tensions and potentials of structures – open, critical, and forward-looking.

Accessibility:
The Grüntaler 9 store is at ground level and is wheelchair accessible via two provisional ramps (16% und 18%). The entrance door is 90cm wide. The toilet is not barrier-free. If you need any help with the use of the ramp, please do not hesitate to contact a member of staff.