One of the most important events for dance professionals will start this week in the city of Düsseldorf (Germany) – the 14th internationale tanzmesse nrw (Tanzmesse). After a pause due to the pandemic, the in-person event will again take place, bringing together participants and guests from 45 countries between 31 August and 3 September.
The international dance fair, held since 1994 every two years in the capital of the North Rhine-Westphalia region, for several days turns Düsseldorf into the world dance capital, as the fair long ago became the main site for choreographers, performers, managers, producers, festival organisers and other professionals in the field of dance from around the world to meet and exchange creative ideas.
“The greatest results are achieved when there is continuity of activity. Each country’s dance finds its place in the world, not because of isolated performances in one or another festival, but because of the deeper and broader presentation of that country’s dance community, and the involvement of creative artists and dance organisations in various cooperative international projects. The international dance biennale Tanzmesse NRW, taking place every two years in Düsseldorf, is a wonderful platform not only for making new connections, sharing ideas, finding inspiration, informing others, but also for deepening the ideas and partnerships we already have. During such meetings, it is quite common not only for the barest outline of a future project to be born, but also for signatures to be placed on projects that have been under development for a longer period of time,” says Gintarė Masteikaitė, Director of the Lithuanian Dance Information Centre, of her experience at the international dance fair Tanzmesse NRW.
Greater visibility in the world for Baltic dance
Among the stands of the 86 dance organisations represented this year at the international dance fair, a joint area for Baltic dance will be presented for the first time, presenting the artists and organisations of Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian dance. Creative dance artists and representatives of dance companies, theatres, other dance organisations and institutions of higher education will welcome the fair’s guests at the booth, which will acquaint guests with the dance of each country and jointly present Baltic dance.
The idea of not presenting each country separately at the dance fair, but joining forces and presenting Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian dance organisations as a region arose after the successful cooperation in preparing the Baltic Dance Platform. Seeking greater visibility for Baltic dance and creative artists, three organisations joined forces in 2018: the Lithuanian Dance Information Centre, the Latvian Dance Information Centre and the Estonian independent dance platform Sõltumatu Tantsu Lava (STL). A year later, the first Baltic Dance Platform was held in Vilnius, the second took place this year in Tallinn, and the third is planned for February 2024 in Riga. Guests at the joint stand for Baltic dance will be invited to attend the Baltic Dance Platform, and to get to know and to see in-person the artists and best performances and projects of our region’s dance.
“The joint presentation of Baltic dance is a natural continuation of the Baltic Dance Platform. After the first Baltic Dance Platform, three years ago, we saw that cooperation brings great added value not only to the dance community, but also to foreign professionals. By presenting the region, we have a stronger and more diverse context, a wider circle of artists, and a more varied spectrum of dance performances,” says LDIC Director Masteikaitė.
Triinu Aron, the Managing Director of the Estonian independent dance platform Sõltumatu Tantsu Lava (STL), emphasises that the Baltic Dance Platform offers opportunities to see Baltic contemporary dance and its potential from a fresh perspective. “What seemed impossible yesterday has become a new possibility today. The first joint activities together with our colleagues in Latvia and Lithuania have already accelerated the development of contemporary dance in Estonia and have increased its visibility not just nationally, but also internationally. And that is only the beginning,” says Aron.
The Baltic dance organisations offers a programme for the fair’s guests
On 1 September, a special reception and performance of Baltic dance will take place at the international dance fair, featuring more than 100 performers, producers, festival organisers, and representatives of other organisations. The reception is part of the official biennale programme and was initiated by the fair organisers themselves, seeking to highlight the first joint presentation of the Baltic region. A performance of M(other) by Raimonda Gudavičiūtė, a Lithuanian dancer and choreographer living in Germany, will also take place on the same day. This work will represent Baltic dance and was selected by the fair’s jury from more than 800 applications to be part of the 30-performance programme.
A total of 83 dance performances, sketches, installations and other projects, created by artists from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and the Americas, will be presented on the stages of the international dance fair in the cities of Düsseldorf, Krefeld and Leverkusen.
Organisers: Lithuanian Dance Information Centre, Sõltumatu Tantsu Lava / STL, Latvian Dance Information Centre
Partners and sponsors: Baltic Culture Foundation, Lithuanian Council for Culture, Vilnius City Municipality, The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Estonia, The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, The State Culture Capital Foundation, Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme.
Image: internationale tanzmesse nrw, photo Dmitrijus Matvejevas.
