Touring Think Tank

Touring network for the Nordic-Baltic region

UPDATE June 2015:
NB Danceloop – Nordic Baltic Touring Network is a direct outcome of the keðja Touring Think Tank work that took place between 2012 – 2014. The touring network started it´s first tour in Vilnius May 2015 which will continue in September in Tallinn, in October at Baltoppen LIVE (DK) and in November at Baerum Kulturhus (NO).
Contact person: Laura Kvelstein laura@tantsuagentuur.ee

——————————————————————————————————————————

Description of the 2012- 2015 Touring Think Tank activities
The Nordic and Baltic countries have different kinds of national touring activities for performing arts, but the area is lacking a joint touring network for dance, that would encompass the whole Nordic-Baltic region. The value and need of such a network has been discussed for a long time.

The goal of the keðja Touring Think Tank has been to find out, whether a Nordic-Baltic touring network can be established and develop a functioning model for it. The members have met several times during 2012–2014 to work on the process together.

Read about the work process and the outcome in the END REPORT Touring Think Tank 2012-2014 (pdf)

Please scroll down for an overview of the work process and the list of active participants.

* * *

The work process:

Kick-off at ICE HOT – Nordic Dance Platform in Helsinki, December 2012:

The aim of the discussion was to kickstart the process toward the formation of a Nordic-Baltic touring network for dance. Among the topics discussed were the benefits, possibilities and challenges of a touring network, existing models and possible structures of the network.

2nd meeting and sharing session at keðjaKlaipeda, June 2013:
The aim of the second meeting was to move from theoretical discussions to addressing practical issues, such as purpose and structure, funding options and overall coordination. Also the possibility of a small-scale pilot tour in order to try out a touring network model in practice was elaborated further. Furthermore, the Think Tank held a sharing session at the keðjaKlaipeda Encounter, where the issues of having a Nordic-Baltic touring network were opened up for discussion. The exchange of thoughts focused among other things on audiences and structure.

3rd meeting in Stockholm, December 2013:
The aim of the third meeting was to start outlining the envisioned network model and making some decisions regarding it. The participants dealt with issues such as the purpose and mission of the network, how the structure and coordination of it would work as well as what the selection process would look like. Audiences were pinned down as the main focus of the envisioned touring network.

4th meeting in Copenhagen, May 2014:
The fourth and final meeting focused on wrapping up the Think Tank work by preparing the network-in-the-making and its partners for future activities and next steps. The participants prepared for the next round of applications by focusing on those issues that needed to be improved or concretized, such as the audience development activities. Also the plans for the near future, such as network coordination, economical issues as well as touring activities, were outlined.

Sharing session at keðjaMariehamn, August 2014:
The Think Tank participants and moderator Alan Rivett shared the work process and its results with a wider audience by taking part in the main seminar talk (“Building New Bridges”) discussing the importance of networks in general, and in a more intimate sharing session (“Toward a touring network”) both the challenges and the motives were opened up, and a dialogue was created around the pilot tour plans, selection criteria as well as funding issues.

Read more in the end report of the Touring Think Tank (top of the page).

* * *

Facilitator:

ALAN RIVETT
Director, Warwick Arts Centre, UK

Alan Rivett is Director of Warwick Arts Centre, the largest multidisciplinary venue in the UK outside London, based on the campus of University of Warwick in Coventry.

Since being appointed in 2001 he has successfully steered Warwick Arts Centre programme to a position where it regularly hosts high profile, contemporary, international theatre, music, visual arts and interdisciplinary events. Warwick Arts Centre regularly commissions new work from leading artists and has a generative programme for emerging artists.

Alan is Chair of Fierce Festival Ltd, leading an annual festival of contemporary live art and performance in Birmingham and the West Midlands. He also Chairs the UK wide Dance Touring Partnership, comprising leading UK venues committed to promoting international contemporary dance. Alan is also a board member of Shared Experience Theatre Company and The British Association of Concert Halls and has just completed a six year term as a Council member of the University of Warwick.

Think Tank participants:

Raido Bergstein, Estonian Dance Agency, Tallinn (EE)
Anne-Sofie Ericsson, SITE Sweden, Stockholm (SE)
Maija Eränen, Zodiak – Center for New Dance, Helsinki (FI)
Amy Fee, Dansens Hus, Stockholm (SE)
Gunnar Gunnsteinsson, SL – Association for Independent Theatres in Iceland, Reykjavik (IS)
Audronis Imbrasas, Lithuanian Dance Information Centre, Vilnius (LT)
Ib Jensen, Baltoppen LIVE, Ballerup (DK)
Jørgen Knudsen, DanseFestival Barents, Hammerfest (NO)
Harri Kuorelahti, Zodiak – Center for New Dance, Helsinki (FI)
Siri Leonardsen, Bærum Culture House, Bærum (NO)
Susanne Næss Nielsen, Dansearena Nord, Hammerfest (NO)
Jukka-Pekka Pohjolainen, Regional Dance Center for Eastern Finland, Kuopio (FI)
Annika Sillander, Regional Dance Center of Ostrobothnia, Vasa (FI)
Hanne Svejstrup, Dansehallerne, Copenhagen (DK)
Morten Walderhaug, Bærum Culture House, Bærum (NO)

Coordination by:

Katarina Lindholm
Project Manager, Dance Info Finland