History
HOW THE PROJECT CAME ABOUT
Riccarda Herre, a former dancer with Johann Kresnik who today works at Bureau Ritter, started the ball rolling. Why is there is there such a focus on young people in dance rather than on age? With DANCE ON, Madeline Ritter and her team not only intend to create awareness of the issue of “dance and age” but also bring about lasting change in artistic practice as well as in cultural and scientific thought. The project aims to draw attention to qualities that can only develop with age. One reference here is NDT3 (Nederlands Dans Teater), a company for older dancers founded by the choreographer Jiri Kylian, which existed until 2006.
In devising DANCE ON, Bureau Ritter were able to draw on their many years of experience with artistic and funding projects such as Tanzplan Deutschland and Tanzfonds, both initiatives of the Kulturstiftung des Bundes. Six dancers started rehearsals in Berlin in November 2015, giving concrete form to the initial idea of DANCE ON.
THE DANCE ON 1st EDITION
The original plan for the DANCE ON 1st EDITION was to create six short dance works. In the end, there were no less than 11 productions by 15 prominent international choreographers and directors, among them Ersan Mondtag, Rabih Mroué, Deborah Hay, Jan Martens and William Forsythe.
Even before the names of the dancers and choreographers had been confirmed, an invitation arrived from the prestigious Holland Dance Festival to host the premiere of the very first DANCE ON production. More than 100 performances in 13 countries followed, supported by 14 dedicated coproduction partners and greeted with enthusiastic receptions from both the press and audiences.
In 2016 our initiative expanded to include eight European partner organisations and 69 co-operating institutions. Under the heading “DANCE ON, PASS ON, DREAM ON” and supported by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union they came together to tackle ageism on stage and in society.
In the spring of 2018 we celebrated the conclusion of the DANCE ON 1st Edition in Berlin: With the support of the Hauptstadt-Kulturfonds we were able to share the beauty of age and experience with Berlin audiences in a sold-out five-day festival at HAU Hebbel am Ufer. A DANCE ON retrospective at the Centre National de la Danse in Paris followed.
THE DANCE ON 2nd EDITION
In June 2018 the Budget Committee of the German Bundestag resolved to support the continuation of the DANCE ON project with funding of 1.87 million Euros. Funding for the 2nd EDITION will now enable DANCE ON to expand its scope over the next five years, increasing its social impact with new priorities and continuing to fight ageism on stage and in society.
For the 2nd EDITION the DANCE ON ENSEMBLE will expand and become more open. The repertoire of works for dancers 40+ will continue to grow and new forms of collaboration with municipal and state theatres will be trialled to carry the work further afield, beyond just the big cities. Participatory projects will be realised in collaboration with retirement and care homes, setting examples and creating socio-political momentum for including older people in cultural life.