Laurence Wagner, Laurence Perez, Simone Truong, Joanna Lesnierowska, Emanuel Rosenberg © Julie Folly, Christophe Raynaud de Laget, Caroline Palla, Photoholic studio, Nelly Rodriguez

The Swiss Dance Days Association - consisting of representatives of the Zurich partner institutions Tanzhaus, Gessnerallee, Fabriktheater, Theater Neumarkt, Schauspielhaus and ZHdK - has chosen the five-member jury. The jury, which is responsible for the artistic programme of the Swiss Dance Days from 28th february to 3rd march 2024, consists of the following members:

 

Joanna Lesnierowska, curator Muzeum Susch, Graubünden/Grisons
Laurence Perez, curator, Marseille/Lausanne/Zürich
Emanuel Rosenberg, choreographer & festival director, Ticino
Simone Truong, choreographer, Zürich
Laurence Wagner, curator & director Festival Belluard Bollwerk, Fribourg

 

The jury already started its work and considers the following criteria in making its selection: Topicality and high artistic quality of the pieces; potential of the pieces for international dissemination; aesthetic, generational and regional diversity.

Swiss Dance Days 2024

Interested dance companies resident in Switzerland are invited to submit tour dates for eligible pieces to the jury.

New edition

After the Swiss Dance Days successfully took place in Basel this February – postponed by one year due to the pandemic – we now announce the next edition: it is scheduled to take place in Zurich from Feb. 28 to March 3, 2024, co-organized by Reso and the Zurich partner institutions Tanzhaus, Gessnerallee, Fabriktheater, Theater Neumarkt, Schauspielhaus and ZHdK. These have joined together in the Association Swiss Dance Days, which is also now responsible for electing the five-person jury. The jury members will be presented in November 2022.

 

Call for Submissions

All dance comapnies and choreographers resident in Switzerland, or with their main focus of activity here, are invited to submit their project dossier and a video link in the registrationlink and to submit tour dates for eligible pieces via our touringcalendar. Dance pieces which can be shown on tour and which premiered between February 2021 (!) and July 2023 at the latest are eligible. This means that pieces which could not be presented in Basel, due to the pandemic-related postponement of the Swiss Dance Days, are also eligible.

We invite all companies resident in Switzerland, or with their main focus of activity here, to submit their project dossier and video link via the following registrationlink. The submitted informations will be forwarded to the jury, so that the jury members can watch the pieces live or via video. Please only submit full-length videos; trailer videos will not be considered. There is no deadline. The link will remain open until the jury has finished its visioning work in July 2023.

If you have submitted your dance piece, you can use the link of the touringcalendar to submit its tour dates. This link can be resubmitted at any time as soon as new tour dates between October 2022 and July 2023 are fixed.

 

Contact the jury secretary:

Noémie Delfgou: jury@swissdancedays.ch

©Brigitte Fässler

Successful Swiss Dance Days in Basel!

What seemed absurd two months ago actually happened, and was a success! The risk was high, but the Swiss Dance Days actually took place on our partners’ stages: the Kaserne, Theater Basel, junges theater basel, Neues Theater, Vorstadttheater, Roxy, Theater Tempus Fugit and Humbug. In total: this meant 21 shows, most of them sold out, and almost 3500 visitors, an atmosphere of joyful anticipation and intriguing discussions surrounding the events!

 

We braved the weather as much as the omicron variant, raising glasses of mulled wine and filling theatres. We welcomed and hosted just over 150 national and international presenters in Basel, concentrating on our core mission: making dance and performance events happen, and facilitating their touring in Switzerland and abroad. This also means that many regioal visitors attended the shows. We accomplished showcasing twelve pieces selected by a jury – the Final Selection – and eight artists working in Switzerland who presented their work at the Salons d’artistes. With a heavy heart, we had to forego the parties, so as to make the remaining events as safe as possible.  All this gives us optimism for the dramatic arts and dance in particular.

 

The side events focused on the younger audience in a well-attended panel discussion. There was also a network meeting hosted by the cultural departments of the Cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft, with the goal of overcoming triregional borders. Finally, the format of international dance platforms was reflected upon – together with performing artists, Pro Helvetia and presenters from Switzerland and abroad. Conclusions from this event and their impact on the next edition of the Swiss Dance Days will be communicated at a later date.

 

New cancellation rules

Our partners in Basel conferred yesterday and decided to stick with the plan of holding the Swiss Dance Days from February 2-6, 2022 as a real-life event. Numerous national and international presenters already registered during our Early-Bird phase. Starting immediately, you can take advantage of our Late-Bird offer: you can still benefit from discounted room rates at our partner hotel! The offer is valid until the contingent underwritten by Pro Helvetia is used up. We recommend registering immediately and booking your hotel and tickets!

 

New cancellation rules: due to the uncertain Covid situation regarding international travel, we have extended the deadline for free-of-charge cancellations of hotel reservations and tickets to January 19, 2022. If you need to cancel, please contact Oliver Roth: info@swissdancedays.ch.

Swiss Dance Days 2022 – Save the Date

 

In 2021 the Swiss Dance Days had to be cancelled due to the Covid pandemic. We are all the more pleased to announce that the next Swiss Dance Days will take place from February 2 to 6, 2022, once again in Basel. This international platform of Swiss dance will be organized by the following partners: junges theater basel, Kaserne Basel, ROXY Birsfelden, Neues Theater, Theater Basel, Vorstadttheater Basel and Reso –Dance Network Switzerland.

 

Among approximately 150 pieces premiered since 2019, the jury has selected twelve remarkable Swiss dance productions. We look forward to dynamic, humorous and powerful physical studies and autobiographical works full of performative joy and the courage to question virtuosity. A special focus is on several powerful works from the younger generation of Swiss choreographers. Discover the jury’s program now!

 

Professional attendees and presenters may register for the Swiss Dance Days from November 2021 onwards, benefitting from reduced admission and accommodation at our partner hotel Stücki, which we are able to offer thanks to the Swiss cultural foundation Pro Helvetia. Subscribe to our newsletter for presenters in English!

 

We thank our supporters and foundations, particularly Pro Helvetia, Swisslos-Fonds Basel-Stadt, Swisslos-Fonds Basel-Landschaft, Swisslos-Fonds Solothurn, the Ernst Göhner Foundation and Migros Kulturprozent, whose generosity enabled us to pay out the dance companies’ fees for the cancelled 2021 edition.

The Final Selection is Complete!

Twelve Companies Invited to the Swiss Dance Days from February 3 to 7, 2021

The Swiss Dance Days will showcase high-class Swiss dance creations of the past two years for the eleventh time – over a condensed period of five days. Finally, the selection of companies has been made. We look forward to welcoming dynamic, humorous and compelling physical studies as well as works exploring questions of sexual identity and gender. The programme is also notable for several autobiographical works full of joyful playing and the courage to question virtuosity. Finally, we are pleased to have several newcomers among the selection.

 

Congrats to:

 

The jury has viewed and discussed 146 dance pieces premiered during the past two seasons. The jury member Foofwa d’Imobilité, a choreographer long established in Geneva, has been given carte blanche to create the piece «Voyage».