Dublin Dance Festival

Main EU Legislative Proposals: Big Pulse Dance Alliance is a multi-annual cooperation project with the participation of 12 dance festivals in 12 European countries, co-funded by Creative Europe programme of the EU. Its aim is to create the optimum production conditions for dance artists throughout Europe in order to facilitate their mobility and promote the dissemination of their work.

Communication Activities: The last 40 years, Europe has been growing to become the global leader in professional dance through high quality of dance education and professionalization of its sector. Big Pulse Dance Alliance (BPDA) is a project devised by 11 dance festivals, a total of twelve partners, to tackle the challenges festivals and choreographers across Europe face. The aim of the project is to diversify the programming on the big stages, to reach-out for general public through free outdoor programming in public space and to contribute to building a more resilient and healthy dance sector. The European dance scene mostly consists of small and medium size productions. The number of big stage productions touring is limited and demands a sustainable development. BPDA supports annually 2-3 choreographers in their transition from small to larger scale in two lines of productions: staged works and free public space works. The project will encourage the creation of new works and/or development of existing performances. The public space line is dedicated to develop new concepts and work models for international touring, involving local communities. BPDA will be building the capacity of cultural operators and artists. With the help of mentors and experts, the project is aiming to stimulate artistic and project management by defining the tools for work environment challenges in a leadership programme – to foster a more sustainable, relevant and successful dance sector. Coming together in Winter Intensives and through one-to-one mentoring, the base for a life-long professional support will be laid. A Visiting Artist Programme for the younger generation will allow artists to experience the festivals, receive mentor sessions and increase their networking as well as mobility. The local dance scene will meet at Local Pulse Initiatives to discuss key learnings and topics most relevant to the national festivals contexts. The projects long term aim is to establish a network of European dance festival

Inter-institutional or Unofficial Groupings: N/A