You are a ZTB member and are interested in participating actively in one of the working groups (AGs)? Please send us an email: vorstand(at)ztberlin.de Some of the AGs are open to non-members as well. Just ask if you are interested.
Overview Working Groups (AGs)
AG Decolonize Dance
Description: We are dance artists based in Berlin and working in the independent scene who want to actively address the various interconnected political disasters unfolding in Palestine and Israel, as well as their repercussions in an increasingly authoritarian political climate in
Germany, where freedom of speech, the right to assembly and freedom of the arts are being severely curtailed. We seek to be vocal and active in support of the Palestinian movement for liberation from Israeli occupation. We insist that our freedoms are interdependent. Addressing a deepening climate of fear and cultural censorship in Germany, our activities as AG Decolonize / Dance highlight how our work as dancers are intertwined with present political realities in Berlin and internationally. We propose the following formats as our main frames of activity:
SUPPORT SPACE: We support artists who fear retaliation from cultural
institutions in Berlin due to speaking out in solidarity with Palestinians who are
currently facing mass-murder perpetrated by the state of Israel, to the extent that the International Court of Justice had found (in January 2024) a plausible case of genocide being intentionally committed in Gaza.
EDUCATION: We gather educational resources and organize reading groups,
workshops and other learning frameworks to inform artists of the current political climate in Germany regarding Israel / Palestine.
RESOURCE BUILDING: We initiate proposals to mobilize resources among the
Berlin dance scene in solidarity with Palestine and in resistance against racist,
neo-colonial and white supremacist cultural practices.
Contact us: ztbagdd@proton.me
AG Tanzförderung
The impetus for the founding of the AG Tanzförderung was the jury decisions of 2023, in which numerous established dance artists and groups fell out of the Basisförderung and Konzeptförderung and thus found themselves in an existentially threatening situation. Once again, the precarious nature of the funding system for dance in Berlin was revealed. The working group was founded with the aim of reforming the Berlin funding system and establishing structure-building, sustainable and cross-generational funding for the professional dance sector in Berlin. The first steps were the campaign ‘Kahlschlag für den Tanz in Berlin?’, in which over 500 signatures were collected. This campaign was presented to Senator for Culture Joe Chialo at the opening of Tanznacht 2023. Two discussion meetings were held on 28 February 2023 with cultural professionals from the dance scene and politicians Daniel Wesener and Daniela Billig/GRÜNE FRAKTION and also on 29 February 2023 with Dr Robbin Juhnke/CDU. The AG Tanzförderung is working on the structural improvement of Berlin’s dance funding system and would like to discuss their ideas with the scene and those responsible for cultural policy.
Members of the AGs are: Christina Ciupke, Tanzcompagnie Rubato – Dieter Baumann & Jutta Hell, Tanzkollektiv Grupo Oito – (Ricardo de Paula, Caroline Alves, Laura Alonso, Martina Garbelli, Cintia Rangel, Natalie Riedelsheimer, Miro Wallner), Public in Private – Jasna L. Vinovrški, Clément Layes, Kat Válastur , WILHELM GROENER – Günther Wilhelm & Mariola Groener, July Weber, Eva Meyer-Keller, Sergiu Matis, Eszter Salomon. The AG Tanzförderung works closely with its supporters: Heike Albrecht, Alexandra Wellensiek, Christoph Winkler and Renate Graziadei.
Contact us: agtanzfoerderungberlin@gmail.com
AG Work Culture
….was initiated in 2021 by Kasia Wolinska ( ZTB e.V.) and Mateusz Szymanowka ( Sophienseale) to facilitate discussions on the culture of work within Berlin dance scene and to develop tools and activities that would eventually lead to the improvement of how we work. Around 20 participants/ volunteers – dancers, choreographers, producers, dramaturges, curators and activists – joined forces in the frame of regular meetings throughout the year to examine the existing and (possible ) future working structures and relations that stem from those. In 2022 the group is aiming at development of the guidelines for the Berlin free dance that will be then presented to the community and further consulted. The foundational goal of this work is to support, promote and normalize good practices within the working environments – addressing problems of violence, (self-)exploitation, exhaustion and inequality within the scene.
AG Tanz und Elternschaft
020 / 2021
17 Nov / 18:00 Anniversary / ZTB Jubilee AG
further dates tba
18 Nov./ 18:00 Dance funding AG
another appointment: Wed 16.12.2020
19 Nov/12:00 Dance and Parenthood AG
further dates: Thu 17.12. 2020, Thu 14.01.2021, Thu 18.02.21, Thu 18.03.21
7 Dec / 17:30 Association structure/ honorary office AG
further dates tba
21 Dec / 18:00 Dance Platform 2022