The Round Table on Dance Archives and Dance Collections
In 2019, the Round Table on Dance Archives and Dance Collections was launched by the Association of German Dance Archives (VDT) in collaboration with the Dance Germany umbrella organization. Its aim is to provide a forum for all representatives of the dance scene to discuss issues relating to archiving practices in dance.
At the first Round Table on Dance Archives and Dance Collections at the German Dance Archive in Cologne, representatives from archives, education and teaching, academia, and cultural heritage preservation discussed the development of a political implementation strategy for promoting digitization.
The second round table, held in Berlin in November 2022, was dedicated to self-archiving initiatives, involving not only archives and collections, but also institutions and organizations, collectives and individual actors involved in the preservation of dance art, as well as representatives of dance studies and journalists.
The third round table in 2023 focused on the question of how dance archives can collaborate with radio and media archives in order to jointly raise the profile of dance as cultural heritage in the long term. What avenues of cooperation are there when it comes to exchanging the holdings of dance archives with those of media archives? Where do collections complement each other? What interests and wishes do artists have in this regard, even beyond research? The meeting was aimed at archivists from cultural and media archives, artists and scientists, journalists, film and television producers, and filmmakers.
The date for the fourth round table has not yet been set.
3rd Round Table of Dance Archives and Dance Collections
The third round table of dance archives and dance collections took place on June 2, 2023, at the German Dance Archive Cologne. This time, the focus was on exchange with archives of media and broadcasting companies. For many decades, public broadcasters have been important producers of documentaries on dance history and contemporary dance performances, but access to dance-related film archives is often limited to academia and research.
The meeting therefore focused on getting to know each other's working methods and holdings better, as well as on the respective needs for potential cooperation in order to enable greater accessibility for all users, including those from the artistic field, in the long term and thus make the cultural heritage of dance more visible.You can view the program of the 3rd RTT here.
2nd Round Table of Dance Archives and Dance Collections
2nd Round Table of Dance Archives and Dance Collections
Initiativen der Selbstarchivierung
The second round table on dance archives and dance collections took place on November 18, 2022, in Berlin. This time, the focus was on self-archiving initiatives.
Collections dedicated to preserving all forms of dance can be found in archives, libraries, and museums, in educational institutions, in municipal, state, and national theaters, and in dance and production houses. However, they are also individually operated or initiated by artists and other actors in the scene. In recent years, it has been the often artistic initiatives from within the scene in particular that have triggered exciting developments and challenged established archives with new perspectives on their working methods.
1st Round Table on Dance Archives and Dance Collections
1st Round Table on Dance Archives and Dance Collections
In May 2019, the first round table of dance archives and collections took place in Cologne. The VDT invited representatives from archives, education and teaching, science, and cultural heritage preservation to a joint exchange in which the development of a political implementation strategy for promoting digitization was discussed. The keynote speech was given by Dr. Kaiser-Schuster from the Cultural Foundation of the German States (KSL). In her introductory remarks, she presented the work of the Cultural Foundation of the German States and provided feedback on the dance archives' strategy and results to date, along with possible implementation strategies. These were explored in greater depth and elaborated upon in the ensuing discussion.
In the second part of the meeting, those present discussed how dance archives and collections can respond more strongly than before to the needs of dance education and dance research in order to optimize cooperation.
This meeting resulted in an application to the Cultural Foundation of the German States. Further information can be found under: Projects and Initiatives - Dance Memory - Digitality.