Thursday | January 15, 2026 | 2:00 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.
Public expert forum
in Berlin | Plenary Hall, Academy of Arts, Pariser Platz 4, 10117 Berlin
The program as aPDF.

In 2023, the Association of German Dance Archives presented a study funded by the Cultural Foundation of the German States on the structural conditions and work processes in dance archives and dance collections. The results of the study show that it is not enough to improve the situation of individual archives. The establishment and sustainable strengthening of a competence network for dance archives is urgently needed to ensure the resilience of individual institutions and facilities. In view of national crises and global upheavals, it is becoming increasingly clear that archives are the indispensable memory of society and must remain reliable and accessible for future generations.

In the public expert forum, representatives from the fields of dance practice and dance studies, as well as experts from other archives, will discuss best practice examples of competence network formation and issues of active cultural property protection for the intangible heritage of dance.

Following the meeting, there will be an opportunity to visit the current exhibition “Out of the Box” marking the 75th anniversary of the Academy of Arts Archive.  

PROGRAM

From 1:30 p.m.
Arrival

2:00 p.m.
Welcome and introduction
Werner Heegewaldt, Nele Hertling, Helene Herold | Academy of Arts

“Dance as Cultural Heritage” – Short presentation on archives and projects
Michael Freundt, Nicole Fiedler | Dance Germany

2:25 p.m.
Keynote speeches “Dance and Performance in the Archive”
Moderators: Helene Herold, Dr. Anja K. Arend (Folkwang Dance Archive)

Dr. Nic Leonhardt | SIBMAS – The International Association of Libraries, Museums, Archives and Documentation Centres of the Performing Arts
Saskia Mattern | documenta archive

2:55 p.m.
Keynote speeches: “Resilience and cultural heritage protection”
Moderators: Thomas Thorausch, Dr. Bianca Gleiniger (Archive of the Palucca University of Dance Dresden)

Prof. Thomas Kübler | Dresden Emergency Network
Anna Schultz | Art Collection of the Academy of Arts

3:25 p.m.
Coffee break

3:45 p.m.
Keynote speeches: “Digitization as active cultural property protection”
Moderators: Prof. Patrick Primavesi, Dr. Melanie Gruß (Leipzig Dance Archive)

Micky Lindlar | TIB – Leibniz Information Center for Science and Technology and University Library Hannover
Heide-Marie Härtel | German Dance Film Institute Bremen

4:15 p.m. Presentation of the Future Model (VDT) Competence Network 
“Dance-Memory-Digitality”
Thomas Thorausch (German Dance Archive Cologne) and Christine Henniger (Media Library for Dance and Theater)

4:30 p.m.
Closing discussion
Perspectives, options for action, strategies
Moderator: Michael Freundt

Keynote speech: Madeline Ritter

5:15 p.m.
End and optional visit to the exhibition

The event is accessible on site. It will be held in spoken German. We would be grateful if you could let us know in advance how we can assist you in accessing our event. Please contact Nicole Fiedler.

The Association of Dance Archives is an association of seven institutions: Academy of Arts, Berlin, Archive of the Institute for Contemporary Dance at Folkwang University of the Arts | Folkwang Dance Archive, Archive of the Palucca University of Dance, German Dance Archive Cologne, German Dance Film Institute Bremen, Media Library for Dance and Theater at the International Theater Institute Germany, Dance Archive Leipzig.
The event is organized by the Academy of Arts Berlin in cooperation with the Association of German Dance Archives and the Dance Germany umbrella organization.

Organized as part of the “Cultural Heritage Dance” project, funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.