360° - Building Strategies for Communication in Contemporary Dance (BCSD) aims to bridge a gap identified both in the formal education for dance and in the professional field for choreographers. Choreographers are trained to a high level physically, but need specific skills and particular awareness related to the context of the dynamic European creative industry. This target group needs the tools and language to express themselves beyond their physical vocabulary and terminology, in order to communicate with the public and their peers. They need to formulate their ideas or desires clearly to a potential producer, they need to be able to communicate about their work in a clear manner and be aware of the various methods they can use and which on- and offline channels are best to use. They need to distinguish various ways of communication to different target groups like their dancers, team members, audiences, presenters, politicians and funding bodies.However, these needs are not addressed within the course of their formal education, nor is there any information on communication methods or strategies available at professional level relevant to their field. Instead, communicating in a multifaceted way is something that choreographers are finding out ad-hoc and through trial and error as they work. This model does not support efficiency or sector development in a time when strong communication skills are needed more than ever within the context of the professional field today, where governmental financial support has decreased and both cultural institutions as the independent artists need to act as entrepreneurs.In order to equip choreographers with strong communication skills, tools, possible methods and strategies, the project partners have designed BCSD: Through transnational meetings, the partner organisations will share best practices, research, analyse and identify essential information to develop content. Each partner organisation will host a meeting with specific experts on the topic from their national context to work with the general experts brought from each of the other partner organisations::Dance Ireland, Dublin: Introduction to Communication in Dance. Dansateliers, Rotterdam: Communicating an artistic fingerprint, developing an authentic narrative. Le Pacifique, Grenoble: Researching and identifying relevant audiences and stakeholders for your work and to adjusting language and communication strategies appropriately.CSC, Bassano Del Grappa: Informing and engaging the audience.K3, Hamburg: Mapping online communication channels and how to best use them.HIPP, Zagreb: Will contribute to the design of the first and third Work Session from their specific context.This knowledge will be gathered to produce an online publication as an outcome to inform choreographers in various stages of their career. This publication will consist of five chapters which represent the knowledge generated at each transnational meeting, which will have been generated by a writer participating in the project. The aim of each chapter is to provide the target group with essential information and tools for communication and prepare them for the challenges of the professional dance sector. Concrete objectives are to research, identify, share and analyse best practices in the field of communication in dance and to develop an online publication assembling a 360° point of view that serves as a handbook for choreographers. Thus BSCD analyses and systematises on-the-job communication experiences, tools and methods of key persons and experts and creates a transdisciplinary approach between key persons and experts from various backgrounds; writers, directors, communication people, choreographers, dramaturgs. BSCD enhances communication competences in order to empower the position of dance and raise its competitiveness.Through both the best practice research phase and gathering this information in an online publication the project aims to provide a learning tool for communication and to enhance communication competences, tools and skills. This also maps out communication tools which enables choreographers to improve their employability and their communication skills and competences in order to enable choreographers to manage, motivate and inspire their teams and collaborators, due to a broadened knowledge of on- and offline communication channels.The project's' long term objective is to strengthen the contemporary dance sector in Europe and to raise its visibility among other segments of the European creative industry market.Methods include Peer-to-peer exchange of good practices, assisted by experts from the communication field; working in transdisciplinary, transnational teams; developing content through practice; expert interviews. Per transnational meeting a concrete outcome will be developed in the form of a research result, which is the base for a chapter to be developed covering the specific topic addressed.
'360°: Building Strategies for Communication in Contemporary Dance', a project funded under the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission, is the result of the work of 6 European dance organisations who collaborated over a period of 16 months. Through 7 transnational meetings, they engaged with over 50 dance professionals across Europe, to develop an online publication to support choreographers, dance makers and dance practitioners to deepen their skills, methods and approaches to communication with the diverse stakeholders they encounter throughout their careers. Dance professionals are trained to be experts in communicating their thoughts through movement, but they often lack fundamental skills and competences when it comes to communicating this work to key stakeholders and audiences whose primary language is not movement. But strong communication skills are needed within the context of the professional field today, where governmental financial support has decreased and both cultural institutions as the independent artists need to act as entrepreneurs. Thus, dance professionals need specific communication skills and tools in order to raise their visibility and competitiveness in the field of the European creative industry. '360°' aimed at bridging this gap. The title '360°' highlights that communication in contemporary dance does not only include the traditional understanding of communication (press work, marketing, PR, etc.) but that communication starts in the moment a choreographer begins a creative process. Thus, communicating an artistic project starts at the moment an artist thinks of the next project and invites other people in. 360° communication in this sense refers to all possible people and target groups an artist might encounter during an artistic process and can include: cooperation partners, stakeholders, presenters, team members, collaborators and audiences. It can also include institutions such as funding bodies, venues, theatres and festivals and, as such it also includes the staff members of the different departments of each institution (from the technical department to the artistic director). Over the duration of the project, the directors and staff of the six European dancehouse organisations met with a range of international communication experts, dance makers and other dance practitioners who are at different stages in their artistic careers and engaging in diverse contemporary dance practices. The results of these meetings is live at the website www.communicatingdance.eu. The website is structured in three tool sections: THINK, USE and PLAY. THINK presents texts that examine keywords that emerged on the partners journey and that all partners agreed were crucial to consider for successful communication in the field of contemporary dance. USE offers a collection of practical advice, usable templates and FAQs on press and marketing issues. PLAY presents a flexible ‘game’ that inspires dance professionals to create (and play!) with their own communication plan in a visual, interactive format. The project was a learning opportunity for the staff of the partner organisations and enriched their international networks and collaborations. It was also a learning and networking opportunity for the artists and dance professionals who were invited to participate, contribute and test the tools created. Based on formal and informal feedback received to date, the project has already provided a deep learning experience to all involved, and has resulted in a visible professional development platform which will contribute to improved communication about contemporary dance among many different stakeholders. This expanded ability to communicate about the art form dance will contribute, in the longer term, to expanding the awareness and appreciation of contemporary dance in European society today and into the future. Furthermore, the project’s results will raise awareness amongst dance professionals of the importance of strategic and professional communication plans, will enhance communication skills of dance professionals and thus will strengthen their competitiveness in the creative industries' job market. Already through the duration of the project and as per its dissemination plan it was clear that the topic itself is of high interest to those working in the sector, and the project is generating interest among dance professionals, organizations and dance institutions as well as networks across EU and beyond. The toolkit is also adaptable to other cultural fields such as theatre, music and other performing arts. The project partners are renowned competence centers for dance from six countries: Centro per la Scena Contemporanea (Bassano Del Grappa), Dance Ireland (Dublin), Dansateliers (Rotterdam), Hrvatski institut za pokret i ples (Zagreb), K3 – Zentrum für Choreographie / Kampnagel Internationale Kulturfabrik GmbH (Hamburg) and La Briqueterie - CDC du Val-de-Marne (Vitry-sur-Seine).