Final Activity Report Jardin d Europe October 2013

Transcription

1 Final Activity Report Jardin d Europe October 2013 The vibrant growing transnational Contemporary Dance scene in Europe is affected by strong structural changes and undergoes precarious economic and social conditions making the setup of new structures for dance practice utmost necessary. The Jardin d Europe project (1st July th June 2013) was committed to establish a sustainable infrastructure for the professionalization of the contemporary dance and performance sector on a European level, relying on the expertise of its network partners, addressing the needs of all the players in the field artists, teachers, dance critics and dance administrators, developing best-practice and innovative activities including a self evaluation approach, and taking up the challenge of presentation of dance in the public sphere with the creation of the Prix Jardin d Europe for young choreographers. Jardin d Europe comprised a network of 10 co-organizers and 11 associated partners combining structurally small and big players, with an equal number of main partners in the Western part of Europe and in the Balkan countries. The sharing of a European attitude, the quality partnership and the coordinated approach of the project co-organisers enabled to provide the dance makers and further stakeholders with relevant models and frameworks for collective dance practice in a European context. These activities and creative environments stimulated the intercultural dialogue between transnational players, fostered knowledge transfer between individuals and communities and ensured the connection of local/regional dance communities with the European dance scene, hence setting a European value regime for the Contemporary Dance sector. As a comprehensive project, Jardin d Europe combined best-practice models (Scholarship Programme for young dancers and choreographers and co-production model with a European dimension) and innovative tools. It experienced successfully creative education activities in dance teaching (teaching the teachers), training of young dance critics (Critical Endeavour) and capacity-building of dance administrators (Support System). Thanks to a system of privileged partnerships between the network members, it set up a very productive and flexible format of residency for artists of the dance field and of related art forms (Wild Cards). Within the frame of Jardin d Europe, Balkan partner NOMAD, an open structure dedicated to the establishment of the dance and performance community in this region, benefited from an increased interconnectedness with the European dance scene and 1

2 upgraded its activities in the field of education with an in-depth reflection and research process. Finally, the Jardin d Europe project development was accompanied by on-going self-reflection and self-evaluation (Action Research) in form of a collective thorough documentation of the project activities published online and in print media, and realized in connection with further partner institutions (universities, research institutes, virtual art labs and dance academies). The Prix Jardin d Europe for young choreographers endowed with euros and awarded each year in the frame of a European festival (in Vienna, Brussels, Istanbul and Bucharest) strongly stimulated the positioning of young European choreographers, facilitated the presentation of Contemporary Dance in the public sphere, hence contributing to its acknowledgement and reception by larger audiences. Jardin d Europe contributed empowering the players of the Contemporary Dance field on the labour market while supporting career development and providing job opportunities. The Jardin d Europe network developed frameworks in which a collective practice of dance is possible, thus empowering the otherwise very individualized dance community on the European level and hopefully laying the foundations for a collective new imagination for Europe in the future. The Concept Jardin d Europe / JdE The five-year project Jardin d Europe (July 1st June 30th 2013) was committed to contribute to the development of Contemporary Dance practice on a European level while establishing a sustainable European infrastructure for the professionalization of the dance sector. After the conclusion of the project, time has come to reflect on its main grounds: what is the relevance of carrying a project of this nature in a European setting? In what way does an enlarged network of 10 dance organisations and 11 associated partners provide a productive collective structure? How does a comprehensive project with activities in training, production, mediation, audience development, and aimed at the stakeholders of the whole dance sector (dancers, choreographers, teachers, dance critics, dance administrators) design dance practice and meet the needs of the dance sector on the labour market? What are the achievements of the cooperation with Balkan dance networks? The growing contemporary dance sector in Europe is undergoing an increasing and lasting social and economic insecurity, a situation which has worsen since the economic crisis in 2

3 2008. Funding of culture is severely endangered in several European countries and its principle is challenged by governments refusing to put support of culture on their political agenda any longer. As a relatively new art form as compared with theatre and music, Contemporary Dance is all the more exposed to drastic cuts. What is also extremely worrying is the fact that even in so-called favourable contexts (e.g. Belgium), the performing artists have a persistent difficulty to build up a stable work situation. As a consequence of the fragmentation of company structures, the dance sector is made of a transnational community of highly mobile dancers job-hopping in a system where freelancing is the rule. They comprise a cosmoproletariat devised of workers whose high transnational mobility and flexibility make them at their expense the spearheads of neoliberalism. It is with regard to this situation, that the project Jardin d Europe has undertaken to overcome the precarious status of the dance sector in a European setting, as there is no relevance to attempt to build up the Contemporary Dance scene on a national level. The European network of the project partners proved to build a relevant collective structure as it fulfilled its role as facilitator while developing cooperative partnerships and providing work and performance spaces and quality environments for the artists/critics/teachers. The Jardin d Europe partner organizations enabled the participants to the project activities (in creative training, residencies, capacity building in dance administration) to be embedded in productive quality contexts fostering professional and artistic development. They contributed to a positive networkization in the Contemporary Dance sector. On one side, they build a circuit upgrading the production, circulation, mediation and presentation of dance players and dance works - co-productions of the network could be presented in festivals hosting the Prix Jardin d Europe, artistic residencies could lead onto works, the creative education programmes teaching the teachers and Critical Endeavour became blueprints as they were organized later on in national contexts in Romania and Turkey). On the other side, the dance organisations provided quality settings and customized support for artists in residence. That way, they contributed to create relevant vertical frameworks. In short, the Jardin d Europe project could provide a collective structure stimulating a quality growth, circulation and presentation of dance artists and dance works, and proposing quality contexts favourable to a creative and experimental dance practice. 3

4 II. Assessment of the process The network as productive collective structure The Jardin d Europe project has been operated by a network of ten dance organisations and 11 associated partners, with an equal partition of the co-organizers in Western and in (South)-Eastern countries. The network comprised dance organizations with different structures reflecting the diversity of the cultural backgrounds in Europe: national dance centres (Centre chrorégraphique de Montpellier/FR, Southbank Centre/UK), dance companies (Cullberg Ballet/SE, Ultima Vez/BE), festivals (Bimeras/TR, 4Culture /RO), dance associations and networks (Workshop Foundation/HU, Station/RS, Lokomotiva/MK, danceweb/at). Whatever their structure, all organizations shared a common artistic value regime and a resolute European attitude. All of them were aware of the shortcomings of a local or national approach in developing the Contemporary Dance sector and were committed to engage in processes connecting local organisations and dance communities to a European context and in activities best-practice and innovative, empowering the players of the Contemporary Dance sector on a professional, artistic and cultural level. The mentorship of the network members, who already had an overview of the dance sector s specific needs and practices in their own context, was strengthened as they got insight in the further dance scenes in Europe. For partners operating in countries suffering from a lack of cultural policy at the national level like in Serbia and Macedonia, as well as in countries undergoing pervading nationalism like Hungary, participation in a European project was vital as a counterpoint of political failings. The network implemented the eight programme elements of Jardin d Europe by means of exchange and collaboration with each other and with the artists/participants involved in the activities. Quality partnership ensued from on-going cooperation: privileged partnerships for the implementation of residencies (Wild Cards) through one year pairing of dance organizations enabled an in-depth cooperation between European dance organizations, which never had such an opportunity until then. Furthermore, the development of the project proved to enhance partnerships, e.g. between Ultima Vez and Workspace Brussels, whose structures were very complementary for the realisation of Jardin d Europe residencies. The project Jardin d Europe could also benefit from the evolution of the structures of two partners. The association 4Culture in Bucharest, who organizes the explore Dance Festival, was empowered by its new office and studios, WASP, offering 2 studios and a space of 500 square meters in an old factory. Ultima Vez, Wim Vandekeybus renowned company in 4

5 Brussels is now able to host residencies and provide space for the realisation of coproductions, as its new office has 2 studios available for that purpose. In short, the process of the Jardin d Europe project generated a structural model for dance practice on a European level, based on a network of dance organisations with both a horizontal and a vertical capacity. Coooperation and administration The cooperation between the project partners has been facilitated by their participation to 17 meetings over the five-year period of the Jardin d Europe project seven general meetings hosted by one of the co-organizers or associated partners (Vienna/2008, Sofia/2009, Brussels/2009, Istanbul/2010, Bucharest/2011, Vienna/ ) and ten advisory visits or so of danceweb staff members and linked with the organisation of the Prix Jardin d Europe in Brussels and the implementation of activities by co-organizers in Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, London and Montpellier. On the agenda of the general meetings were the review and evaluation of past activities, the concrete planning of coming ones, the mapping of the different cultural contexts and the handling of specific issues (e.g. shortage of funding in some countries following the economic crisis). These meetings were also important as they strongly contributed to confidence-building between the project partners coming from very different contexts, hence guaranteeing a smooth cooperation between them by the implementation of the Jardin d Europe activities. Furthermore they gave the opportunity to meet and exchange with the local scenes. Every co-organizer has been responsible for the implementation of the programme activities in his/her country, whereas the Vienna-based association danceweb as co-ordinator of the project has been responsible for the administrative and financial matters relevant for the whole project. It was in charge of monitoring of the project implementation and continuously supervising the budget. The management of danceweb fostered the involvement and motivation of the partners and strongly advocated on-going communication between all network partners. In this respect, it coordinated a common intervention of the network towards the Romanian Ministry of Culture failing to financially support the Romanian project partner. 5

6 Public relations and advocacy In their meeting in Istanbul in 2010, the co-organizers considered necessary to push public relations work to enhance the visibility of the Jardin d Europe project and to develop advocacy work for Contemporary Dance and culture in general, as a response to the general context of crisis and endangering of funding of culture. As project coordinator, danceweb undertook the press and PR work for Jardin d Europe with the support of the press department of the festival ImPulsTanz, its related partner in Vienna. It promoted the activities of the whole project, especially the Prix Jardin d Europe and set a plan both to establishing Jardin d Europe as a quality brand in the field of contemporary dance in Europe and to advocating for support for culture to European institutions. III. Outputs of the Jardin d Europe activities _1 Prix Jardin d Europe Increasing and broadening audiences are a true challenge in the development of a dynamic and balanced European dance sector. The Prix Jardin d Europe for young choreographers has been created by the network to increase the positioning of young choreographers and the visibility of contemporary dance as an art form, hence to raise the acceptance of dance and performance by larger audiences. The Prix Jardin d Europe has been awarded each year in the frame of a festival organized by one of the project co-organizers or associated partners: ImPulsTanz-Vienna International Dance Festival (2008 and 2012), Working Title Festival in Brussels (2009), Festival idans in Istanbul - European Capital of Culture (2010), explore dance festival in Bucharest (2011). Each festival hosted 10 to 24 choreographic pieces by young choreographers, the awardwinner being selected by a jury composed either of young dance critics participating in the programme Critical Endeavour (Vienna 2008, Istanbul 2010, Bucharest 2011) or by an independent jury nominated by the network (Brussels 2009, Vienna 2012). The Prix Jardin d Europe was directly connected with the co-production activity of the network, as at least four works co-produced by the network partners were to be nominated for the award. This construction provided performance opportunities for dance works coproduced by the network, rooted the organisation of the award in already existing and expanding festivals in several European cities and connected young dance critics and media 6

7 for its organisation and mediation (Critical Endeavour). Furthermore, in addition to the Prix Jardin d Europe, the juries selected further award winners to encourage their works and to provide them with a public exposure: altogether 18 artists were rewarded. In this setting, the Prix Jardin d Europe was a cluster connecting both different stakeholders (artists, dance critics, media, audiences) and different functions (co-production, distribution, mediation, audience outreach). With 96 co-produced works in the course of the project, the co-production model devised by the network proved to be a very productive one. The festivals hosting the Prix built a circuit of hotspots, which guaranteed visibility and stimulated the positioning of young European choreographers. The Prix Jardin d Europe contributed to public presentation of dance works, to stronger exposure of young choreographers and to the recognition of Contemporary Dance by larger audiences. It also took up the challenge of public presentation of dance, which is not easily tackled by contemporary dance artists, putting it on the agenda of the European Contemporary Dance sector. Further elements contributed to make of the Prix Jardin d Europe a benchmark in the European dance community: It is endowed with a high amount of money ( euros) and it was upgraded by the collaboration with visual artists, among them internationally renowned Austrian artists Franz West and Erwin Wurm. _2 Critical Endeavour Mediation of Contemporary Dance and performance is a challenge as dance nowadays touches on highly diverse practices and also defines itself through its extreme difference from an extremely mediatised society. The five Critical Endeavour sessions attended by young European dance critics stimulated critical writing in a journalistic context and international dance criticism. This experimental programme took place each year in the frame of the Prix Jardin d Europe as it was planned that the participants to Critical Endeavour composed the jury selecting the award-winner. Nevertheless, the coaches of Critical Endeavour in Brussels (2009) and in Vienna (2012), considering that the two tasks - critical writing and jury activity, were too demanding in such a short time, asked the network to be able to focus their coaching only on writing, dropping out the jury task which would be taken over by an independent jury. The co-organizers discussed and accepted these propositions during their meeting, considering that the primary goal of Critical Endeavour, which was to develop critical writing, was fulfilled. 7

8 As the programme was concerned with the public role of dance critics and with reaching audiences, co-operations with newspapers, magazines and virtual platforms enabled the publication of articles or blogs by participants either in print or online media. Furthermore, in Brussels and Istanbul, research institutions (Flemish Theatre Institute, virtual artlab SARMA and the University in Istanbul) were involved in the project, ensuring the outreach of this experimental activity. Critical Endeavour has raised awareness for the building up of dance critic both in a journalist and a scientific context and has contributed to groom the next generation of dance critics. A direct output of the programme was the organization of Critical Endeavour at the University of Istanbul for Turkish emerging journalists and each at the explore Festival in Bucharest. _3 teaching the teachers/ttt teaching the teachers introduced new approaches in dance teaching, meeting the needs of Contemporary Dance artists for diverse and individual knowledge, flexibility and capacity to develop opportunities for artistic and professional work. ttt is a research activity about dance education as being close to an artistic process, exploring the similarities between current forms of teaching and producing dance. This experimental format comprised 16 modules in which the participants were engaged in a research discovery process based on the sharing of experiences through peer-to-peer discussions. Each ttt module has been organized in cooperation with a local institution University, dance academy, festival, and involved the local dance communities. To secure knowledge transfer, hosts of ttt modules were including one or more artists from previous modules and publications about results were issued by the ttt organizers in Stockholm, Bucharest and Budapest. ttt created a reflection space for artists and dance teachers about the methods of learning and teaching. The connection with local dance scenes and institutions enabled to stimulate valuable debates about relevant approaches in generating knowledge. This ground-breaking activity proved to be quite in line with present-day dance and performance practice centred on a critical and reflexive approach to dance. The involvement of both dance institutions and dance communities enabled a fruitful broadening out of the experiments and ensured debates in the public sphere. As Critical Endeavour, the ttt format has become a blueprint (e.g. a ttt module was organized in New York and in Ljubljana by Slovenian member of NOMAD). 8

9 _4 NOMAD NOMAD is a network of dance associations in six Balkan countries designed to establish a professional socially relevant Contemporary Dance scene in this part of Europe. Two of its partners, STATION in Belgrade and Lokomotiva in Skopje were co-organizers of the Jardin d Europe project. From the outset, the cooperation with NOMAD has been based on the strong convergence of its own work directions in education, production, research and enhancement of visibility of dance, with the ones of other members of the project Jardin d Europe. Through this setting, the stakeholders of the dance scene in the whole Balkan region could be addressed. The cooperation in the frame of Jardin d Europe proved to be very productive, enabling an on-going connection of the Balkan dance scene with the European dance scene through artistic exchanges in the frame of residencies, co-production of works, teaching the teachers and Critical Endeavour modules, and capacity building of dance administrators. As a token of the vividness of the Balkan dance scene, two of the Prix Jardin d Europe were awarded to Balkan artists, Dalija Acin in Vienna/2008 and a Romanian-Serbian artistic collective (Maria Baroncea, Eduard Gabia, Dragana Bulut) in Istanbul/2010. Furthermore, the Jardin d Europe project brought to light the need for theoretical work and publications on dance and performance in this region, with the aim to establish common theoretical grounds for contemporary dance practitioners. As a consequence, this in-depth knowledge transfer led to a repositioning and upgrading of NOMAD. Instead of diversifying its activities, NOMAD introduced a shift of paradigm, placing all its activities under the perspective of education ( It s all education ) and collective knowledge considered as means to build identity and stimulate social and political change. A challenge for the independent dance scene in the Balkans is the lack of recognition by policy makers (except in Croatia and Slovenia), as compared with other European countries, as well as a resilient democratic deficit. If the Jardin d Europe project definitely contributed to empower the Balkan dance community in these countries, it could not have yet an impact on their cultural policies. In a recent advocacy project aiming at urging policy-makers to support the vivid Balkan dance community it has contributed to establish, NOMAD invited danceweb, as coordinator of Jardin d Europe to participate in the project as an advisor. Once more, NOMAD has proved to be innovative in its approach, but it is still too early to know if policy-makers will react accordingly. 9

10 _5 Support System/SuSy As the dance sector is more and more operating in very fragile configurations (open organisations, projects oriented activities) and as the artists have to act as entrepreneurial individuals, there is a strong need for building up dance administrators capable to manage productions and tours on a local, national and European level, and to find funding opportunities and sponsors as well as work spaces. The Support System programme ensured that young dance administrators benefit from a training in dance administration through an internship in the different dance organisations of the network. Altogether 36 emerging cultural administrators participated in 45 SuSy opportunities ranging from a few months to several years, the latter to ensure a sustainable effect (10 internships in Bimeras/Istanbul with 6 participants, 10 in CCN Montpellier/France with 10 participants, 6 in dance WEB/Vienna with 6 participants, 6 in NOMAD/Macedonia and Serbia with 4 participants, 2 in South Bank Centre London, 5 in Ultima Vez/Brussels with 4 participants, 10 in Workshop Foundation/Budapest with 7 participants) This programme proved to be utmost successful as their beneficiaries could afterward be engaged by dance companies or dance institutions, both in Western and South-Eastern countries. _6 Scholarship Programme The Scholarship Programme for young dance makers and further artists in related artistic fields is a best-practice model of further training on the European level, which continued in the frame of Jardin d Europe. It provides young artists major strands of experience important for their practice as freelance artists within dance and performance today: workshops, performances, meetings with other artists from all over the world, artistic inspiration and learning from peers. The 5-week Scholarships program, which took place each summer in the frame of the ImPulsTanz Festival in Vienna, benefited to altogether 329 participants from 64 countries. The programme gives international young artists free access to the educational, social and artistic resources of the festival: each year with 200 workshops, 100 performances, 300 dance films, meeting and exchange possibilities with international professional artists and programmers, and introduction to several artists network models. Additionally, the participants benefit both as a group and individually from the support of an artistic mentor selected among leading international artists (2008: DD Dorvillier (FR) and Trajal Harrell (US), 2009: Philipp Gehmacher (AT) and Christine De Smedt (BE), 2010: Sarah Michelson (UK/US) and Yasuka Yokoshi (JP/US), 2011: Boyzie Cekwana (SA) and Isabelle Schad (DE), 2012: Benoît Lachambre and Robin Poitras (CA). 10

11 All coorganizers were involved in the nomination of the WEBbers - the final selection being done by the relevant mentor, and they made propositions for the selection of the mentor. For its participants, the danceweb Scholarship Programme marks a crucial step in their career development on a European level. Also, it is an incentive to initiate new networks already during the course of the programme and it strongly stimulates their further professional and artistic development. 7. Wild cards 92 Wild Cards (Residencies) with 201 participants have been realized in the course of Jardin d Europe, a number proving how appropriate this flexible form of support is for the development of the dance and performance scene. They provide creative nomadic contexts in which artists with different backgrounds can develop professionally and artistically while experiencing intercultural dialogue in a creative context. They are an opened format in line with the capacity of the network dance organisations: each co-organizer offers slots in education programmes, residency spaces with technical and dramaturgical support or workshops. The Wild Cards also generate a European value as they are proposed to emerging/mid-career dance artists coming from another country than the one of the hosting organization. This activity strongly benefited of privileged partnerships based on pairing up of two co-organisers during a year ensuring multiple exchanges over the 5-year period of the project as well as offering the relevant national scenes different possibilities every year. The Wild cards activity strongly emphasized the exchange among the Jardin d Europe network partners and among the artists of all European regions. They contributed to indepth intercultural dialogue between organisations and artists with very heterogeneous structures and backgrounds. This activity is beneficial for all sectors of the dance and performance field, thus ensuring the creation and further development of jobs in the Contemporary Dance field. Consequently far more wild cards were offered as originally planned, following synergies being created in the network. _8 Action Research Action Research has been designed as codifying tool of the projects and experiences to further their transmission and as on-going self-reflection and self-evaluation tool for the network, the participants to the activities and the dance sector. Based on a participatory approach, a thorough documentation on all the project activities was provided by first hand reports of the participants to the danceweb Scholarship Programme, teaching the teachers, 11

12 Critical Endeavour, Support System and Wild Cards (Residencies). Currently 441 feedback reports are accessible on the Jardin d Europe website, which is designed as information, working and archive tool, providing an encompassing database for all the activities. Some activities reports were also on other websites of associated partners (e.g. SARMA discursive laboratory for dance in Brussels, Nordic Master in Performance Studies in Sweden, Flemish Theatre Institute). Further on 6 publications, which came out in the frame of the project, are available on the Jardin d Europe website as downloads. This documentation as well as further online blogs are liable to developing a theoretical reflexion on dance and to becoming a tool for further education programmes (e.g. Turkish idans blog on dance criticism designed as tool for further Critical Endeavour programmes, brochure on a ttt module in Budapest including interviews of Hungarian dance players reflecting on the current needs on dance education in an institution like the Dance Academy). The Action research activity has been developed by NOMAD in a special direction, due to the strong culture of evaluation among the Balkan partners and to the need for collective theoretical grounds for dance practice in the Balkan countries. As a result, three collective publications were published that also benefited of a public presentation in Belgrade and Vienna. Beneficiaries: outputs as compared with the objectives > around 557 emerging dance artists from all the regions benefited from the further education schemes (Scholarship Programme, NOMAD, Wild Cards) as compared to 400 originally planned > 96 co-productions were realised as compared to 60 co-productions planned > 159 teachers participated in teaching the teachers as compared to 150 planned > 49 dance critics and journalists were involved in Critical Endeavour as compared to 50 planned > 45 SuSy internships were offered to 36 cultural administrators (some of them got a longer training) as compared to 35 internships planned Our estimation of active beneficiaries and passive recipients all over Europe (general audiences in theatres, visits on the website, blogs et al.) over the five years seems to be realistic. 12

13 IV. Outcomes of the Jardin d Europe project Economic and social outcomes The Jardin d Europe activities of co-production contributed to the growth of the production of Contemporary Dance works based on a European co-production model (92 co-produced choreographic pieces and further interdisciplinary works beside 60 planned). The Jardin d Europe co-production model proves to function as leverage for further funding for the works whereas the network of dance organisations works as facilitator for their production, distribution and presentation. The Jardin d Europe capacity-building activity for dance administrators contributed to establish a sustainable managerial infrastructure for production, dissemination and mediation of Contemporary Dance. The professional competences the young dance administrators gained through internships in partner organisations (Support System) were immediately recognized as all the beneficiaries got afterwards employed in small dance companies or larger dance organisations. The Jardin d Europe training activities addressing young artists (Scholarship Programme), teachers (teaching the teachers) and dance critics (Critical Endeavour) strengthened the professional, social, artistic and intercultural competence of these players. These programmes were not only centred on the acquisition of technical competences. They increased the interconnectedness of their beneficiaries to important stakeholders and networks and exposed them to contexts with a European dimension. In this respect, they contributed to empower their participants to enter the labour market. Based on their quality partnership, the network members created working environments for entrepreneurial and emancipated individuals, while providing a framework for creative processes and creating opportunities for experimenting and research. The residencies (Wild Cards) built up such a framework, providing financial support and spaces to work, as well as content-based and artistic input (dramaturgical support, feedbacks) and opportunities to present works. In offering genuine opportunities for experimenting, research and creative work, the Jardin d Europe project contributed to developing alternative sustainable social and economic models. This way, it lays the foundations to overcome the precarious status of dancers and performers marked among other things by individualization and very fragile configurations. At the same time, these environments with a European dimension 13

14 organisations hosting artists from other nationalities as their own, cooperation between artists from different nationalities foster the transnational mobility of the European communication community of dance makers and further players of the dance sector. The intense reflection on dance developed in the Jardin d Europe activities in the field of dance teaching, dance writing - on dance both in a journalistic and theoretical contexts, and self evaluation ensured a vivid knowledge transfer at individual and collective level, between artists and stakeholders as well as between networks (Balkan network and partner organisations in Western Europe). It contributed to weaving a set of collective benchmarks for the dance community and to setting up an art specific value regime liable to become the backbone of the European dance sector in the future. Strengthening the presence of contemporary dance in public space The challenge of presentation of dance and of audience development has been taken up through a set of measures intended to converge and enhance each other and aimed at strengthening the presence of Contemporary Dance and performance in the public sphere. The Prix Jardin d Europe for young choreographers endowed with euros strongly enhanced the visibility of artists and of contemporary dance as an art form hence creating a relevant public arena for Contemporary Dance. The Prix Jardin d Europe is recognized by the dance community in Europe as THE award for dance and is a gateway for exposing contemporary dance to wider audiences and mass medias. Furthermore, the intensive Public relation work initiated in the course of the Jardin d Europe project - PR work on a national and European level, creation of a Jardin d Europe emblem, advocacy for Contemporary Dance by national and European institutions- should at mid-term contribute to establishing Jardin d Europe as a benchmark for Contemporary Dance Practice in Europe. 14