Designing and Executing the Survey
The aim of the online survey was to determine the expectations, opinions, experiences, and desires of dance enthusiasts in Berlin with regard to dance education and outreach – both dance education and outreach work in general and a “Tanzvermittlungszentrum” in particular. In order to achieve this objective, an online questionnaire was compiled comprising a total of 34 questions, which were subdivided into the following separate areas or sections:
- General information about dance education and outreach
- Stakeholders within dance education and outreach
- Implementing individual dance education and community engagement formats
- Participating in dance education and community engagement formats
- Inclusion and accessibility
- Support structures for dance education and outreach work
- Vision for a Berliner Tanzvermittlungszentrum
- Sociodemographic information
The team responsible for supervising the conception phase helped to design both the selection of questions and the structure of the survey. We placed a great deal of emphasis on ensuring an inclusive and accessible design. One important aspect here was the use of inclusive, non-discriminatory, and gender-sensitive language. The survey was offered to participants in two languages (German and English), and a translation into sign language was also provided in video form. The survey was also offered in plain language in order to enable the broadest possible scope for participation, irrespective of people’s abilities or disabilities. Because of the reduction in information that a translation into plain language inevitably entails, a separate survey consisting of ten questions had to be developed for this. Ultimately, our focus was on ensuring a straightforward design and use (simple, intelligible questions, clear layout, nice, high-contrast colours, etc.), as well as an appropriate length or duration (it took approximately 10–15 minutes to fill out).
The survey consisted of a series of questions with multiple predetermined responses that respondents could click on, as well as open-answer questions that participants could respond to freely. The predetermined responses were only intended to act as prompts and to demonstrate possible answers and to inspire the respondent to expand and supplement their response. For all of the questions relating to content, participants were given the option of uploading their response in video format. This was primarily intended to allow people who speak sign language to adequately participate in the survey. Some of the questions also gave participants the opportunity to upload their own responses in the form of text, image, audio, and video. The survey was conducted for a total of three weeks (11 February –3 March 2021). Participation was voluntary, all data was collected anonymously, cannot be attributed to any individual person, and was handled with the strictest confidence.
The survey was emailed to a number of different networks, posted on several websites, and promoted on social media. A total of 273 respondents answered the main survey (197 in German and 76 in English), but only 96 fully completed it. The survey conducted in plain language was started by a total of 28 participants and ultimately completed by 13.
Analysing the Collected Data
The Participants
Both surveys were primarily answered by women (75 per cent in the main survey and 67 per cent in the plain-language survey). The majority of participants were between 30–49 years of age (68 per cent), live and work in Berlin (81 and 77 per cent respectively), and have completed a university degree (72 per cent). Almost all of the respondents speak German or English (94 and 93 per cent respectively). More than 65 per cent of the respondents reported having experienced discrimination first-hand – 46 per cent on the basis of gender and roughly 16 per cent each on the basis of age and social and/or educational background.
General Remarks About Dance Education and Outreach
Opinions were relatively balanced with regard to the meaning of the term “education” (vermittlung), as it relates to dance: more than 80 per cent of respondents understood the term to refer to cultural education, and 68 per cent dance education; 65 per cent believed it referred to the accompanying events that take place before or after a dance piece, or to the artistic working process (61 per cent). Other interpretations of the term from the open-answer sections concerned things like working with the body, self-discovery through dance and movement, making artistic dance content more accessible, and bridging or facilitating exchange between artists and audiences.
For me, Tanzvermittlung is an umbrella term used to refer to a number of different activities in the field of dance and culture. Above all, it refers to body and movement. Tanzvermittlung is anything that engenders a better understanding of dance and makes the field more accessible to all people by using all forms of communication to build a bridge between the experience of dance and life in general. (Quote from survey)
The following are among some of the familiar/meaningful formats of dance education and audience engagement that were mentioned by respondents: feedback rounds following a performance, artist talks with the audience, workshops, public discussions, pre- and post-performance formats, school projects and dance projects in the sphere of cultural education with a presentational dimension, multidisciplinary mediation concepts, introductions to dance pieces, dance classes (both face-to-face and virtual), accompanying materials (videos, brochures, posters, photos, etc.), documentation.
Stakeholders Within Dance Education and Outreach
More than half of all survey respondents work as dancers (58 per cent), choreographers (50 per cent) or dance instructors (40 per cent) and are primarily employed in the following working contexts: dance institution (52 per cent), theatre (47 per cent), dance studio/dance school (36 per cent), and in the social and/or educational sector (30 per cent).
Implementing Individual Dance Education and Community Engagement Formats
The dance education and community engagement formats that had most commonly been devised and/or implemented by the respondents include: workshop (77 per cent), project/piece development (60 per cent), regular classes (54 per cent), as well as public discussion (48 per cent) and an independent artistic format (36 per cent).
These formats were primarily implemented in theatres (63 per cent), dance institutions (58 per cent), dance studios/dance schools (54 per cent), public spaces (52 per cent) or schools (45 per cent) and were predominantly utilised by the following target groups: adults (78 per cent), young people (65 per cent), mixed and/or general audiences (58 per cent), children (52 per cent), professionals (42 per cent) and people with disabilities (27 per cent).
Participating in Dance Education and Community Engagement Formats
The survey respondents primarily engage in the following forms of dance education or community engagement: workshop (87 percent), audience/public discussion (77 percent), regular classes (62 percent) and project/piece development (60 percent). These formats were predominantly implemented in dance institutions (88 percent), theatres (85 percent), dance studios/dance schools (68 percent), in public spaces (46 percent), or in galleries/museums (42 percent).
Elements that respondents particularly liked or considered important include being able to meet dancers and choreographers (73 per cent), learning about dance (71 per cent), creating/building something collaboratively and exchanging with other members of the viewing audience (62 per cent), moving and being among people (61 per cent), having a good time (60 per cent), feeling valued (59 per cent), interacting with people whom they would otherwise not normally encounter (56 per cent), being able to participate (55 per cent) and express themselves (53 per cent).
The following are among some of the desired improvements to these formats that were mentioned by respondents: more transparency in terms of what kinds of services are on offer, more inclusivity and accessibility, more interdisciplinary work, more diverse formats for different target groups, more attention to the social significance and the emotional dimension of dance and movement, separating “communication” from “pedagogy”, as well as being less “elitist” and having a greater social impact.
Inclusion and Accessibility
More than a third of respondents (42 per cent) implement their own accessible formats and services. These formats are primarily accessible to people with impaired mobility or people who use wheelchairs or other walking aids (87 per cent), people with impaired vision (67 per cent), people with speech impediments (59 per cent), people with learning disabilities (54 per cent), and people with neurodiverse conditions and people with mental illnesses (49 per cent). The primary target groups for these services are adults (74 per cent), young people (59 per cent), and mixed and/or general audiences (49 per cent).
Almost half of all survey respondents reported taking part in formats and services that are designed to be accessible (47 percent). These are primarily accessible to people with impaired mobility or people who use wheelchairs or other walking aids (76 per cent), people with impaired vision (51 per cent), people with speech impediments (39 per cent), and people who are deaf or hearing-impaired (32 per cent). Here, the main target groups are once again adults (80 per cent), mixed and/or general audiences (44 per cent), and young people (37 per cent).
The greatest obstacles and challenges to ensuring accessibility and inclusivity – both in terms of developing/implementing and participating in dance education and community engagement formats – include the following criteria: premises are not wheelchair accessible (77 per cent), people with disabilities do not feel welcome (66 per cent), services on offer do not provide sign-language translation (60 per cent), wheelchair accessibility is not sufficiently communicated or visible (58 per cent), services on offer do not provide audio description (55 per cent), services are only offered in German and website or promotional material is not designed to be accessible (50 per cent).
Support Structures for Dance Education and Outreach Work
Almost half of all respondents are aware of and/or have made use of one or more of the funding options available for dance education and outreach work (48 per cent); at the same time, more than half of all respondents stated that they require advice with regard to funding options (52 per cent).
Vision for a Berliner Tanzvermittlungszentrum
The survey respondents expressed the expectation or rather desire to see a future incarnation of the Berliner Tanzvermittlungszentrum as an independent structure/institution that forges connections between differing urban realities and target groups, and that allows for a structure that is both lively and participatory.
The centre should be an accessible, non-discriminatory, non-hierarchical, welcoming, and easy-to-reach site that offers the following or should undertake the following tasks: funding, diversity (in terms of both services and target groups and dance styles and formats), contact, openness, communication by means of practice/collaboration with the most varied spheres of society, coordination, exchange, networking, consultation, collating and disseminating information, pooling expertise, transparency, opportunities for reflection, further education, lobbying work and interest groups, courses and workshops, training spaces, communication, piece development, developing an overall strategy, creating a standardised platform and research options.
In terms of the centre’s location, most respondents are of the opinion that the centre should have a permanent, central location (34 per cent), but at the same time operate in a decentralised manner (27 per cent) and provide mobile services (19 per cent).
The survey respondents identified the following challenges, obstacles, and support requirements, in the field of dance education and outreach: achieving a common definition, ensuring accessibility, funding, pandemic-induced restructuring of the art scene, transparency in the dance scene, increased visibility and integration of dance into broader society, more participatory concept development, more accessibility for target groups that have thus far been overlooked, addressing the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, fair distribution of resources and knowledge, difficulty of access for educators who are not professionally trained in dance.
