21/11/2024, Experimentierort “Bei-Wilhelm“ in Berlin-Spandau
An event by Access Point Tanz in cooperation with Berlin Mondiale gUG, Urbane Praxis e.V., Sasha Waltz & Guests Education & Community and Sozial-kulturelle Netzwerke casa e.V.
The exchange meeting on the topic of dance (mediation) in social spaces focused primarily on the district of Spandau. The aim of the meeting was to promote exchange and networking among the participants and, in smaller working groups, engage in solution-oriented discussions based on specific topics and questions.
The event was conceived and moderated by freelance choreographer, dance mediator and urbanist Gabriele Reuter and accompanied by short movement impulses stemming from the dance mediation practice of Nora Amin (choreographer, performer, author and dance mediator) and Sarah Potrafke (project manager of youth culture initiative Move Your Kiez – Spandau, dancer, dance teacher and cultural mediator). Most of the participants were active in the fields of dance education, social work and cultural education. A unique characteristic of the participants was the mixture of social workers, employees from the district office, dance mediators and artists.
Three working groups tackled different topics. Each group discussed the following questions:
Round 1
What makes dance particularly important within the given framework?
What are our resources?
Where do we stand now?
How can we support each other?
Round 2
What could be the next steps (now, in the medium-term)?
Group A
Dance, health & movement promotion – pooling resources and opening perspectives for dance professionals
Experts: Margit Beutler (District Coordination & Social Space Orientation), Reinhard Kautz (Deputy Head of Music School Spandau), Emilie Guerin (Head of Education and the Children’s Dance Company at Sasha Waltz & Guests Education and Community), Angela Lamprianidou (Freelance Dancer / Choreographer / Dance Facilitator), Moderation: Katja Schubert-Linder (Head of Culture VHS Spandau), Protocol: Johanna Withelm
Target group: Senior citizens, adults
What makes dance particularly important within this framework?
- Dance strengthens social interaction and swarm intelligence (→ collective, non-hierarchical forms of work and movement)
- Dance is a cross-generational medium that can contribute to team building and the experience of community
- Dance strengthens physical and mental fitness, flexibility, the cardiovascular system, balance, the muscles
- Dance is a psychological strengthener / improves mental health (it reduces stress, depression, loneliness → in a non-judgmental, stress-relieving space)
Where do we stand now?
- In the health sector, educational leave for employees has primarily been instrumentalized for sport, exercise, yoga, fasting, hiking, etc. So far, it has hardly been used for dance, if at all
- An exemplary project could be: “Art on prescription” (supported by EU funds)
- Interreg Baltic: Arts on Prescription
- Gesundheit Bremen: Kunst auf Rezept
How can we support each other?
- Integrating dance more in social spaces, marrying dance and social work, dance and the promotion of health
- Combining dance with other social activities (e.g. educational clubs)
What could be the next steps?
Now:
- Create a list of all dance activities in Spandau → is being compiled by Access Point Tanz
- Introduce more dance activities in the district offices, use educational leave with 1 hour per week of paid working time for dance activities, thus furthering connections and dance knowledge among decision-makers (the “Trojan Horse” model)
In the long-term:
- Offer dance workshops / dance education to doctors, physiotherapists and psychiatrists (imparting dance knowledge through physical experience)
- Reinforce dance as a health measure / preventative measure (yoga is already covered by most health insurance companies)
- Dance as a school subject
Group B
Low-barrier neighborhood work with dance in outer districts – creating structures
Experts: Sarah Potrafke, Onur Gözüyilmaz (freelance dancer / dance mediator / social worker at OUTREACH), Ronja Kasemi (freelance dancer / choreographer / dance mediator, dance student mediator at Musikschule Spandau), Leonie Letzin (social organization “Wildwuchs”), Ivan (Kevin) Runde (project manager “Wildwuchs”, sports educator), Jana Pozmyk (freelance dancer / choreographer / dance mediator B.A.U.M. e.V. and Ensemble Regenbogen), Chada Halwani (freelance dancer / choreographer / dance mediator) Alexandre Anchour (freelance dancer / choreographer / dance mediator), moderation: Gabriele Reuter (freelance choreographer, dance mediator, urbanist), protocol: Elena Basteri (content coordinator Access Point Dance)
Target group: Young people
What makes dance particularly important within this framework?
- Dance opens doors to body and mind, which is particularly important for young people
- Dance helps to broaden focus points, can be an outlet, is self-empowering, practises togetherness, is diverse and non-verbal
- Dancing connects and promotes a sense of group spirit
- Dancing is immediate – you only need your own body
- Dance promotes mobility and is fun
- Dance strengthens self-esteem, presence
What are our resources?
A list of spaces for youth dance in Spandau is being compiled
Where do we stand now?
- What is difficult? Reaching young people and children in the first place.
- What works? Offers and activities that are directly linked to schools (such as in the school gym)
- There are several spaces that offer dance activities in Spandau (both free of charge and for a fee), but they are lacking an overview and the interlinking of spaces and actors amongst each other
How can we support each other?
- Connect better → (Important: don’t see each other as competitors, but rather build a network based on cooperation / support)
- Rotate training opportunities to get to know each other and network (location: Neue 18, possibly also Clubhouse)
- Set up networking meetings: meet once a month at one of the training sessions
- Choose a central location (e.g. Clubhouse or Neue 18) where various organizations regularly offer taster courses
What could be the next steps?
Now:
- Make a list of all active players and a list of dance spaces in Spandau to get an overview and be able to contact each other → Access Point Tanz compiles lists
- Set up a WhatsApp group to network and improve communication regarding offers, activities and students who want to change courses, etc.
In the medium-term:
- Set up low-barrier dance activities in the shopping center (free activities, rooms would have to be available free of charge / public support necessary → Example: “Jugend Point” in the Spandauer Arcaden with counseling services for young people)
- Use the know-how and political argumentation of the Care Centers Initiative / Sorgezentren Initiative
- Involve equal opportunities officers (at district level) and demand the participation of young people
- Involve business owners at the shopping centers
- Approach mayor (with shopping center idea)
- Start rotating training sessions on Wednesdays
Group C
Dance in public / semi-public spaces – Dancing outdoors
Experts: Berlin Mondiale (Laura Werres), Urbane Praxis e.V. (Dana Schneider), Viktoria Markiewicz (freelance dancer Voguing/Ballroom), freelance dancers / choreographers / dance mediators: Magdalena Meindl, Janne Gregor, Katharina Iva Nagel, Beatrix Joyce, Moderation: Houssein Tarabichi, Protocol: Laura Werres
Cross-target group
What makes dance particularly important within this framework? Why bring dance outside?
- There is a particular openness and spontaneity to activities that take place in the immediate vicinity of people you “stumble across” (reaching target groups)
- It can reach people who have as of yet never come into contact with dance
Where do we stand now?
Across Berlin:
- There is a lot of interest in exercise programs/training in the park. Children often spontaneously join in training sessions (adults less so).
- It’s good if you can train regularly in the same place (as a way to get to know each other)
- Registered vs. unregistered work: unregistered is much easier, but carries a big risk.
- Outdoor dance performances: it works well to make people aware of them in the immediate vicinity a few hours beforehand (e.g. distributing flyers)
- Disadvantages: Unpredictability / high risk (e.g. weather changes, disturbance by other park users), registrations/permissions are often lengthy and difficult to obtain from the Grünflächenamt (for performances: registrations are absolutely necessary!)
What are our resources / What do we have already?
- Lots of bodies of water, great parks and green spaces for rehearsals, movement practices and performances in Spandau (→ see also video e.g: Lior Schneior, “Spandau Ballet”)
- There are not many usable spaces for urban dance rehearsals
- Festivals: The Jugendtheaterwerkstatt Spandau has been engaged in organizing outdoor dance festivals (e.g. festival “Verlorene Illusionen”, 2018)
- The Stadttheater Spandau organizes performances at various locations in Spandau
- An experience from the Mäusebunkerfestival: clear formats (e.g. “info tour”) worked well. With children (street dance) it may also work to simply dance (“dance station”), bringing it as an add-on to a festival or similar. → A legible sign “Join in!” is important. Complete workshops (e.g. 2-hour closed formats) are difficult / inaccessible / unsuitable for outdoor spaces.
How can we support each other?
- Idea for Spandau: link spontaneous urban dance performances or “workshops” to existing formats (e.g. a dance performance at a fire fighters’ festival to draw attention to existing dance courses / urban dance practices).
- How can school classrooms be used, e.g. in the evenings / during the weekend? It is best to ask the SPK very specifically (while proposing a concept). SPK: “Social space-oriented planning coordination” – must exist in every district. These are special offices of the district authorities or similar, which take care of the alternative use of public real estate (“potential spaces”).
What could be the next steps?
Now:
- Share contacts from this network meeting (name, function/interest, email address)
- Supplement the cultural register (compiled by Urbane Praxis) with dance spaces in Spandau. Suggestion for cultural register: create a map (not a list), because people will use this much more
- Connecting places in Spandau that Spandau residents know from their surroundings (e.g. “Waterkant”, where there is a great jetty) with dance makers.
In the medium-term:
- organize a follow-up meeting in which dance mediators are matched with people organizing spaces/people who have connections in Spandau.
- Option: (→ Access Point Tanz has resources to coordinate and moderate an online meeting in early 2025)
