In collaboration with Zeitgenössischer Tanz Berlin e.V. and external guests, the project RESIST! hosts weekly “Assemblies” from March 5 to May 7: every Thursday evening** from 5–7 pm, everyone interested is invited to gather at Uferstudio 5.

The Assembly on 26 March will be hosted by the Dance Funding Working Group (AG Tanzförderung): The working group was formed in 2024 in response to funding decisions that resulted in many established choreographers, groups and a festival falling out of the system. This poses a massive threat to livelihoods and networks. The working group combines cultural policy work with a commitment to combating this precariousness: it draws attention to abuses through petitions, discussions with the Senate, speeches and workshops. It calls for sustainable funding that secures the ongoing work of freelance artists.

The AG Tanzförderung continues to work in workshops on ways to improve the structure of Berlin’s dance funding system and seeks to discuss its proposals with the dance community and cultural policymakers.

With the format of the “Assemblies,” we aim to offer the independent scene space and time for broader cultural and political exchange. While digital connections tend to encourage fast, largely anonymous and individualized expressions of opinion, we choose to invest in real social cohesion. Through the “Assemblies,” we create a solidaric setting in which reflection and discussion can take place live and on site. Together, we want to explore how we can sustainably defend artistic freedom — in the face of current cuts to cultural funding and the normalization of right-wing positions within wider society.

During each assembly, the Freelance Dance Ensemble Berlin will give a 10-15 minute presentation calling on all dance and cultural professionals to make their changed realities visible. More information here.

Here is the official announcement from the AG Tanzförderung (Working Group for Dance Funding):

„This salon is dedicated to overcoming systemic precariousness in dance. The Dance Funding Working Group presents its concrete proposal for the introduction of a structural funding pillar that finally recognises independent groups and choreographers as a permanent part of the infrastructure. The current system interrupts artistic careers and treats professionals like ‘hobby artists’ because project funding does not allow for continuity. Particularly in view of current cuts, the substance of teams and resources collapses immediately without follow-up funding.

The format of the evening is a discursive salon: the event will kick off with keynote speeches on the Cultural Promotion Act by Marie Henrion (Tanzbüro), on national networks by Cilgia Gladola (BDFK), and on securing the future of workspaces by Pirkko Husemann. In the main part, we will present our draft for structural funding, followed by an open concluding discussion. Senator Sarah Wedl-Wilson and Senate staff have been invited as guests to discuss ways out of the cycle of interruption and towards professional security. Maria Katharina Schmidt will be joining as a guest of the Senate to discuss ways out of the cycle of interruption and towards professional security."