First steps: sharing & cooperating

Directors from 7 dancehouses meet to discuss ways of cooperating as a group to promote the mobility of dance artists in Europe, to increase audiences and to support the strong development of dance art using the resources that each institution has to offer. An informal network was created with articles of association.

The dancehouses cooperating with this first step were CDN Paris FRANCE, Dansens Hus Oslo (NO), Dansens Hus Stockholm (SE), Institute for Choreography and Dance-ICD Cork (IE), Tanzhaus NRW Düsseldorf (DE), Tanzquartier Wien (AT) and The Place London (UK).

Karene Lyngholm, director of Dansens Hus Oslo (NO), is appointed chair of the EDN association.

EDN is legally established as an association in May 2009

From 2005 to 2008, EDN members cooperate in IDEE, a 3-year project led by Tanzquartier Wien (AT), which sets out to work with emerging choreographers to help them make connections across Europe and to contextualise their work for international audiences.

This project served as a real test for the network resulting in a highly successful experience of cooperation among dancehouses.

The network develops step-by-step, members learn how to cooperate among themselves and beyond the association. The first example is the Chin-A-moves project, which is launched under the leadership of Tanzhaus NRW Düsseldorf (DE) to nurture connections between young independent artists from both Europe and China.

The network adopts the legal framework of an association with 16 members in Barcelona on 25 May 2009.

The founding members are ADC Geneva (CH), Art Stations Foundation Poznań (PL), CDCN Toulouse (FR), Dansehallerne Copenhagen (DK), Danshuis Station Zuid Tilburg (NL), Dansens Hus Oslo (NO), Dansens Hus Stockholm (SE), DDRC Athens (GR), DeVIR/CAPa Faro (PT), HELLERAU-Europäisches Zentrum der Künste Dresden (DE), Maison de la Danse Lyon (FR), Mercat de les Flors Barcelona (ES), Tanzhaus NRW Düsseldorf (DE), Tanzquartier Wien (AT) and The Place London (UK).

Dance Gate Lefkosia Cyprus (CY) joins as affiliated member and Mary Brady, former director of IDC Cork (IE) – one of the founding members, joins as individual member.

Karene Lyngholm resigns as chair of the EDN association and Bertram Müller, director of Tanzhaus NRW Düsseldorf (DE), is appointed as president of EDN.

Listen to Bertram Müller sharing the history of EDN and the creation of the Dancehouse concept in this video.

In May 2009, the Chin-A-moves project ends having created a successful model for the development of strong relationships across diverse cultural and political contexts with activities extending beyond the official timeframe of the project.

The network extends with two new members, Dance Ireland Dublin (IE) as an affiliate member in August 2009 and CN D Paris (FR) as a legally incorporated member in February 2010.

In June 2010, the modul-dance project starts with the participation of 20 European dancehouses from 16 countries. Its aim is to support development, mobility and exchange for dance artists across Europe and to extend cooperation with institutions beyond the network. It is one of the biggest projects funded by the EU Culture Programme. Modul-dance represents the next step for EDN as it centres on the fundamental basis of the network’s aims.

CSC Bassano del Grappa (IT) and Tanzhaus Zürich (CH) join EDN as affiliated members and Karene Lynhgolm, former director of Dansens Hus Oslo (NO), founding member of the association and former chair, joins as an individual member. The development of EDN continues in the next years:

• KLAP Maison pour la Danse Marseille (FR), Dance House Lemesos (CY) and DanceEast-Jerwood DanceHouse Ipswich (UK) join as affiliated members in June 2011.
• K3 – Zentrum für Choreographie | Tanzplan Hamburg Kampnagel (DE) joins EDN as affiliated member in February 2012.
• Unfortunately, Danshuis Stations Zuid has to resign from the network in October 2012, as the local authorities decided to change the project for Tilburg’s use for dance.

Two cooperation projects start in June 2013:

• The European Video Dance Heritage, led by Maison de la Danse Lyon (FR), aiming to improve the visibility and circulation of filmed dance: common European culture heritage.
• Léim, led by Dance Ireland, involves the participation of 10 young professionals to undertake collective, professional leadership development.

A new vision leading to European support

In September 2013, the General Assembly agrees for the network to focus on the sustainability and relevance of dance as a new vision in the coming years.

O Espaço do tempo Montemor-o-Novo (PT), Dansmakers Amsterdam (NL) and Tanssin taly ry. Helsinki (FI) join EDN as affiliated members. Bertram Müller (former president and former director of Tanzhaus NRW Düsseldorf), Virve Sutinen (former director of Dansens Hus Stockholm) and Marc Vlemmix (former director of Danshuis Station Zuid Tilburg) become individual members. EDN is now an association of 30 members.

Francesc Casadesús, director of the Mercat de les Flors Barcelona (ES) is appointed as the new president.

Communicating Dance gets underway led by CSC Bassano del Grappa (IT). Funded by the Leonardo Da Vinci Lifelong Learning Programme, the project supports young choreographers and journalists as future leaders.

In May 2014, the General Assembly meets in Faro and decides to ask all affiliated members to become full members and engage in reflection on new criteria and plans for the future of the network.

In 2014, EDN becomes an EU funded network and starts working on becoming a reference of contemporary dance networking in Europe.

The General Assembly in Barcelona (November 2014) gives an opportunity to the members to work on the future development of the network, its mission and its future-oriented vision.

The General Assembly in Vienna (April 2015) agrees to change the statutes of the association. The Individual Membership status is eliminated and two new positions are approved: the Honorary Members and the EDN Ambassadors.

STUK Leuven (BE), Tanec Praha (CZ), Hrvatski institut za pokret i ples/Zagreb Dance Centre (HR) and Dance City Newcastle (UK) are welcomed as new members. EDN has now 30 dancehouse members.

Karene Lyngholm and Bertram Müller, former EDN presidents, accept to be Honorary Members.

The General Assembly in Athens (December 2015) votes in favor of 5 new members. Sadler’s Wells London (UK) and Dampfzentrale Bern (CH) are now full members. The new affiliated members are Kino Šiška Center for Urban Culture Ljubljana (SI), Dansateliers Rotterdam (NL) and Trafó-House of Contemporary Arts (HU). Walter Heun, director of Tanzquartier Wien (AT), is elected as President.

Dance Base – National Centre for Dance Edinburgh (UK), is welcomed as the 36th EDN member during the General Assembly in April 2016.

The network organises in Olot (Spain) the conference “How to make dance relevant: examples and practices” in April 2016, the third and last of a series of events around the idea of relevance that included a meeting in Athens in December 2015 and the Atelier “The Relevance of Dance” in Amsterdam in March 2016.

By July 2017, the network celebrates the last conference of this round of EU funding. Organized by tanzhaus nrw Düsseldorf, “Inventur 2” offers a cross-sectoral and across genre analysis of the current situation of contemporary dance and the performing arts.

In July 2017, the General Assembly in Düsseldorf elects Pia Krämer, from O Espaço do Tempo Montemor-o-Novo, as new President.

Paul-Eric Labrosse, Bettina Masuch, Hazel Hodgins, Roberto Casarotto, Marc Olivé and Kerstin Evert are also elected as Board members.

In 2019, Laurent Meheust from KLAP Maison pour la danse was elected President of the Board.

Current board members are Mitja Bravhar, Kerstin Evert, Roberto Casarotto, Catja Loepfe and Suzy Blok.

EDN21: Strengthen - Impact - Imagine

EDN secures European funding from the Creative Europe programme for four years.

Through three strands: 1 - Strengthening professional practice; 2 - Enhancing public engagement; 3 - Progressing the network, EDN works towards the implementation of its long-term vision: making dance art valued as an integral component of our everyday lives and culture, creatively contributing to the wellbeing of society. 

In 2019, EDN started to relocate its office in Brussels, Belgium. A representation office is opened while the seat of the association remains in Barcelona. Due to the impact of corona virus in 2020, the office in Brussels closes.

In that process, new staff members were appointed to support network management, production, advocacy and communication.

From 2018 to 2020, the network gains new members in Italy (Lavanderia a Vapore), France (La Briqueterie CDCN du Val-de-Marne), Dance Limerick (Ireland), DansBrabant (Netherlands), les 3 C-L (Luxembourg), Bulgaria (Derida Dance Center), North Macedonia (Kino Kultura) and Serbia (Station Service for Contemporary Dance).

In February 2021, Yohann Floch becomes the Secretary General.

In June 2021, the network aquires two new members; Lithuanian Dance Information Centre (Lithuania) and AREAL | space for choreographic development (Romania).

In June 2021, EDN counts 47 members in 28 countries.

Swish - Tereza Hradilkova