The idea of Take-off: Junger Tanz ? To strengthen young dance in Düsseldorf.
Take-off: Junger Tanz introduces children and youths between zero and 18 years of age to the aesthetics and techniques of contemporary dance art. Since 2006, numerous Düsseldorf-based partners from the fields of culture, education, science, and politics have been working on the establishment of new and sustainable structures for young dance art under the guidance of tanzhaus nrw. Acting as an expert network, Take-Off: Junger Tanz anchors dance as a genre in theatres, schools and youth centres.
Experiencing the world through dance
Within the framework set up by Take-Off: Junger Tanz, regional as well as international dance artists develop performances purpose-made for a young audience, in collaboration with local cultural institutions. It is their aim to enable children and youths to experience the world through their bodies by means of current movement practice. They become acquainted with different dance styles, exploring their own movement methods, while receiving guidance by professional dancers, dance educators, and choreographers. As a matter of course, children and youths partake in choreographic processes, rehearsals or workshops, bringing their own ideas into the artistic processes. The artists involved, on the other hand, start to deal with the universe the children inhabit. Additionally, Take-Off: Junger Tanz enables Düsseldorf cultural institutions to boost artistic professionalism in the dance field.
Eclectic proposition
Take-Off: Junger Tanz offers an eclectic proposition. Apart from numerous stage events for a young audience, a regularly held collective festival poses questions to our society and to the social role of the body and of dance. Additionally, Take-Off: Junger Tanz organises dance classes at Düsseldorf schools. All areas of activity address and implement topics such as inclusion and participation, even more so during the annual inclusive dance camp. The network operated as one of nine Tanzplan Deutschland projects until 2010. Its development was examined within the scope of a scientific evaluation conducted by the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, concluding with a publication titled “Aufwachsen mit Tanz” (“Growing up with dance”) at the Beltz publishing house in 2010.