practices of connection: informal and formal international networks

This session is the first out of three public input sessions within the frame of the digital companionship programme: transnational contexts & relations, that is organised and hosted by Kreativ-Transfer, a project of Dachverband Tanz Deutschland and produktionsbande. In the companionship programme, one companion with transnational expertise supports one participant in the development and expansion of their own transnational working practice as a producer in the independent performing arts.

In this session we invite a critical eye on our existing networks, our informal champions and how to utilise these tools to identify new opportunities, disseminate work and push producing practices. We will look at the structure of networks and the importance of reciprocity in building lasting relationships. We will use this time to form a temporal network of information exchange where participants will be invited to offer their experiences and talk about their desires.

Bek Berger is an artist, curator and producer originally from Australia, based now in Berlin. Though from 2020 to September 2024, Bek the curator of the International Festival of Contemporary Theatre, Homo Novus. 

Bek’s practice binds curiosity with innovation in order to design new models of connection, collaboration and reciprocity between artists and communities, across borders and art forms. Her expertise lies across festival making and dance creation, having intuited a number of large international collaborations such as Baltic Take Over Helsinki (LV, LT, EE, FI), The Shake Down with Rosendal Theatre (LV, NO), The Festivals Path with ANTI festival (LV, FI). She created an artistic tarot deck ’THESE CARDS ARE NOT MAGIC’ which is used to improve communication inartistic process and she is currently collaborating with Gob Squad to generate a new deck “Something to do until the rain stops”, designed to assist collaborativeprocesses using their dramaturgicalstrategies as a starting point. 

Since 2017, alongside the curatorial practice she collaborates as a Dance Dramaturg and producer with choregrapher James Batchelor. They have presented in over 20 countries and in such contexts as Centre Pompidou (FR), New Baltic Dance (LT), Tanz Im August (DE), Impulstanz (AT) and Dance Massive (AU). As a producer, she worked for such festivals as American Realness (NYC), Dance Massive (AU), Darwin Festival (AU), Fierce Festival (UK) and Forest Fringe (UK). 

Bek serves on the board of the international performing arts network, IETM, was an ISPA fellow in 2022/2023 and in 2023 Bek was a SAARI fellow/resident in Finland supported by the Kone Foundation.