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(CV Below)

Arriving to the ImpulsTanz Festival in Vienna has been such a long journey. Initially, I’ve been selected in 2022 with the mentorship of Wim Vendekeybous. I didn’t receive the visa in that year. Skipping 2023 with being busy with my personal life and my master’s thesis, I was invited to Europe for another event and had a short visit in Vienna. And finally, in 2024, it felt that it was the right time for being a danceWEBer and I have been selected again to be present at impulsTanz with the mentorship of very dear and sweet Isabel Lewis. This time, we did the visa process more accurately and it happened. A long process of consistent effort finally fruited. Although due to the difficult exchange situation with the country I am coming from, I still needed support for the food and mobility. Hopefully, that has been partially covered and with the alliances of global friends and colleagues, I arrived to Vienna safe and secure.

Being provided with accommodation, and having early preparatory meetings with our great mentor Isabel Lewis helped me to land in the festival and get to know people on a smooth rhythm. A great advantage of the choice of Isabel as danceWEB mentor has been her pedagogic power and ability to hold space for people to connect with themselves and each other. I noticed that her artistic practice is intimately connected with her pedagogic practice and it was pretty much a wholesome work. Her deep understanding and supporting presence throughout the festival has been a great warmth of the heart. I personally would love to spend more time together with the danceWEB group and Isabel throughout the whole festival. I would say the presence of Isabel Lewis and the way she wove the danceWEBers together carefully as well as how we as danceWEBers were communicating and interacting with each other was one of the most beautiful experiences of this festival. Minding the challenges as well, it really felt cozy to see danceWEBers here or there in Vienna, Biking together or Spending time together!
Unfortunately, I couldn’t really connect with the city of Vienna that much. We were there for about 5 and a half weeks, but the intensity of the experience of the festival and the fear of missing out led the danceWEBer to bike from somewhere to somewhere else in the city, being on a run! It has been my third time traveling in Europe, and this one was the longest one, but it took me about two weeks to really attune myself with the city and the whole process. The organizers and the communication team advised about the workshops and performance selection, but the reality is that when you come from a country with a large systematic and cultural differences, living in a European city alongside such an intensive experience of the festival can be pretty shocking! I would suggest to the organizing team and the future danceWEBers to really prepare a proper discipline for this time in Vienna. Specially for people from different cultural backgrounds, some personal assistance might be a necessity to prevent collapse and loss and increase the efficiency. Personally, I don’t consider danceWEB as a 5-week experience. The 5 weeks are the peak! The preparation and research for the workshops, performances, all the people who are present in this festival, and one can see their profile both on the impulstanz website and on the internet, is a work of a couple of months. If you are selected for danceWEB, I would deeply suggest checking who is presenting works, workshops, and performances and what their background is. Alongside, see what your desire is from this experience and how this experience can relate with your whole artistic trajectory. Attend proper time to Create your unique path through this festival. Of course, it is something that will be unfolded throughout your time in Vienna, but being prepared will create a lot more efficiency. Physically, mentally and emotionally! Also, about the nutrients, it is good to ask your friends and previous danceWEBers to see what are the best plans and options for meal prep and nutrition management. Biking, Moving, Partying and Interacting with loads of people requires properly prepared nutritions for keeping the health and sanity! However, as I could witness that one of the danceWEBers was struggling with their food, my suggestion for the festival is to provide extra accommodation for the recipients who are coming from the south of the global economy. Here, in this case, equality has a different meaning. The presence of these unique artists, carrying heritages from less attended parts of the world in comparison with the central European country, will create a culture of solidarity and care that to me seems like the ultimate goal of any artistic practice and gathering. These people need to be taken care of in a very different way. 

Honestly, it wasn’t easy for me to relate with many performances, workshops, and parties happening during the length of the festival. While witnessing challenges, difficulties, and war in Western Asia ( meaning Palestine, Lebanon, and my own country), I was kept questioning about the truth and authenticity of the happiness and happy faces I was encountering. To me, it was a feeling of neglect that has been woven into the lifestyle of many people in Europe. There was no care. At some point, this behavior became understandable throughout the politics. Yet, Bringing back the attention to the frame of the festival, although I could witness that there are some efforts for interrupting this behavior and approach by selecting artists, teachers, and even the mentor from non-European and people of different traditional and cultural backgrounds, the majority of the people invited to the festival seem to be people who belong to the Euro-centric ideality of approach. This could be seen in a spectrum that has been partially mentioned in the solidarity statement of 2024 danceWEBers below. I believe that disruption of this pattern can really fulfill the true goal of this program, which in my reading seems to be to hold space for diversity to arrive together singing a song. And ImpulsTanz is a potent platform to take such action and create an effect. To me danceWEB is not only a space to receive something that has been presented and leave. It can be a beginning for longer term collaborations and exchange which embodies potentialities for creating meaningful change in the world.

Alongside the difficulties and confusions I was encountering with the city of Vienna and the whole festival, I can say that the overall of the danceWEB felt right and I am grateful to be welcomed and seen as an artist throughout this experience, encountering so many artists from all over the world. I had memorable experiences dear to my heart, as well as some harsh moments! Though, now after about 3 months, I can’t say that this experience is integrated and fully digested yet, I am hoping to do further works with the fellow danceWEBers, workshop facilitators, people I met alongside this journey and the festival itself. Although it is in a learning process, especially in the large institutional / corporation level, the action toward hosting people from different parts of the world for the sake of togetherness is an honorable and appreciable action and has a direction toward the better. With all the bitter-sweet experiences I am happy to be part of this process and I would be willing to step into further collaboration and action toward the collective good.

Spreading Love 
Abtin / LÂAM


*Solidarity Statement*
The 2024 DanceWEB scholars have collectively drafted this statement to include in our reports:

Throughout our experience participating in DanceWEB, we encountered a variety of cultural and structural problems in the management and delivery of the festival. These issues included a failure to address inequalities in access for participation, especially for scholars coming from outside of Europe. We note in particular the inequitable and untransparent allocation of financial support, which does not seem to consider the vastly different economic opportunities available to each scholar. We note too, an absence of clear information, adequate resourcing, and reliable support for those experiencing difficulties joining the program. We also observed a failure to ensure the safety of both festival participants and members of the public in ImPulsTanz venues, like the Vestibül.

Most concerning to us, was the fact that our feedback about these issues appears to be similar to the feedback of previous DanceWEB cohorts extending back several years. Therefore, we believe there is an ongoing disregard of these issues and the voices of participating artists, pointing to further structural issues within the management of the festival. 

The opportunity to participate in DanceWEB has been fundamentally transformative for each of us in different ways. We are incredibly grateful for this program and want to ensure other artists can participate into the future. We include this statement out of a deep desire to see the program further improve: to better serve and support our needs as emerging artists, to better recognize the different social and cultural contexts we come from, and for ImPulsTanz to develop the necessary processes to further grow and adapt in a rapidly changing world.

We are curious about how we, the DanceWEB alumni, can actively contribute to the future of ImPulsTanz, not just as "mentees," but as artists whose work also traverses fields including facilitation, research, production, management, community organizing and activism.

*My Curriculum Vitae: *

Academic Educations:
M. A. in Philosophy of Arts 2020-23, University of Arts Tehran
B. A. In Music Composition 2014-17, University of Applied Science and Technology, Culture and Art – Unit 11 (Tehran School of Music)
Associated Degree in Pure Mathematics 2010-14, Shahid Beheshti University (National University of Iran
High School Diploma in Mathematics and Physic

Workshops / Intensives : danceWEB 2024, with Alix Eynaudi, Defne Erdur, Sara Shelton Mann & Jesse Zarit, Nicole Berndt-Caccivio & David Bloom, Storm, Maria F. Scaroni, Tamera Alegre, Laura Aris, Rasmus Ölme, Sonja Pregrad, Jaseem Hindi, Fredric Gies, Niall Jones, Sophia Rodriguez, Alex Franz Zehebauer & Jen Rosenblit, Ulduz Ahmadzadeh / Voice Training for acting and Performance with Arash Absalan / Dancing on the Edge scholarship 2020 (3 weeks online) with Micheal Schumacher, Alleyne Dance, Christina Mertzani, Ian Robinson / Solo Lab 2019 with Sonja Pregrad / ICCD/HZT workshop/exchange 2018 With Ingo Reulcke, Wanda Glonecka, Suzane Vinsence / “DanSong” 2018 With D’imobilite Foofwa / Movement Improvisation 2017 “Move The Space” With Iris Van Peppen / Workshop On Voice and movement Improvisations 2017 With Ayşe Orhon / “Flying Low And Passing Through” 2016 With Ehsan Hemmat / Introduction to Contemporary Dance 1,2,3 2016-2017 with Mohammad Abbasi / “Contact Improvisation” 2015 With Mozhgan Hashemian / General Acting 2014 Workshop with Hasan Farzi Pour / “Dramaturgy and Stage Play Analysis” 2014 With Ali Pour-Issa / “Study on The Art Theories of 20th Century” 2013 With Mazyar Eslami / Guita Garakani’s Story Writing Classes 2010-2012

Music Studies: Jazz and Music Improvisation Studies with Mahan Mirarab, Hamzeh Yeganeh, Alireza Ghahremani / Piano Performance with Rebeka Ashoughian/ Arpineh Israyelian/ Andrea Moradian/ Hamzeh Yeganeh/ Arin Melikian/ Ramin Amin Tafreshi / Tanbour Performance (Ethnic Instrument of Western Iran) with Seyed Arash Shahriari / Seyed Farid Elhami / Tombak Performance (Traditional Persian Percussion) with Arzhang Kamkar/ Hamid Qanbari / Oud Performance with Ehsan Emami / Music Theory and Practical Harmony with Loris Hovian

Other Studies : Theory and Psychology of Ayurveda Studies | Way of Council Studies and Facilitation | Wheel of Consent Studies and Facilitation | Studies on Shamanism | Effective Leadership Exercises in W. Erhard Practices | Vipassana Meditation | Traditional Tai Chi Chuan | Hatha Yoga | English T.T.C.


Productions

Dance Films
DænCité (Work in Progress), with Amir Asgari, Winter 2023 / The Six Pieces of Kalkan, 2021 – 2022 / 02:02:rE , with Amir Asgari, 2017 – 2021 / LEMMA , with Amir Asgari, 2017 /
Music - Sound Design
TIDA, Sound Design and Original Soundtrack Composition, Directed by Nona Pirouzian, Fall 2023 / Dance of The Blossoms, with Ali Gerami and Amir Asgari, March and April 2023 / TEM Virus , Music for Script-play reading, 2021 / The Bench (Ending Credits), Original Soundtrack for Short film “The Bench”, Best Soundtrack Award Winner in Rima Film Festival 2021 Rio / Ro Sar Beneh be Balin (Go Leave your head on the Pillow), Progressive Musicoullage, 2019/ XÂAN Amiri, String Quartet on Persian ethnic Music of West of Iran (Tanbour) (Score Link) / Oriental Suite , Live record at House No.4 Music Festival (Video Link), 2018
Performances
“Threshold” Directed/Designed by Elahe Mounesi, Performed for 15 Nights in Ezatollah Entezami Memorial House 2015 / Art Against ISIS Performance Festival, Created By Bahar Alizadeh, Curator: Anima Ehtiat 2015 / “A Requiem for Oedipus”, Conducted by Abtin Gholampour Producer: Theatre Forum of Shahid Beheshti University, Performed at Shahid Beheshti University’s Main Hall. 2015 / Harold Pinter “New World Order” Directed by Abtin Gholampour, Stage Theatre, Performed in Shahid Beheshti University’s Main Hall 2014 / Martin Crimp “Attempts on Her Life” Stage Reading, Directed and Translated by: Ali Akbar Alizad, Theatre Forum of Shahid Beheshti University 2013 / Aubade, Playing Piano and Keyboards for a Progressive Rock Music Performance, Live at Cafe Avant Scene, Tehran, 2012
Given Workshops / Retreats
Rhythm • Body, A Workshop and Research Project on Rhythm, Music, Body, Dance and Collaboration in an Improvisational Context, September 2024, Tehran / Solo - Poly a one day workshop to research on the Sources of the Movement, June 2024, Tehran / How to Ask for What we want? April 2024, Shiraz / The Way of Council 3-days retreat, Alborz, April 2023 / The Way of Council 3-days Retreat, Alborz, September 2022 / Introduction to Pleasure and Consent: A workshop on Boundaries and Limits, September 2021, Tehran / introduction to Pleasure and Consent: A workshop on Pleasure July 2021, Tehran /

Report:

Connections – crossing national borders, aesthetic styles, and cultures of working and communicating – arising in/through dance and shared creation processes are to me a very special, if not the central, aspect of danceWEB. Before even mentioning the huge performance and workshop program that was open for us as danceWEB scholars to take part in, I am incredibly grateful that I had the opportunity to be part of such a diverse and rich temporary research community! Rarely have I found myself in the midst of a group whose individuals were at the same time brilliant movers, sensible and empathic listeners, critical minds and caring humans! I experienced a sense of trust and belonging that was not based on sameness, but on the communal embrace of our differences. And this, I think, is a truly utopian experience, an experience that I believed to be impossible.

A great contribution to this becoming actually possible was made by Isabel Lewis, this year's danceWEB mentor. The way she facilitated moments of listening to each other, exchange on aesthetics and politics, space for the corporeal pleasures at the very core of dance, and mutual support between us has really impressed me! Isabel has taught me how to trust that pleasure (paired maybe with some other virtues) can be a good guide to make beautiful work. Thank you for this, Isabel!

I was indeed surfing or sailing on this support of group and mentoring like on a big and beautiful kin-ship, while Impulstanz could at times really feel like an endless sea. Even though I immersed myself fully, it was impossible to see or do everything: to watch all pieces in the program, to attend to all the workshops and classes I would have liked to, to get into depth with all the interesting people that I met. In this sense, danceWEB has also been an exercise of navigation and modulation. Cruising through the city on a heavy bike was as much part of this exercise as daring to speak/show in front of new people or taking a day off from a great workshop because there was not a crumb of energy left for it.

While the programming of performances has left me several times disappointed (of course with exceptions) and I believe that the festival could profit from a reassessment of its curatorial criteria, or a whole other system of curating, I very much enjoyed what I was able to learn in the research projects and classes offered in the frame of the workshop program.

In the aftermath, I noticed that I chose to take classes with a number of elder dance artists and choreographers, like Ishmael Houston-Jones, Glenna Batson, or Sara Shelton Mann, which were partly open to people with mixed abilities more or less movement experience. I am glad that I had a chance to witness their wisdom and experience in art making and in facilitating spaces for research on dance and movement. It feels especially important for me to learn from older generations and from mixed ability groups, as I perceive the field of dance as one dominated by young, healthy, and abled bodies.

At the end of this report, I would like to mention that I am also very grateful to the Tanja-Liedtke-Foundation who for me covered the remaining amount of money that each chosen danceWEB scholar needs to find by themselves. If I had lacked their support, joining the program would not have been possible for me this year. My feelings of gratitude are mixed with the awareness of privilege. Not everyone in our group had the chance to be proposed for a funding and I wish there was more transparency about how this works. On a side note, I want to add that Gerlinde and Kurt Liedtke started their foundation after their daughter, dancer and choreographer Tanja Liedtke, died way too young in a car accident. So, in an odd way, I also feel grateful to Tanja's spirit who keeps dancing through her parents' efforts to keep her memory alive. May Tanja's spirit continue to dance in peace!

While I am writing this report, it is mid October 2024.

I have been back in Berlin for six weeks now. Rains and storms have come and begun to defoliate the trees. The summer is clearly over. My suitcases have long been unpacked. I feel melancholic as I always do in autumn.

I have been talking to C. in Chicago, to L. in L.A., to B. and L. who came for some days to Berlin. They all say that they feel a bittersweet longing for the time spent together dancing, talking, laughing, and sweating in the Viennese summer heat. I feel it too. They ask questions about the future of (our) dancing. I ask them too. But although the whole of Berlin's contemporary dance scene is momentarily holding their breath while fundings are being cut or completely canceled, in my experience, sweetness overpowers bitterness.

And I know why. Because I am still busy harvesting. There is a whole truckload of insights and learnings from this danceWEB experience that keeps unfurling and will surely continue to unfurl in my work and life! Thank you to everyone who has made this precious experience possible!

Photo: Judith Milz

////////

*Solidarity Statement*
The 2024 DanceWEB scholars have collectively drafted this statement to include in our reports:

Throughout our experience participating in DanceWEB, we encountered a variety of cultural and structural problems in the management and delivery of the festival. These issues included a failure to address inequalities in access for participation, especially for scholars coming from outside of Europe. We note in particular the inequitable and untransparent allocation of financial support, which does not seem to consider the vastly different economic opportunities available to each scholar. We note too, an absence of clear information, adequate resourcing, and reliable support for those experiencing difficulties joining the program. We also observed a failure to ensure the safety of both festival participants and members of the public in ImPulsTanz venues, like the Vestibül, and an unwillingness to meaningfully include our perspectives and voices in festival forums and public spaces.

Most concerning to us, was the fact that our feedback about these issues appears to be similar to the feedback of previous DanceWEB cohorts extending back several years. Therefore, we believe there is an ongoing disregard of these issues and the voices of participating artists, pointing to further structural issues within the management of the festival.

The opportunity to participate in DanceWEB has been fundamentally transformative for each of us in different ways. We are incredibly grateful for this program and want to ensure other artists can participate into the future. We include this statement out of a deep desire to see the program further improve: to better serve and support our needs as emerging artists, to better recognise the different social and cultural contexts we come from, and for ImPulsTanz to develop the necessary processes to further grow and adapt in a rapidly changing world.

We are curious about how we, the DanceWEB alumni, can actively contribute to the future of ImPulsTanz, not just as "mentees," but as artists whose work also traverses fields including facilitation, research, production, management, community organizing and activism.

Report:

Amiga - what happened?

A workshop another workshop another performance another performance another party another time with no sleep another lets go, why not? another workshop at 9am another class another meeting another saloon another party another club another theatre another theatre another back at the dorm another room another floor another gym another bed another class another losing sense of time another lake another lake another showing another showing another workshop showing another meeting another introduction circle and another introduction circle another talk about liquids and leaks another talk about being a octopus or a jellyfish another swimming pool another sauna another spritzer another hangover time another no washing machine available another pink bike another pizza another email another cancelling a show email another late message another J-lo movie another drink another sweat another thought another vienna is sleeping another rihanna song another FRIENDS another hiiieee another critical feedback about a performance another performance another drama keeps us going

Lets go thoughts*****
Reflecting on my time in DanceWeb feels surreal and certainly not demure…
It feels like a cloud that swept in, giving me intense, fleeting moments, only to drift away, leaving me profoundly impacted. It was as if I had stepped into another world, one that's difficult to fully capture in words—I felt transported far beyond anything I'd known before.
My mouth dropped open in pure shock—bam!—when I first received my acceptance, and somehow, it’s still dropped, even months later. What just happened?
Now, as I write, memories come flooding back: pink bikes, secrets shared in the dorm, the schedule with all the performances, the gym, the FOMO, the fatigue, saloon whispers, hot gossip, #friends, laughter, tears, jokes, and nostalgia.
Being in Vienna afterward is emotional, almost like a breakup from an intense crush you had for a month. Now it’s over, and life moves on. Indeed, it’s dramatic!
I feel incredibly privileged to have had this opportunity and the resources to fully immerse myself. I felt like a child in a candy store—so many things to see and experience.
A candy highlight***With all the workshops, I was able to dive deeper into my research and gather new insights and perspectives.
Another sweet highlight***the chance to watch numerous performances! It was so important for me to see what I liked and what didn’t resonate with me, and I enjoyed discussing these insights with the other dancewebbers. ***Observing which shows drew a full house and how the audience responded to each piece.
and Another crunch highlight***Meeting Isabel, Rio, and the other DanceWebbers left me endlessly grateful!!
I feel so lucky to have connected with such a powerful group of people; I experienced a sense of belonging I haven't felt in years. Oh, j'adore! I say yes!
Friendships blossomed, and I will cherish them for a long time.
Together, I felt like we became this floating mass of people, singing "We Found Love" by Rihanna, surviving on minimal sleep and random snacks—life was pricey at Arsenal and not for everyone—but somehow, we were always full of energy to keep going and stay together.
There was so much care and softness among us,
and a fierce energy on the dance floor.
The dance floor was a healing place that I continue to hold dear,
but many times, this space felt unsafe, fragile, and uncertain.
I hope for a better future, Vienna Beach.
*****

*Solidarity Statement*
The 2024 DanceWEB scholars have collectively drafted this statement to include in our reports:

Throughout our experience participating in DanceWEB, we encountered a variety of cultural and structural problems in the management and delivery of the festival. These issues included a failure to address inequalities in access for participation, especially for scholars coming from outside of Europe. We note in particular the inequitable and untransparent allocation of financial support, which does not seem to consider the vastly different economic opportunities available to each scholar. We note too, an absence of clear information, adequate resourcing, and reliable support for those experiencing difficulties joining the program. We also observed a failure to ensure the safety of both festival participants and members of the public in ImPulsTanz venues, like the Vestibül, and an unwillingness to meaningfully include our perspectives and voices in festival forums and public spaces.

Most concerning to us, was the fact that our feedback about these issues appears to be similar to the feedback of previous DanceWEB cohorts extending back several years. Therefore, we believe there is an ongoing disregard of these issues and the voices of participating artists, pointing to further structural issues within the management of the festival.

The opportunity to participate in DanceWEB has been fundamentally transformative for each of us in different ways. We are incredibly grateful for this program and want to ensure other artists can participate into the future. We include this statement out of a deep desire to see the program further improve: to better serve and support our needs as emerging artists, to better recognise the different social and cultural contexts we come from, and for ImPulsTanz to develop the necessary processes to further grow and adapt in a rapidly changing world.

We are curious about how we, the DanceWEB alumni, can actively contribute to the future of ImPulsTanz, not just as "mentees," but as artists whose work also traverses fields including facilitation, research, production, management, community organizing and activism

Report:

I cannot think of my DanceWEB experience without acknowledging the pivotal mentorship of Isabel Lewis.
Isabel Lewis is an ideal mentor for DanceWEB 2024. Her practice of “hosting” immersive “occasions” that blend dance, art, and social interaction to create inclusive, sensorial spaces was key in uniting the DanceWEBbers. Emphasizing embodied experiences that honor individual expression, reject rigid representation, and explore ecological and relational themes, her work inspired a large, diverse group of young artists. Isabel fostered a richly collaborative environment that allowed unique artistic possibilities to flourish. She brings to mentorship a skilled pedagogical approach that encourages “outside-of-the-box” thinking and anti-hierarchical/horizontally attuned practices. Her guidance invited us to share our ongoing interests through artistic expression, motivating us to delve deeper. This is a true gift, centering our learning. I am forever grateful for Isabel’s depth of knowledge and sensitivity.
To the festival, I recommend continuing to choose mentors whose practices are rooted in principles of sharing, simultaneity, community, and togetherness. These qualities are essential in embracing DanceWEB’s diverse community. With the right mentor, the DanceWEB experience becomes truly fulfilling and wholesome!

Reflection on workshops, research, and performances:
The following are the questions that drew me in, that I sought answers for, that arose in exploration, that is lingering on….

What can we do together that we cannot do alone? What is possible when love is stronger than fear? How does who we are inform how we move and the politics of our identities / positionalities? How many ways can we move–move with–be moved by–each other? How can queer love be an ally for racial-justice?
- Makisig Akin & Anya Cloud

How can dance conduct a varied conversation “while remaining faithful to its own temporality”?
- Soa Ratsifandrihana

In what ways can collective vocal lamentation foster a communal space for expressing complex and historically neglected forms of grief and mourning practices?
- Deva Schubert

How can we use nonsensical words to reveal the limits of language and expose its inherent impossibilities?
- William Kentridge

How can anarchy with tenderness disrupt expectations in performance?
- Ivo Dimchev

How can violence be performed in a subversive way that doesn’t simply reproduce its images?
- Davi Pontes & Wallace Ferreira

What scores can transform the stage into a playground with unpredictable, changing rules that turn excess into therapy on the path to conflict resolution?
- François Chaignaud & Aymeric Hainaux

How does each of the participants’ temperaments and their story(s) influence the meaning of a choreographer’s archival material?
- Maria Hassabi

What role do gestures of sexual and queer seduction play in the construction of choreographic resistance, and how might they transform the audience's perception of vulnerability and power within the dance; challenging the narratives surrounding Black bodies in spaces dominated by a judgmental gaze?
- Davi Pontes & Wallace Ferreira

What if, in 1963, the no-to-spectacle postmodernists of the Judson Church were confronted with members of the Harlem voguing scene, their love of glam and big entrances?
- Trajal Harrell, François Chaignaud, Marlene Monteiro Freitas, Cecilia Bengolea

In what ways can the interplay of anger, sweat, pain, and pleasure within a performance evoke a sense of "radical aliveness"?
- Xenia Koghilaki

Can one slow down performative time for themselves and experience it in all of its bodily and fleshy mystery?
How can we creating instantly generated fictions and challenge conventional narratives in performance?
- Isabel Lewis

How does the exploration of labor and its systemic constraints through durational performance challenge conventional perceptions of productivity and value in contemporary art spaces?
- Dana Michel

Can the studio be used as a laboratory for contracting new relationships? For practicing new modes of being together and building new kinds of worlds together?
- Keith Hennessy & Ishmael Houston-Jones

How can sound as a political and poetic position suggest the invisible and delicate relationship between the body and other (im)materialities and influence images, choreographic sketches, videos, texts and people? How can collective listening and sound creation practices foster a deeper understanding of cultural and political contexts within performance?
- Jassem Hindi

How does waacking and voguing serve as a form of cultural expression and resistance for BIPoC communities, and in what ways can the dance style honor its historical legacies while reinterpreting them through a contemporary lens? How can the act of "letting it out" serve as a form of catharsis and healing within the community?
- Archie Burnett

How does the exploration of night as a refuge give space for resistance against oppressive narratives, and what parallels can be drawn between classic literature/folk tales and contemporary struggles for survival?
- Sorour Darabi

How does contemporary flamenco invite other dance genres to expand creative expression for dancers?
- Jose Manuel Alvares

How can historical figures interweave and appear in choreography?
- Trajal Harrell

How does the exploration of forgotten dance styles illuminate the relationship between collective memory and personal identity?
- Camilla Schielin

How can improvisation and immersive installation create a space for futurism exploring cross-generational and gender-nonconforming identities?
- TRY Collective


*Solidarity Statement*
The 2024 DanceWEB scholars have collectively drafted this statement to include in our reports:

Throughout our experience participating in DanceWEB, we encountered a variety of cultural and structural problems in the management and delivery of the festival. These issues included a failure to address inequalities in access for participation, especially for scholars coming from outside of Europe. We note in particular the inequitable and untransparent allocation of financial support, which does not seem to consider the vastly different economic opportunities available to each scholar. We note too, an absence of clear information, adequate resourcing, and reliable support for those experiencing difficulties joining the program. We also observed a failure to ensure the safety of both festival participants and members of the public in ImPulsTanz venues, like the Vestibül, and an unwillingness to meaningfully include our perspectives and voices in festival forums and public spaces.

Most concerning to us, was the fact that our feedback about these issues appears to be similar to the feedback of previous DanceWEB cohorts extending back several years. Therefore, we believe there is an ongoing disregard of these issues and the voices of participating artists, pointing to further structural issues within the management of the festival.

The opportunity to participate in DanceWEB has been fundamentally transformative for each of us in different ways. We are incredibly grateful for this program and want to ensure other artists can participate into the future. We include this statement out of a deep desire to see the program further improve: to better serve and support our needs as emerging artists, to better recognise the different social and cultural contexts we come from, and for ImPulsTanz to develop the necessary processes to further grow and adapt in a rapidly changing world.

We are curious about how we, the DanceWEB alumni, can actively contribute to the future of ImPulsTanz, not just as "mentees," but as artists whose work also traverses fields including facilitation, research, production, management, community organizing and activism.

Sincerely,
Bita Bell

Bita Bell is a dance artist and composer with a BA in music composition and an MFA in dance. Born in Iran, she studied in Hong Kong and lived in the U.S. from 2012 until moving from New York City to Vienna in 2020.
Her artistic research and practice are based on the concepts of the body as archive, collective imaginations, visceral sensations, radical softness, and playful improvisations. Her works aim to expose, question, and subvert socio-political matters that disrupt the joy in daily life. She recently completed the Artistic Research Fellowship at THIRD DAS Graduate School in Amsterdam where she self-published her first zine titled 'containing multitudes, at times fragmented': a compilation of personal, political, and poetic writings emerging from a diasporic experience of living through urgent times.
She has been awarded the 2023 Startstipendium for Music and Performing Arts from the Austrian Federal Ministry for Arts and Culture.

Report:

DanceWEB has allowed me to pursue my hunger for knowledge, creativity, and connection, in this sometimes-elusive field of dance. As a performance and visual artist, I feel grateful to have been part in this program and to have had Isabel Lewis as a mentor. She has brought together such various daring minds and provided a space which has made us feel seen, granting us an access to this world of dance and performance. Being part of this group was amazing and at times also overwhelming.
It took me some time to establish meaningful connections but once I did, these connections helped me navigate the festival, feeling supported and at ease.

I also cherished the freedom of going after an individual program and fostering even more connections through niche interests. I fell in love with many minds and visions throughout these five weeks of workshops, shows, research, and bike rides, learning more about what truly captivates me and what does not. This has allowed me to get a clearer image of what I truly feel called to do and motivated me to work on that narrowed down yet expanded path. I am looking forward to finding out what the connections I have made will develop into and where they might lead me.


*Solidarity Statement*
The 2024 DanceWEB scholars have collectively drafted this statement to include in our reports:

Throughout our experience participating in DanceWEB, we encountered a variety of cultural and structural problems in the management and delivery of the festival. These issues included a failure to address inequalities in access for participation, especially for scholars coming from outside of Europe. We note in particular the inequitable and untransparent allocation of financial support, which does not seem to consider the vastly different economic opportunities available to each scholar. We note too, an absence of clear information, adequate resourcing, and reliable support for those experiencing difficulties joining the program. We also observed a failure to ensure the safety of both festival participants and members of the public in ImPulsTanz venues, like the Vestibül, and an unwillingness to meaningfully include our perspectives and voices in festival forums and public spaces.

Most concerning to us, was the fact that our feedback about these issues appears to be similar to the feedback of previous DanceWEB cohorts extending back several years. Therefore, we believe there is an ongoing disregard of these issues and the voices of participating artists, pointing to further structural issues within the management of the festival.

The opportunity to participate in DanceWEB has been fundamentally transformative for each of us in different ways. We are incredibly grateful for this program and want to ensure other artists can participate into the future. We include this statement out of a deep desire to see the program further improve: to better serve and support our needs as emerging artists, to better recognise the different social and cultural contexts we come from, and for ImPulsTanz to develop the necessary processes to further grow and adapt in a rapidly changing world.

We are curious about how we, the DanceWEB alumni, can actively contribute to the future of ImPulsTanz, not just as "mentees," but as artists whose work also traverses fields including facilitation, research, production, management, community organizing and activism.

Report:

Firstly i would like to thank DanceWeb for the opportunity,I would like also to thank LifelongBurning for making it possible for me to be in Vienna and i would like to thank our incredible mentor Isabel Lewes for an amaizing time we had and the enlightenment shared during the residency,I would also want to extend my gratittude to the stuff and the organisers and all the instructors.The information,skills,experience, connections that i have lived during my time in Vienna
am always grateful.I would like to thank instituations and individuals who made this opportunity possible for me.

Everyworkshop and research project that i attended changed the way i think as a creator and a performing artist in the world of ideas,my practice was challenged and i am happy that i went through that proccess.The atmosphere and the ernegy at arsenal is something that i struggle to find words to discribe till this date because i witnessed the dance world i dream of everyday.

I am priveleged to have watched world premere performances from big artist who are doing great in the dance world. Most of the performances were jaw dropping and and i dont believe what i saw.

Once again i say thank you and i hope that our path will cross again.

Report:

danceWEB 2024 report - Andrea

It’s really hard for me to put into clear, not-only-poetic words what felt like a huge lively intensity, but I’ll try my best!

Danceweb came at the right moment to me and helped me navigating my questions and doubts within the realm of performing arts, nourishing a clearer, personal view.

The amount of offer is so wide that already choosing my schedule was a significant exercise and I saw a clear(er than before) picture of interests coming back to me.
I find myself only now in October being able to open the notebooks from those five weeks, after having been digesting a very intense and fulfilling experience.

I’ve created bonds with people which are both affective and artistic and this I feel is for me is the most valuable long-term gift.
The chance to share artistic and critical views with peers and of blending more focused research moments (mostly during workshops, day gatherings, sharings etc.) with more social and fuzzy ones (mostly at nights) also does something very precious to the way discourses and affects translate reciprocally in different but complementary directions, when we work and deal artistically with bodies.
The density of happenings in both contexts made it for me more tangible how dance is a very, very life-based artistic form. I had a feeling of aliveness from those weeks that I’m trying to hold fresh on me: both artistically and personally; it felt very exciting.

I value so much the encounters I had, the network of people I’ve resonated with, friends and potential collaborators I met: such great human beings and artists are being gathered in this frame!
Being myself a creative coming from various backgrounds I feel dance to me is mostly about connection, and the affective co-presence and tenderness of our group made me inhabit the dance bubble in the way I’d love it to be everywhere all the time; it left me with a feeling that there are ways to navigate artistic environments which feel good. Likely not in all contexts and not all the time, but doing it once means it can happen again and again and again.

This experience made me trust myself more and for sure (hopefully) helped my artistic path find its way(s).
Danceweb felt to me a pedagogical and research proposal that is faraway more experimental than what I’ve experienced before in any other institutional frame. I’m very grateful for having been part of this. <3

_______

*Solidarity Statement*
The 2024 DanceWEB scholars have collectively drafted this statement to include in our reports:

Throughout our experience participating in DanceWEB, we encountered a variety of cultural and structural problems in the management and delivery of the festival. These issues included a failure to address inequalities in access for participation, especially for scholars coming from outside of Europe. We note in particular the inequitable and untransparent allocation of financial support, which does not seem to consider the vastly different economic opportunities available to each scholar. We note too, an absence of clear information, adequate resourcing, and reliable support for those experiencing difficulties joining the program. We also observed a failure to ensure the safety of both festival participants and members of the public in ImPulsTanz venues, like the Vestibül.

Most concerning to us, was the fact that our feedback about these issues appears to be similar to the feedback of previous DanceWEB cohorts extending back several years. Therefore, we believe there is an ongoing disregard of these issues and the voices of participating artists, pointing to further structural issues within the management of the festival. 

The opportunity to participate in DanceWEB has been fundamentally transformative for each of us in different ways. We are incredibly grateful for this program and want to ensure other artists can participate into the future. We include this statement out of a deep desire to see the program further improve: to better serve and support our needs as emerging artists, to better recognise the different social and cultural contexts we come from, and for ImPulsTanz to develop the necessary processes to further grow and adapt in a rapidly changing world.

We are curious about how we, the DanceWEB alumni, can actively contribute to the future of ImPulsTanz, not just as "mentees," but as artists whose work also traverses fields including facilitation, research, production, management, community organizing and activism.

Report:

ImPulsTanz seems now, over two months since its closure, like a distant dream. These summery days and nights in Vienna were unprecedently meaningful for me, a true opportunity for physical, intellectual, and cultural exchange with teaching artists, but most significantly with fellow danceWEB and Atlas participants. Although it was very clear that the workshops were carefully chosen and arranged, offering a variety of styles and approaches to dance and movement, this was not the feeling about the evening program, and a certain disappointment was registered among many danceWEBbers from this part of the festival – excluding a few exceptions, the curatorial choices confirmed a politically-neutral and aesthetically pleasing traditional approach to dance and performance making.
It is important for me to mention that the danceWEB coordination team—Sara, Tina, and Val—were so generous and kind throughout the five weeks of the festival, and the smooth technical parts of this experience are thanks to them. Isabel Lewis’ presence as a mentor, group facilitator, and teacher was incredibly inspiring. Her unique pedagogic approach and profound acquaintance with practices of sharing knowledge and hospitality made every danceWEB meeting into an artwork of sharing space, time, and practice.

*Solidarity Statement*
The 2024 DanceWEB scholars have collectively drafted this statement to include in our reports:
Throughout our experience participating in DanceWEB, we encountered a variety of cultural and structural problems in the management and delivery of the festival. These issues included a failure to address inequalities in access for participation, especially for scholars coming from outside of Europe. We note in particular the inequitable and untransparent allocation of financial support, which does not seem to consider the vastly different economic opportunities available to each scholar. We note too, an absence of clear information, adequate resourcing, and reliable support for those experiencing difficulties joining the program. We also observed a failure to ensure the safety of both festival participants and members of the public in ImPulsTanz venues, like the Vestibül, and an unwillingness to meaningfully include our perspectives and voices in festival forums and public spaces.
Most concerning to us, was the fact that our feedback about these issues appears to be similar to the feedback of previous DanceWEB cohorts extending back several years. Therefore, we believe there is an ongoing disregard of these issues and the voices of participating artists, pointing to further structural issues within the management of the festival.
The opportunity to participate in DanceWEB has been fundamentally transformative for each of us in different ways. We are incredibly grateful for this program and want to ensure other artists can participate into the future. We include this statement out of a deep desire to see the program further improve: to better serve and support our needs as emerging artists, to better recognise the different social and cultural contexts we come from, and for ImPulsTanz to develop the necessary processes to further grow and adapt in a rapidly changing world.
We are curious about how we, the DanceWEB alumni, can actively contribute to the future of ImPulsTanz, not just as "mentees," but as artists whose work also traverses fields including facilitation, research, production, management, community organizing and activism.