TANZPAKT Stadt-Land-Bund

Two calls for proposals will be realized in the period 2025-2030. The application deadline for the first call ended on September 22, 2025.

The application deadline for the second application round is planned for spring 2027 – the exact date will be published on www.tanzpakt.de well in advance. We recommend subscribing to the newsletter, in which the deadlines will be communicated as soon as they are finalized.

Call for proposals 2025 (application closed):

• Call opens: 01 April 2025
• Deadline for applications: 22 September 2025, 6 pm
• Earliest start date for projects: 15 November 2025, with a standard term of 36 months
• Latest end date for projects: 30 June 2030

Call for proposal 2026:

• Call opens: from November 2026
• Deadline for applications: from April 2027
• Selection panel in session: from October 2027
• Earliest start date for projects: from July 2027
• Latest end date for projects: 30 June 2030

Applications should address three core themes, T1, T2 and T3, which correspond to the priorities of the call. We advise that projects address a combination of all three themes. Please note that there can only be one applicant per project.

T1 Expanding excellence by supporting outstanding ensembles, artist collectives and individual artists with an international reach
Objective: Promoting artistic excellence

Outstanding artists and ensembles are given the opportunity to enhance the quality of their work through funding that guarantees their medium-term planning capabilities. Activities eligible for funding include the development of new or expanded areas of impact (e.g. audience development, education projects, artistic research, additional training) that raise the profile of dance as an art form.

Who can apply? Ensembles from the independent dance sector, artist collectives, artistic teams, individual artists with a national and international reach, as well as ensembles from municipal and state theatres.

T2 Expanding excellence by supporting production houses and venues with a national and / or international reach  
Objective: Strengthening and expanding production infrastructure

Production houses and dance venues with a national and / or international profile and network are given the opportunity to focus on excellence in their dance-specific operations. They are also supported in developing new areas of impact that benefit the dance sector as a whole (e.g. expanding or building management structures for artists, artistic research, improving the mid-career sector or enhancing production infrastructures for internationally respected artists).

Who can apply? Production houses, venues, choreographic centres, independent theatres, municipal and state theatres, festivals that produce their own work, cooperative platforms and production offices. Initiatives calling for the development of new infrastructure and production structures can also apply, provided they can demonstrate continuous activity and national and / or international visibility through the production and presentation of artistic projects.

T3 Expanding excellence by developing and implementing collaborative dance development concepts
Objective: Harnessing synergies for sustainable growth

A wide range of participants in the German dance scene – from training institutes to dance ensembles, venues to creative learning initiatives, research organisations to departments of culture – are given the opportunity to contribute their expertise to pioneering collaborations focused on excellence in dance. These alliances will create synergies between partners and raise the profile of dance as an art form. Collaborations on a local, regional and national level are eligible for funding. We would particularly encourage projects to apply that promote access to dance in regions where dance does not currently have a strong presence.

Who can apply? Alliances between production houses, venues, institutions, state or municipal theatres, artists or other dance sector professionals, and public funding bodies.

The following requirements must be met in order to submit an application to TANZPAKT Stadt-Land-Bund:

• Applicants must be resident and organisations or institutions must be located in Germany.
• As a rule, the principle of additionality applies to funding. This means that the project content should be developed in addition to ongoing and established projects. For projects already funded by TANZPAKT Stadt-Land-Bund, the focus should be on further developing the concepts they have already implemented.
• The minimum grant amount for new projects is 90,000 euros, and the maximum amount is 600,000 euros. The maximum grant amount for projects that have previously received TANZPAKT funding is 300,000 euros.
• Co-financing of at least the same amount as the requested grant must be secured from municipalities, federal states or other funders at the time of application.
• The duration of the projects is generally 36 months. All activities must be completed by 30 June 2030 at the latest.
• The project should take place primarily in Germany.
• A professional organisational structure must be in place to implement the project.
• While we advise that the co-financing should be awarded specifically for the funded project, it is also permissible to declare existing multi-year funding as co-financing. One-off project funding, however, does not count as co-financing.
• Statements of intent from all participating partner institutions must be submitted as part of the application.

Furthermore all applicants must guarantee appropriate working conditions for staff and freelance collaborators. Suggested fees for freelancers in the performing arts are based on the BDFK’s minimum wage recommendations, which in principle should not be undercut. For permanent staff, salary levels must be equal to or exceed the statutory minimum wage set out in §1 MiLoG.

The criteria used to assess applications include:

• the project’s relevance to the priorities and objectives of the funding programme
• the quality and feasibility of the submitted proposal
• the project’s commitment to expanding the quality or scope of existing activities and / or developing new areas of activity
• the project’s potential to showcase solutions and inspire others
• the artistic quality and excellence of the applicant’s work to date, including the work of any participating partners
• the quality of the applicant’s network
• the effectiveness of the organisation’s audience development strategy
• the implementation of compelling educational and outreach formats
• the effective dissemination of the project’s results on a national level
• the project’s commitment to ensuring accessibility and inclusivity for participants and audiences alike
• for projects that have previously received TANZPAKT funding: a convincing presentation of the quality and effectiveness of the measures implemented regarding the formulated project objectives and content

No funding via TANZPAKT Stadt-Land-Bund is possible if:

• Sufficient co-financing has not been secured for the project.
• The project or applicants do not meet the eligibility requirements or assessment criteria.
• The application has not been submitted in time for the deadline.
• The application is incomplete or was not submitted via the application portal.
• The applicant or organisation are not resident / based in Germany.
• The project has already begun, expenses have been accrued or contracts concluded before the selection panel has completed its session.
• The project is financed by other funding from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.

Applications are submitted exclusively via the Bureau Ritter digital application portal. The application can be processed continuously until the application deadline.

Applications must be submitted using the online form provided in the portal, which includes a detailed project description that should take the following points into account:

• If you are applying to TANZPAKT for the first time: Describe the initial situation on which the motivation and idea for your project are based.
• If you are applying for funding for the further development of a measure that has already received funding: Based on the status quo described above, reflect on and evaluate your previous work and explain what else you want to achieve with renewed funding.
• Outline the concrete implementation of your project, describe the planned activities that you want to implement together with your partner institutions and outline the rough timeline.
• To what extent will your project open up new fields of work or improve the quality of existing activities?
• Which target groups will benefit from your planned activities and why?
• Describe the mediation measures you are planning.
• In addition, briefly describe the hoped-for impact of the successful implementation of your project.
• If applicable, describe your planned measures for removing barriers for project participants and spectators.
• Explain to what extent the project aims to achieve results that go beyond the interest of the partners and direct participants and that have a potential long-term impact, e.g. with regard to the development of the dance scene in your municipality and/or in your federal state or with regard to the visibility of dance in the (local) public.

The following must also be submitted as mandatory attachments:

• Scan (as PDF) of the self-declaration of the applicant(s) with data protection declaration and the signature of the authorized representative
• Detailed financing plan as an open Excel file
• Letters of intent from the co-financing partners
• informal declarations of intent from institutional partners (collaborations), if applicable
• Dossier with brief profiles of the partner institutions and relevant project participants, if applicable

To help you prepare your application, we will provide you with the mandatory templates for the applicant’s self-declaration, the financing plan, the confirmation of your co-financing and the document “Guidelines for the preparation of the financing plan” at www.tanzpakt.de at the start of the application procedure.

A maximum of three additional attachments can be added informally to the application, e.g. press reviews, accompanying letters and/ or letters of recommendation from the co-financing institutions. Projects that have already received funding can, for example, enclose existing evaluations.

The jury of experts is listed below.