TANZPAKT Stadt-Land-Bund

TANZPAKT Stadt-Land-Bund supports multi-year projects that combine funding from the federal government with co-financing of at least the same amount from municipalities, federal states or other funders.

The funding programme TANZPAKT Stadt-Land-Bund has three priorities, T1, T2 and T3. Projects should ideally address a combination of all three:

• T1 Expanding excellence by supporting outstanding ensembles, artist collectives and individual artists with an international reach
• T2 Expanding excellence by supporting production houses and venues with a national and / or international reach
• T3 Expanding excellence by developing and implementing collaborative dance development concepts

Applicants must be resident and organisations or institutions must be based in Germany. Depending on which priorities have been chosen, the following persons or institutions are able to apply: independent dance ensembles, artist collectives and artistic teams, individual artists, ensembles of state or municipal theatres, alliances between different sectors of the dance scene, alliances between dance sector professionals and public funding bodies (i.e. local authorities), production houses, choreographic centres, venues, theatres, festivals that produce their own work, production platforms and offices, as well as initiatives calling for the development of new infrastructure and production structures for dance.

Yes. As well as supporting new projects, the programme will also be open to projects that have previously received TANZPAKT funding, enabling them to continue and expand their activities.

The earliest possible start date for projects in the 2025 funding round is expected to be in November 2025. Please note, however, that funding is not confirmed until the funding agreement has been signed.

The earliest possible start date for projects in the 2026 funding round will be published on www.tanzpakt.de at a later date.

All activities for projects in both funding rounds must be completed by 30 June 2030.

As a rule, projects should run for 36 months.

The minimum grant amount that new projects can apply for is generally 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.

Funding from TANZPAKT Stadt-Land-Bund is dependent on securing an equal co-financing share from local authorities, federal states and / or other funders. The total amount of co-financing secured must be at least as high as the requested TANZPAKT grant amount. 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.

Unsecured funds such as income from ticket sales or private assets also do not count towards the co-financing share.

No funding from 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.

An independent jury of dance sector experts will deliberate in a closed session and decide on the funded projects. The jury will be announced on the TANZPAKT website when the call opens.

Applicants will be informed about the jury’s decision by email directly after the jury meeting. The jury reserves the right to make its offer of funding subject to certain conditions.

No, there is no legal entitlement to receiving funding from Bureau Ritter gUG as part of TANZPAKT Stadt-Land-Bund.

In principle, applications that were rejected can be resubmitted.

Due to the complexity of the funding programme, we strongly recommended that you make an appointment for a consultation before submitting your application.

The TANZPAKT team at Bureau Ritter will be happy to answer any questions about the design of your project, the application process and the budget requirements. Consultations can take place in person, on the phone or as a video call.

Contact
Riccarda Herre
Tel: 030-40 20 33 22 1

The TANZPAKT team at Dachverband Tanz Deutschland offers advice on a cultural policy level, for example by helping to identify possible deficits or potentials of dance in a particular location, and by suggesting measures to invest in the sector (e.g. infrastructure projects, new spaces for dance, innovative funding models, audience development, management structures etc.).

Contact
Nicola von Stillfried
Director Cultural Policy TANZPAKT Stadt-Land-Bund
Dachverband Tanz Deutschland
Mariannenplatz 2
10997 Berlin
Tel. 0176-71 200 499 / 030-37 44 33 92
n.stillfried@dachverband-tanz.de

There will be two funding rounds in the period from 2025 to 2030. The deadline for applications for the first funding round is expected to be in September 2025. The deadline for the second funding round will be in the spring of 2027 – the exact date will be published on www.tanzpakt.de in due time. We recommend subscribing to our newsletter, where we will send out important dates as soon as they are confirmed.

Applications can be submitted from February 2025 (tbc) via the online portal of Bureau Ritter gUG – the organisers of the funding programme TANZPAKT Stadt-Land-Bund. Applicants need to register and create an account in the portal in order to start the application.

Yes, we are working to make the application process more accessible and inclusive. Applicants with physical, sensory or cognitive disabilities can contact the Bureau Ritter team for assistance and support with their application.

For collaborative projects or networks, only one individual or partner organisation should apply on behalf of the entire project. If funding is approved, this individual or organisation will become the Bureau Ritter contractual partner. The funding programme does not specify how a network should choose its main applicant. A professional organisational structure must be in place to implement the project.

The following documents must be submitted as part of the application:

• Detailed budget
• Letters of intent from all co-financing partners
• Letters of intent from all partner organisations
• Dossier with short descriptions of all partner organisations and short bios of all participating artists and cultural professionals

To help you prepare your application, we will provide you with the mandatory templates for the budget plan, for the confirmation of your co-financing and the document “Guidelines for preparing the budget plan” at the start of the application process.

Yes, applications can be submitted in English. The application form, however, is only available in German.

TANZPAKT funding is based on the concept of deficit funding. This means that project-related expenses that have been approved as part of the submitted budget are covered up to the contractually agreed maximum grant amount, provided that the project organiser is unable to cover these costs from their own or other funds. All grants are based on actual costs, which means that any reduction of costs or increase in match funding or other income will result in a reduction of the grant.

As a rule, projects that are already receiving funding from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media – or an institution directly funded by the latter – are excluded from applying for funding through TANZPAKT Stadt-Land-Bund. This includes the following funding bodies: Kulturstiftung des Bundes (Federal Cultural Foundation), Hauptstadtkulturfonds, Fonds Darstellende Künste e.V.

Each co-financing partner must separately complete a letter of intent, which must be signed by an authorised legal representative for the organisation. The letters must be submitted as part of the application. With the start of the application process the template that must be used for the letter is available for download here. It can also be downloaded directly from the application portal.

In principle and under certain circumstances, co-financing from international sources is possible.

Eligible costs are costs that are directly related to the project. They can generally include personnel and direct costs, provided they are necessary for the project, are incurred during the project period, and are appropriate and reasonable. All costs need to be detailed in the budget at the time of application.

Personnel costs can be included in the budget as long as they relate to newly created positions or part-time positions.

Salaried staff

Salary costs for permanently employed members of staff are only eligible if applicants can provide proof of the time that each employee has spent working on the project.

Renumeration for employed members of staff must conform to statutory minimum wage regulations according to §1 MiLoG. At the same time, applicants may not place their employees in a better position than comparable employees in the public sector. Salaries that are higher than those stipulated in the collective agreement for the public sector (TVÖD), as well as other benefits above and beyond the collective agreement, will not be covered by TANZPAKT funding.

Fees for freelance staff

The Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media supports the German cultural sector in its endeavours to ensure adequate remuneration for professional artists and creative sector workers. Applicants must therefore respect industry minimum-wage regulations. When calculating salaries and fees for your project, you must guarantee appropriate working conditions and renumeration for staff and freelance collaborators. Suggested fees for freelancers in the performing arts are based on the BDFK’s minimum wage recommendations, which should not be undercut.

After you have submitted your application, Bureau Ritter will check if your budget complies with the above requirements. You should therefore indicate in your budget which suggested minimum fees you are using and how they have been calculated. If your budget doesn’t comply, you will be asked to revise it.

Investment costs are generally eligible for funding, provided they are necessary for the project.

Costs for measures that improve accessibility (such as sign language interpreters, audio description or accessibility ramps) can be included in the budget, provided they are clearly relevant for the project.

Contributions in kind and services that are covered by an institution on an ongoing basis (such as the provision of event spaces, technology, accommodation, permanent staff, etc.) or voluntary / unpaid work – i.e. services that are nor renumerated – cannot be included in the budget, neither on the income nor on the expenditure side. This is in no way a disparagement of voluntary work or in-kind contributions. Please use the correspondingly named sheet in the budget template to give details of any in-kind contributions.