DanceMap

The heritage of 20th century dance in Europe is largely invisible and in real danger of being lost. Works that are no longer being performed – even from the recent past – are forgotten, their memory confined to small and fragmented communities of artists and practitioners.

DanceMap is a pioneering heritage initiative funded by Horizon Europe, the European Union’s funding programme for research and innovation. This ambitious project, which will run for three years from January 2025 to December 2027, operates under the research cluster “Culture, creativity and inclusive society” and aims to develop a cross-sectoral strategy for safeguarding and promoting Europe’s rich dance heritage. The total funding amount is just under 4 million euros.

DanceMap is a map both in the geographical sense, showcasing examples of successful dance heritage initiatives all over Europe and making them accessible for a wider global public, and in the sense of a blueprint or roadmap towards effective and sustainable policy solutions at regional, national and European level. Combining excellence in research and extensive experience of delivering innovative dance heritage initiatives at the national level, the DanceMap consortium has developed an integrated, cross-sectoral approach that incorporates research, data science, artistic practice, outreach, advocacy and policymaking.

Bureau Ritter leads a consortium of 16 research centres, universities, archives, arts organisations and leading policy experts, who recognise that dance represents values which are central to the European project: It is a collaborative, non-logocentric, embodied practice that mirrors European conviviality and draws on marginal experiences and perspectives, which – along with connotations of femininity and queerness – have contributed to dance’s low status and lack of funding relative to other art forms. With this project, the consortium makes the case that European dance heritage is overlooked in its ability to build a contemporary image of the EU as a progressive, diverse and inclusive political entity. One of its aims is to ensure that dance is included in the common European data space for cultural heritage (ECCCH) as a use case for other embodied practices.