A renewed project for the dramatic arts and dance scene

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF PERFORMING ARTS HUESCA 2009

It is too often a fact that the most innovative and avant-garde theatre and dance rarely form part of theatre programmes. The reasons that are put forward to explain this absence are highly diverse, although most of them have to do with their low level of acceptance by a public that, in general, is more accustomed to viewing the performing arts as pure entertainment or as the reflection of education based on heritage and history rather than as processes of contemporary creation. Another factor is that, in times of crisis, the public authorities cut down on the budget assigned to those areas of culture that are considered to be less popular.
Whatever the reasons may be, in this congress we are going to take a positive attitude and not merely describe the difficult reality faced by contemporary performing arts. We have invited nine relevant figures in different fields of the performing arts at international level and will ask them to explain why they consider that today’s performing spaces should find a place in their programmes for contemporary creations. Each of the speakers will bear witness to a situation in which they have stood out and together they will present a detailed set of arguments in favour of the appropriateness of programming innovative, audacious productions in theatres.
Using a more current expression: we hope to shed light on the reasons for an I+D+i of the performing arts at this particular moment in time. In the “European Year of Creativity and Innovation” and immersed, as we are, in a global crisis of yet unknown proportions, resorting to the most innovative artistic creations is considered as a detonator for new social, economic and personal development. This detonator is, in the performing arts, the contemporary nature of the artistic proposals and their accessibility for most of society.

Seminar 1. Artistic reasons

Committing ourselves to art and making it accessible to the general public should not need any justification. “Art for art’s sake” has been one of the main philosophical arguments since ancient times: “The need for art is self-justified”. In this context, what place do contemporary performing arts occupy? Do they have intrinsic worth? If so, what defines them and what differentiates them to other performing disciplines?

Moderator: Pilar Royo (head of the Performing Arts Network of Aragon).
Speakers:

• Sigrid Gareis (former director Tanzquarter Wien – Vienna): “Contemporary performing arts in times of social and economical change: towards an argumentation of relevance”.
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• Àngels Margarit (choreographer, director of Margarit / Mudances Company): “What to watch, how to watch, why watch… a set of clues” .
  Download: [ spanish ]
• Mary Brady (journalist and festival director – Dublin): “Curating dance in the current climate”.
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Seminar 2. Socioeconomic reasons

Lately the argument of economic progress is that which has most frequently been bandied about in Spain by politicians and administrations to justify their support of the arts. But are contemporary arts capable of reactivating an economy in crisis? Can a society in need of innovation help artists’ creativity? Are creative minds necessary for a new type of society? Is this perhaps the first step towards educating in creativity?

Moderator: Juan de Torres (president of the Spanish Federation of Dance Companies – FECED).
Speakers:

• Danielle Buys(Tournefeuille Town Councillor of Culture): “Don’t switch off the light when night falls…”
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• Jonathan Holloway (Norfolk and Norwich Festival – UK): “Changing lives and society using creativity and culture”.
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• Vanessa González (Marketing Director): “Entrepreneurship policies in the cultural, creative industries sector. The Andalusian model: Lunar Project”.
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Seminar 3. Social and personal reasons

Contemporary creation feeds off the reality of the society in which it is developed once again returning said creativity to it. Its receivers, be they individuals or groups, become more aware, transform and develop their own creativity, strengthening their capacity to co-exist and overcoming the barriers of exclusion. Is the population receptive to contemporary creation? Does its transforming capacity affect those that practice it? Is there creation beyond the Academy?

Moderator: Gerardo Ayo (president of the Spanish Network of Public-Title Theatres, Auditoriums, Circuits and Festivals).
Speakers:

• Miguel Varela (director of Teatro Bergidum – Ponferrada): “Stand up if you have never seen the sea or curiosity as a tool” .
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• Ainhoa Sarmiento (Invasión Danza – Madrid): “Any place is good for contemporary creation. The arts to the street”.
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• Ken Bartlett (Foundation for Community Dance – UK): “Why I am so optimistic!”.
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