iCoDaCo
2024-2027
CuntsCollective is the danish leadpartner for the project iCoDaCo. iCoDaCo will, through residency-based research, assemble a diverse "collective" of artists with various aesthetic, social, and cultural backgrounds, where we can explore and challenge the place of contemporary dance in today's society using choreographic tools.
The project is supported by Creative Europe Large scale and has 12 partners from 12 different countries, to be carried out over the next 4 years. Through activities such as research, workshops, masterclasses, knowledge sharing, production, and international exchanges with other countries, we aim to strengthen the (dance) axis that spans north to sounth, through the country from Holstebro to Bornholm. By giving voice to a diverse choreographic perspective, we explore dance's potential as a spokesperson and expressive form that informs and critiques our contemporary era.
Together with five partners throughout Denmark, we will invite a total of 24 dancers to be part of a collective process, where we, from the collective's side, will explore 15 classical themes in stage production. The recruitment process will be conducted through the most democratic process we know, "Open call," and we will make a significant effort to spread the call to both traditional and non-traditional recipients. Through the call process, we will work with various methods to compensate for our own biases and blind spots.
The residency period runs from November 2024 to April 2026. All the European collectives work synchronously, and each residency is timed with a fixed time and a fixed theme of investigation, and we maintain ongoing contact with the other collectives, exchanging challenges and perspectives. The meetings we have among ourselves are facilitated by our German knowledge partner, whose purpose is to analyze and document the experiences gained.
CC believes in incorporating discourse from the global south. To achieve this, a collective will be form in Brazil to collaborate, investigating the 15 weeks residency from their perspective. By incorporating a Brazilian perspective, as a fissure that cracks a wall, we aim to challenge the Eurocentric narrative of ICoDaCo and promote a more inclusive representation of contemporary dance, fostering diversity and global collaboration. Recognizing the need for broader global perspectives, looking for collaborations with the Goethe Institut and Nordisk Point, we are working to establish a horizontal partnership between Brazil, Germany, and Denmark to integrate voices from both the Global South.
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Holstebro Theatre & Dance Company - Holstebro
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BIRCA/Bækkelund International Residency Center for Artists - Bornholm
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Metropolis/Københavns Internationale Teater - Copenhagen
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Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium - Holstebro
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Åbne Scene - Aarhus
Partners
We have selected five partners who will help anchor the project in both geographically and artistically diverse practices. The partners are chosen based on a desire for the project to be anchored in four specific areas:
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Professional anchoring in dance and choreography
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Experience with collective processes and working methods
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Independence and potential for growth
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Anchoring in an ecological practice
EU-supported grassroots network
Most EU-supported projects, and other major projects for that matter, are often awarded to larger institutions, which then lead and administer the project, and only after 'open calls' curated by the major institutions, artists are involved. ICoDaCo - International Contemporary Dance Cooperative is in many ways different. Here, the mandate is given directly to artists, a bottom-up structure that challenges classical power balances.
