_ Welcome Of The Patron

by Dr. Dirk Scheper
Akademie der Künste


The connection in content between patron and "protectee" isn't always as obvious as between the TANZNACHT BERLIN and the Akademie der Künste. As an organisation that is entrusted with dance promotion the academy sponsors the TANZNACHT BERLIN with complete conviction that it is promoting a worthy project. The night-long, all encompassing presentation of groups and solo artists from Berlin's independent dance scene offers journalists, experts and dance promoters a compact overview. That is the reason why such forums are so popular within the professional circle and have a significant promotional effect. Now more than ever, this is crucial for Berlin's independent dance scene. In view of the limited public resources for financial support, self-help measures such as the TANZNACHT BERLIN are almost essential for survival and thus deserve all the support available.

As one may realise with some apprehension, this appeal has been valid for many years. The explanations brought forth by the public sector as to why fulfilling the justified request for the appropriate increase of public funds for a burgeoning scene is for now impossible, are heard again and again. The agreement that it is however a desirable goal and thus to be considered again soon never fails to follow. Over the years, those who reject the scene's appeal in this way age and are replaced by younger hesitants who express themselves with the same choice of words. The members of the anticipant dance 'clientele' age slightly sooner. They are replaced by new activists, who again start at the beginning in order to end up in the same notorious cycle of self-exploitation as their predecessors. Even though complaints are banned right now, one cannot fail to mention that sponsors for dance hardly exist and are therefore no option. No resident of Berlin who is familiar with culture can ignore the desolate condition of our finances. In the majority of the cases cultural civil servants and fund officers cannot really be accused of bad intentions. The light at the end of the tunnel which Ulrich Roloff-Momin, the former senator of cultural affairs in Berlin, so memorably asked the scene to wait for in 1993, has flickered here and there full of hope, only to go out again immediately. No light, not even a ray of light, which could have spawned the establishment of such projects as a 'Tanzhaus', 'Choreographisches Zentrum', 'BerlinBallett', a representative modern company and a place for the centralised dance education or even succeed in securing "Tanz im August", the TanzWerkstatt, and Tanzkalender, ever appeared. Never mind production funds for the various theatres and - even though probably utopian - a fair funding of independent groups and solo artists, let alone a tangible harmonization of all the elements that constitute "Tanz in Berlin".

A veteran in the support of these efforts can only admire that despite this situation dance artists, both the seasoned and the fresh, always respond to the challenge of becoming tirelessly active for this cause and reason for himself that this must be due to the tangible immortality of dance. He must do so for himself, because the academy's perfectly glorious efforts to improve the situation for dance in Berlin have undeniably waned following the merger of the eastern and western academy - mostly due to the fact that other priorities have been set. Nevertheless it is a post-reunification achievement that the then lethargic round table for dance was replaced by the "Rat für die Künste" (counsel for the arts) which supports dance and also belongs to the Akademie der K¸nste. Should the dance cause require the attention of the academy stage, TANZNACHT BERLIN will combine past and future in order to offer all participants hopeful prospects.

Dr. Dirk Scheper
Akademie der K¸nste