Workshop #1 Writing About Dance (In The Time Of Corona)

On July 5 th - 8th, 2021, the workshop Writing about Dance (in the time of Corona) was held, organized by the Czech magazine Taneční aktuality together with the Norwegian partner Performing Arts Hub Norway. The workshop was attended by eight young writers - Blanca Siles Romero, Diana De Fex, Isabel Hernández, Ivana Balabanova, Richard Pettifer, Salome Jishkariani, Eva Galatsanou and Mónica Jaramillo Sanjuán - who are active in different parts of Europe. The professional seminar is part of the project Dance and Performing Arts Criticism in Europe. 

During the four-day seminar, experienced dance critics Petra Dotlačilová and Josef Bartoš from Tanečních aktuality and Anette Therese Pettersen from Performing Arts Hub Norway gave their own lectures focused on various problems that dance critics may face. The lectures were followed by work in groups, stimulating debates, but also individual coaching and text editing.

The participants of the workshop wrote reviews of selected productions of young promising creators, but also of productions of experienced and world-famous choreographers, such as Crystal Pite or Hofesh Shechter. The new works were selected from the Aerowaves 20/20 collection, from the current program of the Ravnedans, KoresponDance festivals, and among them, we also find the winners of the Dance Film Festival. The resulting texts were published in the English section of Taneční aktuality webpage.