Dance Forum

The central theme of this year’s Dance Forum is collaborative models in dance. We are interested in exploring how dance leaders and cultural workers can build more intentional, values-aligned ways of working together across (1) organizational administration and operations, (2) creation and development of new work, and (3) touring and presenting.

 

We see asset mapping as an important foundational practice for collaborative models in the dance ecosystem, but are interested in beginning even earlier with value mapping: understanding the values that drive the work, identifying people and communities who share those values, and considering relationships as a form of infrastructure.

DF27 will include a facilitated small-group exercise where participants can talk with one another and ideate around collaborative models they would like to initiate or strengthen. We would then come back together to synthesize insights, identify common themes, and consider what it takes to move these models from ideas into practice.

We want participants to leave with a deeper understanding of how to find their people, how to identify shared values, how to recognize and activate existing assets and relationships, and how to begin building a collaborative model that can actually move their work forward sustainably.

Participants will..

• Explore collaboration through a values-based lens by identifying the values, communities, and shared goals that should guide how they choose projects, partners, and collaborators.
• Understand relationships as infrastructure through value/asset mapping and explore how existing relationships, networks, and community connections can serve as the foundation for collaborative work.
• Examine the practical mechanics of collaboration, including how partners define shared goals, divide responsibilities, contribute resources, make decisions, structure relationships, and create mutual benefit.
• Move from ideation toward implementation by giving participants an opportunity to develop or explore a collaborative model they could realistically initiate, strengthen, or adapt within their own work.