DANSSTROOM Open call: dive into dance repertoire with Dansstroom!
Are you passionate about dance? Fascinated by an iconic choreography, a performance that still resonates, or a dance style with a rich history? Do you want to learn and explore it further with a professional coach? Then Dansstroom is for you!
Dansstroom offers non-professional dancers the opportunity to dive into dance repertoire under the guidance of an experienced dance coach. For us, ‘dance repertoire’ is a broad concept: it is any dance or style that you and your group want to breathe new life into. This can take various forms, such as learning and re-enacting a scene from What the Body does not Remember by Wim Vandekeybus or Screws by Alexander Vantournhout, a deep dive into the K-pop dance tradition, a reinterpretation of a dance from West Side Story or a dive into the history of the Lindy Hop. Dansstroom aims to keep dance alive in all its forms and styles!
How does it work?
In the school year 2025-2026, you and your dance group will work with the dance coach on a repertoire of your choice. Based on the chosen repertoire, you will look for the appropriate coach, repetitor or teacher.
Together, you will work towards a dance piece of around 15 minutes, which you will present twice during Body of Work, STUK’s festival for living dance heritage on 25 and 26 April 2026, in Leuven.
You organise a research activity to get to know the dance or the repertoire better or to look at it from a different angle. This can vary from a visit to an archive, a film evening to attending a performance with an aftertalk with the choreographer.
Finally, you will take part in innovative research about passing on dance! Together, we want to discover how dance evolves and is passed on. Therefore, we ask that you document your experiences, using a tool provided by Dansstroom.
If your project is selected for Dansstroom, you will receive a budget for expenses such as the compensation of a dance coach and the organization of the research activity.
Do you want to be part of this exciting very first edition of Dansstroom? Read on to find out how you can participate, or sign up for the online info session on Friday, April 4, at 2:00 PM and Saturday, April 5, at 11:00 AM.
Dansstroom is a collaboration between STUK, Danspunt and CEMPER and is inspired by ‘Danse en amateur et répertoire’, a French project organised by the Centre National de la Danse (Pantin). Dansstroom is supported by the Flemish Government.
Who is Dansstroom for?
Dansstroom is aimed at dance groups with dancers of all levels, backgrounds, ages, and bodies who dance in their free time and are based in Flanders or Brussels.
Additionally, the group must have a legal entity. This ensures that financial resources can be managed properly, the coach is compensated correctly, and the participants are insured.
Who is not eligible?
Groups consisting of professional dancers or groups of dancers who take up this project as part of professional dance education.
Projects with commercial purposes.
What do we offer?
A budget to finance:
the contact moments with the professional dance coach (guideline: approx. 30-40 hours)
costs related to copyrights (if applicable)
the organization of the research activity
transport to the presentation weekend in Leuven (25-26.04)
A stage: show your dance piece on STUK's stage within the Body of Work festival and share your work with a broader audience. Dansstroom provides accommodation and food during the closing weekend.
Reflection, meeting and exchange: We offer you valuable tools to reflect on your process and the chance to connect with various dance groups with whom you can exchange experiences and insights during the final presentation weekend.
Practical and administrative advice: Get advice in developing your project and budget via our online info session, an open office and individual advice.
What do we expect?
- You are excited to dive into the dance repertoire.
- You look for a suitable dance coach, make arrangements and ensure correct remuneration.
- You make the necessary copyright arrangements (if applicable).
- You organise a research activity to further explore your repertoire.
- You document your experiences using a tool offered by Dansstroom and are comfortable with part of this documentation appearing in a short video report of Dansstroom’s first edition.
- You draw up a budget according to the guidelines provided and manage the financial resources of your project.
How to apply?
In order to apply for Dansstroom, we expect you to answer some questions about your motivation, background and plan of action. All questions can be found in the application form.
Complete the application form and send it to us by email, together with the following documents:
a budget of your project using this template
a letter of intent with your dance coach
For more explanation on preparing your budget and the agreement of intent: see the FAQ
Deadline: Sunday 8 June 2025
Announcement of selected projects: Thursday 19 June 2025
Selection?
A jury will select five projects. The jury consists of seven members, selected for their expertise in amateur arts, dance and heritage, with knowledge of various dance genres and diverse personal backgrounds.
The jury will evaluate the submitted proposals based on the following criteria and considerations:
Your motivation is key in the evaluation: why do you specifically want to delve into that repertoire and what do you hope to achieve through your participation in Dansstroom?
In addition, based on your application, the jury must gain sufficient insight into your plans and how you will elaborate on them (e.g. which coach will you work with and what agreements have been made? What do you plan as a research activity and how will you tackle it? How has your budget been drawn up and will resources be used correctly?)
Special attention is also paid to the diversity of the five selected projects, both in terms of the dance groups (e.g. age of the dancers, type of organisation) and the nature of the repertoire you want to include (e.g. different time periods, various dance genres or styles).
Support
Answers to many of your questions (e.g. about the remuneration of the dance coach, the reflection moment and self-documentation) can be found in the FAQ.
Furthermore, we will organise the following contact moments:
An online info session on Friday 4 at 2 pm and on Saturday 5 April 2025 at 11 am where we will explain more about the set-up of Dansstroom and where you can ask questions. You can register via this form.
An open office on Friday, May 9, at Danspunt in Ghent (14:00-17:00) & Saturday, May 17, 2025, at STUK in Leuven (14:00-15:30) where we can work together on your plans and application file, exchange ideas, discuss budgeting and give more general tips & tricks. Register for one of the sessions via this form.
Are you excited to join and have followed the online info session, but still not sure if your plan is viable or how to get started? You can always reach us at dansstroom@stuk.be. We will be happy to help you, so don't hesitate to ask questions!
