Internationalisation

is about curiosity and keeping an open mind

One of the first things associated with internationalisation is that as an artist you are doing well if you are invited to other countries and become noticed there. Until recently it was a sign of recognition primarily if you could add venues in other countries to your play list. In recent years we have seen emphasis being placed increasingly on exchanges and cooperation in all segments of the international arts environment. Certainly in the dance world it is becoming increasingly common, particularly for newcomers, to become established as an artist through residencies in other countries, often linked to introductory presentations of their work. Having more than one workplace and different venues spreads the risk. But what does travel actually mean in terms of art? And what can a travelling artist contribute to a world seeking to find a path through the many conflicts and changes?

DansBrabant believes that the essence of internationalisation is the ability to be curious and to keep an open mind about things new and unknown; to expand and broaden your horizon. Internationalisation is integral to our method of working. We encourage exchanges on an international scale and seek to find a balance between giving and taking, exporting and importing. This involves a dynamic exchange, a dialogue. Promoting export alone sets constraints defined by short-sighted nationalism. For this reason we like to send our own choreographers from Brabant to other countries, but we also extend a hand to choreographers from other countries to come here.

Working in an unfamiliar environment sharpens a choreographer’s wits and concentration. Things you take for granted are missing in foreign surroundings and you look at yourself, your work and your expectations with different eyes. Travel allows you to deal comparatively with questions about your new and old environment and to engage with different audiences in coming to terms with these questions. In a time of massive migration and discussions about borders, it is vitally important to provide scope for the inquiring eye of artists from different parts of the world and the dilemmas they address.

Sustainable internationalisation focuses not only on holding a dialogue in an artistic context, but also on an exchange in terms of strategy and organisation, on the sharing of knowledge regarding different methods of working, on the circumstances in which art is created and on the influence that art has on the world around us. This kind of sustainable internationalisation comes about by allowing artists to work in venues more frequently and for longer periods, and by giving them the opportunity to get to know their surroundings thoroughly. In collaboration with partners who share our curiosity DansBrabant is seeking ways to make international exchange as useful and profound as possible.