Europe Beyond Access is an ambitious 4-year programme designed to internationalise the careers of disabled artists and revolutionise Europe’s performing arts scene.
The core partners of the project are British Council (operating for this project in the UK and Poland), Skånes Dansteater (Sweden), Oriente Occidente (Italy), Onassis Stegi (Greece), Holland Dance Festival (The Netherlands), Kampnagel (Germany), and Per.Art (Serbia). It is co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Commission.
The programme consists of an extensive plan of activity including new commissions, workshops, residencies, toolkits, networking events, performances, creative laboratories, artist interviews and films.
The core objectives of Europe Beyond Access are to:
- Contribute to artistic innovation of disabled artists in Europe
- Revolutionise the programming palette in European performing arts through showcasing world-class disability-led work and creating a network of experienced programmers interested in commissioning and presenting artists
- Increase interest in disability-led work
- Create the best possible industry conditions to source, develop, produce and present work of disabled artists
Europe Beyond Access in Sweden
“We are very excited about connecting with developments in other parts of Europe and to share knowledge and experience through working inclusively. Our focussed programme of disabled artist development, DansFunk, has already presented itself as a national platform for dance and disability so the experiences gained within Europe Beyond Access will be beneficial on both a regional and national level.” Skånes Dansteater (Malmö, Sweden)
Skånes Dansteater is Sweden’s largest independent dance institution and since 2014 has integrated disabled dancers into its repertory company on a regular basis. The organisation has become a leading voice in arts and disability in Sweden as well as the rest of Scandinavia. Skånes Dansteater hosted the second Europe Beyond Access laboratory led by Caroline Bowditch and Luke Pell. Bringing together disabled artists from each of the seven partner countries, they explored the theme Unexpected Bodies in Unexpected Places.
Fine Lines is new duet commission choreographed by Roser López Espinosa and performed by Madeleine Månsson and Anna Borràs Picó. A meeting shedding light on the fine lines between us, reminding us of our differences, our boundaries, the outlines of our intentions. But what brings us closer together? What do we want to celebrate in each other? On stage, two women. So delicate, so powerful. After performances in The Netherlands, Italy and Greece, all four duets were performed in Sweden on 18-19 November 2020 at Skånes Dansteater.
Updates on the programme can be found on the Skånes Dansteater website.
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