Introduction to Residence Institution

First, danceWEB is a five-week program which includes Impulstanz Festival. The Impulstanz Festival is a dance festival which can never be found in the world in terms of its period and scale. This festival is one of three great festivals in Europe along with Montpellier Danse and Tanz im August Berlin. The application for participants in danceWEB will be closed in December of the previous year. Impulstanz danceWEB scholarship in Vienna differs a little from that in the general arts residency. Other residencies emphasize the announcement of the results of works, but the danceWEB focused on the communication and exchange with dance webbers for five weeks rather than the announcement of the results. They emphasize sharing thoughts and dances of many dance webbers from countries all over the world. If you are selected for one of dance webbers, you will participate in workshops and see performances while staying in Vienna for five weeks. You will participate in other programs of danceWEB. They will lend you a bike for 50 Euros and about 43 people (as of 2019) will stay in each single room with a shower room in a dormitory of music middle school in Australia. There is one kitchen on each floor. About 12 people will stay on each floor. Another feature of danceWEB is a mentor. I stayed with a mentor for the first week and last week. During the first week, we talked each other about the arts and discussed to know all 43 people. Later during the last week, we stayed together after three tight weeks of workshops and performances. Every year, the Impulstanz decides mentors. Mentors will look at the documents of participating dance webbers to select the dance webbers of that year. So that, mentors know each one of dance webbers and desire to have more time to talk based on their knowledge. Hanna Bauer is a person who is in charge of works related to danceWEB and Dance Webber with whom we exchanged information through E-mail. Gabri Einsiedl is an actual contact for us who gave us onsite support. You will contact with Hanna before traveling to Vienna and communicate quite actively.

Major activities of residency programs

The first week is the period before Impulstanz Festival starts. At first, dance webbers and mentors met for a week. We discussed various themes and danced after personal introduction, and spent the time with mentors. During the second, third and fourth weeks, we followed normal schedule for workshop (including field project) and performance that each one had applied. Occasionally, there was a program, "danceWEB Salon" where all in the danceWEB program gathered at one place to share after spending days according to each one's schedule. At this time, it is mandatory to participate in the danceWEB Salon. The fifth week is almost the end of Impulstanz Festival. Dance webbers and mentors stayed together for the last five days. We talked each other and danced as we did in the first week. It was the time to show our own thoughts that had been changed for five weeks or to make a presentation of dances or outcomes.It seems that every year danceWEB changes its atmosphere little bit according to a mentor. But the most basic characteristic of danceWEB is always the same. The danceWEB puts priority on sharing thoughts among new generation artists gathered from countries all over the world and their networking. They do not force any type of works nor demand anything. They just think it important to participate, feel and spend time as a dance webber.During my participation this year, I attended many workshops, and saw many performances. The period of workshop is divided into the week class on weekdays and the intensive class on weekends. The week class opens once a day five times a week and the intensive class opens twice a day on Saturday and Sunday. I attended three workshops in one day and saw two performances. It was really hard to breath to keep up the schedule for five weeks. It was hard but interesting. I could not miss classes every day less regretted the time passing so fast. Not every class was hard. This year I registered mainly for considerably intense and physical classes. You can register the workshop around May after the selection. You can apply for your needs while looking at the information of classes on website. It is also available to attend the classes and change them onsite. As far as I know, it is possible to change after the first class and by the next morning. You can register for the performances around June before traveling to Vienna. You may register for the performances you wish to see according to the workshop schedule of each person. It is also possible to cancel registered performances onsite and register for other performances of assigned tickets of danceWEB. When you go there after the selection, a group chatting room of danceWEB will be created and a supporter Gabri or Bauer will notify once again in details about it.

There are varieties of workshops. There are classes of many styles from movement class, choreography class, impromptu movement, hiphop, and dramaturg, etc. You can choose the classes you prefer at the danceWEB. Also, the field project is the same, which is a concept of work rather than a concept of class. Yet, there is also a class either to study the movement intensively with a lecturer for one theme or develop my own work under the instruction of the lecturer. In terms of the characteristics of danceWEB, if you wish, you can choose at least one research project or one field project to spend intensively. (However, according to my experience, you may register first and go there to replace the field project with other workshop. It is absolutely individual freedom.) There is a strong possibility that you may perform the field project. It seems that it requires to research one theme and show it in any type of showcase. The field project proceeded with a long breath for about 4 to 6 hours a day. There are a basic 2-hour workshop class and a long 3-hour class. Selected person needs to arrange all of his (or her) personal schedule at the registration for workshop and field project, and performance. Let me go back to the story of danceWEB In 2019, there were 43 dance webbers. It took more than a week to remember their names. But we made friends so fast. As everyone came to be intimate, we shared concern and talked each other a lot. As I took classes with many dance webbers and saw performances together, we had many talks. We became more friendly while everyday we prepared lunchboxes in the kitchen on each floor and cooked foods. As a reference, in my case, I attended three classes a day and saw two performances, so that I rarely bought foods outside. Everyone carried his own lunchbox. Even on weekends, at least you may take one meal outside but mostly you can take care of foods in the dormitory. I recommend you to consider this.The danceWEB provides studios separately. They prepare a hall anytime available so called danceWEB Space in the workshop building. In the hall, we took a rest or made something with favorite friends. The danceWEB will give an opportunity to conduct a show when you tell the host (Gabri or director Rio) about the work made with a friend. Then, you can make and show the performance in the danceWEB Space. This time, one friend from Hong Kong presented the work in this way. The danceWEB supported us quite actively in this aspect.

Residence programs and other matters

You will take care of accommodation and foods mostly in a dormitory. At Arsenal where to attend the workshop, the organizer operates a festival restaurant but the price is very expensive. Therefore, you need to prepare your own lunchbox.

You can use a bike for the transportation during the stay except rainy days. Bike road is well constructed but frequently you need to ride on little complicated and similar road. Within three to four days, you will be able to memorize every road of Vienna City. It is surprisingly easy. Also, Google Map is well provided. But you need to keep the hand signal when you ride a bike. Vienna is famous as a tour city, so that I did not experience any inconvenience. Although people speak German, it is possible to talk in English with anyone. But the prices for living are too high.