Biennale College Dance 2019

Biennale College – Dance dedicates a specific section to the art of choreography and offers new choreographers, ages 32 and under, the opportunity to create an original 20-minute work. The selection will designate up to 3 choreographers, who have presented at least one original creation in public and who have already undertaken a professional career.

The 3 selected choreographers will be involved from May 14th to June 30th 2019, and from May 21st to June 30th 2019; they will work with 7 professional dancers for a period of 6 weeks, ending with a public performance of each of the 3 original creations during a single event as part of the 13th International Festival of Contemporary Dance of La Biennale di Venezia.

During the elaboration, development and production of their creations, the 3 selected choreographers will be supported by the following experts: a dancer from the Trisha Brown Dance Company, a dramaturg, a director and a director specialized in set design.

The project will take place from May 14th to June 30th 2019, with scheduled activities five days per week.
La Biennale di Venezia reserves the right to modify the work schedule at any time during the project.
The 3 choreographers will be engaged in the development of a low-budget, free creation, basing their work on the analysis of Trisha Brown’s composition method, which will help them understand the mechanisms of the Artist's composition and ideation, and will serve as input for them to develop their own thinking, not as an aesthetic model.
The 3 choreographers will be given total creative freedom, to respect their inspiration.

The programme is structured as follows:
• a first one-week session with Marc Crousillat, a dancer from the Trisha Brown Dance Company, and expert in Trisha Brown's methodology and repertory;
• six weeks dedicated to choreographic creation during which the 3 choreographers will work on their own experimentation with 7 professional dancers; in this phase, they will be supported:
- for two non-consecutive weeks by a dramaturg: Guy Cools
- for one week by the director Catherine Schaub Abkarian, who will serve as an "independent eye" on the work that is being created
- for an entire day in the theatre to explore the technical aspects of staging with Simone Derai, a director and expert in set design.

During the process, the 3 choreographers will participate in two OPEN days in which they will present the work-in-progress of their creations and in an outdoor performance.
The last week will be dedicated to the rehearsals for the public presentation of their creations, which will take place as a single event of the 13th International Festival of Contemporary Dance of La Biennale di Venezia.

Selection and announcement
Deadline for registration for the selection: January 23rd, 2019

The selection is open to participants from all over the world.
The selection will be made at the complete discretion of the Director of the Dance Department of La Biennale di Venezia Marie Chouinard, and will be announced indicatively in mid-February 2019.

Attendance is mandatory for participation in the project.
The selected participants may stay in a shared apartment arranged for them by La Biennale di Venezia.
The participants must pay for their own travel, food and local transportation expenses.
Each selected applicant will be required to pay a registration fee in the amount of € 80.00 (VAT included, non-refundable) to be paid exclusively by credit card following the announcement of their acceptance, and no later than the date that will be specified in due time.

PARTICIPATION PROCEDURE
Documentation
Participants must first register filling in the online form and submitting the following documentation:
1. Curriculum Vitae (max. 1000 characters) and two photographs (half bust and full figure)
2. A letter of motivation for participation in the College – Choreographers’ section, explaining the motivations that led to their decision to become a choreographer
3. Two reference letters
4. Videos (minimum 1/max 3) (with a link for viewing) that document complete choreographic works by the choreographer

Application deadline: January 23rd, 2019.