iDAS NRW iDAS NRW (International Dance Artists Service NRW)

The state of North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen) is an especially active center of Germany’s contemporary dance scene with a large number of dance companies recognized both in Germany and internationally. Founded in July 2009 with the support of the Ministry of Family, Youth, Culture and Sport of the state of North Rhein-Westphalia, iDAS ^NRW aims to intensify this development by helping to bring more attention to dance and promote its appeal, while at the same time helping to build a more beneficial environment for dance companies to pursue creation and performance at a higher artistic level.

IDAS ^NRW acts as a service for dancers, choreographers and contemporary dance companies from NRW as well as for national and international presenters of dance performances (organizations, companies, groups, etc.).

Each year 15 to 20 companies active in North Rhine-Westphalia are selected to be represented by iDAS ^NRW . The requirements for selection are that they be groups that have performed in and beyond the state of North Rhein-Westphalia and that they have works that can tour. The spectrum of companies ranges from contemporary dance, performance, installation works (indoors and outdoors) to hip hop theater, dance theater and productions for children and young people.

The selected dancers, choreographers and contemporary dance companies receive professional counseling concerning production and touring possibilities and support in areas that are difficult for the artists to perform themselves due to personnel or financial limitations, such as production of information materials and organization of performance profiles. Furthermore, iDAS ^NRW provides domestic and international presenters with information about performances of North Rhine-Westphalia companies, artist and company information and information about works that can tour via its website and in newsletter form.

The office of iDAS is set up in the facility of tanzhaus.nrw , a dance organization with longstanding experience and a vast international network in the dance world. This close association with tanzhaus not only helps keep the organization in touch with the dancers’ creative methods and interests but also enables constant gathering of information about current available works and the future intentions of the artists. It also provides ready access to production information such as the current conditions requested by performance planners, festivals and regional partners.

In these ways, iDAS support of free dance artists helps get information about their great artistic potential out to people in and beyond the state and thus opens up new possibilities for development.