TIN Arts have worked with Perform[d]ance (Germany) as part of a collaborative partnership that began in 2023.
The project was initially a pilot international co-operation activity between the cities of Durham and Stralsund.
The focus of the pilot project was on Dance for, by and with Children and Young People with a view to developing further cultural ties and activities in the future. The pilot (2023-24) was funded by Arts Council England with additional match funding provided by Dachverband Tanz Deutschland sourced from the Strategic Brexit Reserve.
Activity Strands included:
- Leadership Exchange
- Creation of new work by young people using digital platforms
- Hosting work by PD in UK as part of residency / tour
- Online knowledge exchange and sharing of practice
Each organisation identified a key area of exploration:
For Perform[d]ance: How TIN Arts address barriers related to access and inclusion to support young people to participate
For TIN Arts: How Perform[d]ance overcome barriers related to low cultural provision and rural nature of location.
Both organisations have spent time in each other’s respective countries exploring working practices as well as meeting and working with participants connected to the two organisations.
In early 2024 young people from both countries created new work for performance through online zoom sessions which formed a bond and shared a new movement language digitally.
You can see the resulting works here:
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Through further generous support from Arts Council England, TIN Arts and Perform(d)ance continue to work together to further deepen our working relationship.
In December 2024 members of TIN Arts travelled to Stralsund, Germany to lead 2 days of training focused on inclusive practice in dance with dance artists working and living in the North East of Germany.
A Fachtagung (symposium) will also feature offering a platform for wider discussion with the dance sector in Germany around inclusion and accessibility in dance.
In January 2025, members of Perform[d]ance travelled to the North East of England to once again join TIN Arts in a series of workshops and activities exploring inclusive practice in dance.
A second Fachtagung (symposium) was held in Durham, this time focusing on Perform(d)ance’s ‘Classroom Culture’ programme which sees live professional dance performing live in school in rural locations in North East Germany – a model TIN Arts are adopting and developing in County Durham as part of the Into the Light programme (link to inspirED).
North East Moves
The partnership developed further through North East Moves, a new international collaboration bringing young dancers from TIN Arts and Perform[d]ance together to explore identity, place and connection through dance.
The project began with online creative sessions between the two groups before moving into exchanges in both countries. In September 2025, two young people from TIN Arts travelled to North East Germany to work with the Perform[d]ance group and capture the first footage for a new dance-for-screen film.
The following month, young dancers from Perform[d]ance travelled to County Durham for a week-long residency with TIN Arts. Together, the dancers took part in creative sessions, shared classes and filming across locations including Redhills Miners’ Hall, Beamish Museum, Hownsgill Viaduct and Raby Castle’s Dutch Barn.
Working with filmmaker Roswitha Chesher, the young people explored the industrial histories, landscapes and shared experiences of the two regions. The exchange also gave the dancers the opportunity to spend time together in person, build friendships and learn from one another across differences in language and culture.
The resulting film, North East Moves, brings together footage captured in both England and Germany and shares the hopes, aspirations and experiences of the young people involved.
North East Moves premiered in February 2026 and is now available to watch online.
We also captured some interviews with the dancers, the teams from both TIN Arts and Perform[d]ance, and filmmaker Roswitha Chesher. Their honest reflections on the project are now available to watch below:
This project is funded by Cultural Bridge Network, which celebrates bilateral artistic partnerships between the UK and Germany through the collaboration between Arts Council England, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, British Council, Creative Scotland, Fonds Soziokultur, Goethe-Institut London and Wales Arts International / Arts Council of Wales.
You can read more about Cultural Bridge using this link: https://www.cultural-bridge.info/