What is Aerowaves?

Aerowaves is a Europe-wide network started in 1996, which brings together dance specialists from 34 countries to look at the work of young choreographers. From the outset, this has resulted in ten performance opportunities at The Place in London as part of the Resolution! festival as well as many other informal presentations around Europe.

For the first time in 2009, over 70 additional performances were confirmed in 22 other European cities: Moscow, Oslo, Tallinn, Vilnius, Copenhagen, Dublin, Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Frankfurt, Prague, Poznan, Warsaw, Zurich, Lausanne, Bassano del Grappa, Rome, Porto, Limassol, Osijek and Zagreb. This increased to over 80 in 2010, and approximately 100 opportunities in 2011. We anticipate a simily number in 2012. Application for 2013 is open to any artist in geographical Europe, although performances will not be offered in their country of residence.

Who is it for?
It's for emerging choreographers and companies who have not yet done much touring abroad.

How does it work?
Artists complete an online application by 17 September 2012, upload the work to Vimeo (http://vimeo.com/) and once they receive an email confirming its eligibility, send a DVD of that work to London. They may now add performance dates for the proposed work under Candidates in the Aerowaves calendar. The Aerowaves partners meet to assess the DVDs in late October and their advice helps the Presenters in choosing works for the following year. For the first time in 2011, 22 companies were also selected for the Aerowaves Spring Forward festival in Ljubljana. All these performances are shown under Companies in the Aerowaves calendar. Each year other informal opportunities arise and work has been presented through Aerowaves in the majority of the countries represented at its meeting.

Today
Aerowaves is in receipt of its first direct grant towards the network's core costs from the Culture fund of the European Union for fours years until 2014.

Performance
This year, the first Aerowaves Spring Forward in Ljubljana added a further 22 performances. There will be – as there always have been – further informal invitations as news of the selected works spreads through the advocacy of the network. We expect a similar number of opportunities for 2012. Aerowaves is committed to the belief that young dance makers develop through these cross-border encounters with different audiences and artists, and the public clearly welcomes first-hand experience of art from other cities before its individuality is diluted by the demands of international touring.

Who is on the Board?
Ian Fisher (Chair)
Anna Arthur (Secretary)
John Ashford CBE
Rose Fenton OBE
Phillip Keir
Wayne McGregor CBE
Helen Shute

The Board continues to be grateful for the support, advice and services of  The Place (Contemporary Dance Trust Ltd).

Read our Annual Report for 2010 here. 
View the history of aerowaves