Community dance in Switzerland - does it exist?
Switzerland - temporary home of Rudolf Laban between 1913 and 1920 - is not really a dance stronghold, for dancers are still struggling for professional recognition. Moreover, very few possibilities for professional work and even fewer opportunities for vocational training exist. Here
Susanne Scheider describes the fragile growth of Community Dance in Switzerland
Dance does have a foothold in Switzerland: some internationally recognised companies such as Gilles Jobin, Philippe Saire, Drift and others have established themselves over the last years, funding bodies are increasingly sponsoring dance, and young innovative dancers are bringing back to Switzerland the dance-related knowledge and enthusiasm that they have acquired abroad.
The legacy of Laban and his followers
Community Dance reflects the general Swiss situation: a strong dancing tradition does not exist. However, in various corners of the country small community dance centres have been growing for a long time. The seeds for those plants were sown in the 20s and 30s of the last century when students of Rudolf Laban, Mary Wigman, Emile Jacques Dalcroze, Trudi Schoop and others were establishing schools and teaching classes across the whole country. Whatever the name of the dancing activities thus introduced to Switzerland, - 'Ausdruckstanz', rhythmical gymnastics, or creative dance - the expression of the individual through movement was a central element in all of them. Although those impulses and ideas never really led to a large-scale movement in Switzerland, some of the original ideas have survived to the present day and have even found ways into schools and teacher training programmes through the work of charismatic individuals. Thus dancing activities based on the community dance philosophy have existed in Switzerland for quite a long time. Nevertheless, the term only emerged in Switzerland a few years ago. People studying in the UK introduced the term Community Dance to Switzerland, and it is now being used more and more to encapsulate the various dancing activities of communities.
Over the last few years, numerous individual community dance activities have taken place. Among these are several youth dance platforms and community dance festivals, several community dance performances given to ever-growing audiences, as well as various conferences on community. A Swiss community dance concept has been developed and disseminated among potential funding bodies.
What is still missing is a nation-wide network as well as a broader understanding of the potential of community dance for society and dance at large.
BewegGrund
BewegGrund - a good example of community-based work in Switzerland - has existed since 1997. BewegGrund ('reason to move') is an integrated group based in Bern. The group meets every fortnight for regular courses, organises occasional workshops and teaches performance to a core group. Important input comes from guest teachers whom we invite, for example Alito Alessi and Emery Blackwell, Adam Benjamin and Caroline Waters.
As important as the feedback from the outside world is the development within the group. The small as well as the big steps taken by BewegGrund are equally crucial:
- from a group of dance enthusiasts to a self-confident group of accomplished dancers
- from the vague idea of the importance of integrated work to the strong conviction of the political power of this kind of work
- from initial small studio performances to a performance in front of 700 people including the Swiss Minister for Internal Affairs last year.
Development in small steps
Community Dance is, then, a viable activity within the Swiss context, though its development tends to be slow and the patience of all those involved is required. In the near future it will be important to gain the attention of potential funding bodies in order to promote the community dance idea. We need to both develop national structures and deepen international contacts. Questions of quality standards need to be discussed and addressed.
What we can build on is the long tradition of ideas relating to community dance in this country, even if many people are still not familiar with them. Many of the seeds that were sown as early as the last century have not begun to sprout as yet - all the more reason not to miss Monte Verità near Ascona on your next trip to Switzerland, it is the place where Rudolf Laban spent many a summer and tried out his ideas and principles of movement which he was finally to introduce to the UK.
Susanne Schneider, community dance co-ordinator, cofounder of BewegGrund. Email: schneider@bluewin.ch
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