Léim Live

Author: Maria Kirchhoff

My first work placement in the frame of Léim was at Mercat de les flors in Barcelona. During two weeks I was able to gain a deep insight into the history, the everyday work and future plans of the youth department at Mercat de les flors. Under the supervision of Judit Bombardó, who is officer of all programs for young audiences, I was able to gather experiences on different levels:

Participation in various workshops

I was lucky to participate in two different intensive workshops. One was designed for social workers, who work with people with mental and physical disabilities. The other one aimed at school teachers, offering them an artistic experience through different methods and ideas of contemporary dance. Through this, I was able to experience the high quality of such workshops and observe their immense effects on the participants.

Observing activities with youth

During my placement I spent one day following the chorographer Toni Mira in the project Tot dansa. Within this program which started in 2004, he is building up a performance with various secondary schools in Barcelona. The extraordinary approach of this project is to involve the teachers of the schools also as teachers for dance. They participate in workshops with dance pedagogues and the choreographer throughout the whole project in order to gain the knowhow which is necessary to do rehearsals with the kids.

Interviews with choreographers involved in the youth program of Mercat de les flors

I had an extensive exchange with the two choreographers Toni Mira, choreographer of this year’s Tot dansa production, and Àngels Margarit, choreographer of Origami, a dance piece for primary schools and families. Both have been part of the contemporary dance scene for young audiences for many years and were happy to share their experiences and viewpoints on the developments at Mercat de les Flors and the dance scene in Catalunya in general.

Insight into the everyday office work of the educational department

At Mercat de les flors I found a very open team, happy to engage me in any current issues and thoughts. The team was very open and friendly and eager to exchange ideas in relation to the two different realities in which we work – tanzhaus nrw in Düsseldorf, Germany and Mercat de les flors in Barcelona.

The activities and programs created at Mercat de les flors in order to engage youth in contemporary dance are innumerous and offer a lot of variety. Mercat successfully reaches audiences of all ages, of different professions, social backgrounds and. One of their strengths is the work with teachers and pupils, which is well summarized on their website:

“The Mercat de les Flors has a programme addressed to the school community, for both students and teachers: performances, workshops, teacher training, and all sorts of educational resources.” (http://mercatflors.cat/en/audiences/schools/)

The two weeks I spent at Mercat gave proof of this statement, of the variety of approaches and programs for young audiences. Since the youth department of tanzhaus nrw was going through major changes at the very moment of my placement, I was able to gain a lot of inspiration and new thoughts on educational work in the field of contemporary dance. My experiences influenced our planning at tanzhaus nrw and was able to share my experience with my colleagues making a transition of knowledge and experiences possible between two European partners. Thanks again to the people at Mercat de les flors for their openness and friendliness. Fins després!