LEAP

Learning, Exchange, Apply, Practice

LEAP (Learn Exchange Apply Practice) is a two-year project (2013 - 2015) for teachers of contemporary dance in Europe. In LEAP, different teaching methods were exchanged. This allowed teachers to expand and deepen their teaching methods, for example, for a specific target group.

LEAP builds on the EU project IDOCDE (International Documentation of Contemporary Dance Education), a study of documentation for exchanging European dance education between different countries. On the IDOCDE site, LEAP shares the development and results of the project with partners and the public. LEAP has 4 activities:

LEAP Teaching Residency, research into teaching methods in contemporary dance education.
LEAP Local Meetings, a platform for discussion and exchange of ideas.
LEAP TAB - Teaching Across Border, invitations to teach workshops at partner institutions.
LEAP - IDOCDE Symposium, an international platform for exchange between teachers of contemporary dance.

LEAP Teaching Residency (TR)

For research into positive methods in contemporary dance education, three teams of teachers from different partner institutes meet twice a week to determine a joint research strategy on the basis of a theme. You can follow their results on the IDOCDE website.

LEAP Local Meetings

On this platform, colleagues can exchange ideas and share their way of teaching. A local partner organisation and a local teacher organise four LEAP meetings in two years. The meetings always have a theme and are open to all local dance teachers.

LEAP TAB - Teaching Across Borders

With LEAP TAB teachers are invited to give a workshop at a LEAP partner institution. In this way the network of teachers and organisations becomes larger and teachers gain international experience. Visiting teachers are also interviewed. The interviews and the documentation of their workshops can be found on the IDOCDE website.

LEAP - IDOCDE Symposium

This annual symposium takes place during the ImPuls Tanz Vienna International Dance Festival. And is dedicated to exchange between teachers, sharing results of the TABs and developing and reflecting on teaching contemporary dance. The symposium is open to contemporary dance teachers, other teachers, students and researchers (including the teachers of IDOCDE). A report of the symposium can be found on the IDOCDE website.

LEAP Partners

Wiener Tanzwochen, Coordinator Kerstin Kussmaul, Austria

ISLO - Eastern Finland Sport Institute, Elina Ikonen, Finland

Le Pacifique | CDC, Tatiana Galleau, France

ICK Amsterdam, Marieke van Bueren, The Netherlands

Tanzhaus Zurich - Andrea Boll, Switzerland

Vitlycke Center for Performing Arts, Francesco Scavetta, Sweden

LEAP Project Team

Eszter Gál, Project Manager, Budapest

Defne Erdur, editor, Istanbul

Andrea Boll, Symposium Manager, Zurich

Kerstin Kussmaul, Project Ambassador, Vienna

LEAP is funded by the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Union under the title: LEAP - Learn, Exchange, Apply, Practice: Relevant practices in dance education in Europe.