Disrupting Harm in Dance

This is an online self-directed course put together by Whistle in collaboration with multiple experts – Crip Movement Lab, The Dance Union, J Bouey, and OFEN Co-Arts – in the dance field. They offer information and tools for dancers, performers, and adjacent professionals to work together while feeling safe, connected, and empowered.

Whistle is an international platform founded by Frances Chiaverini and Robyn Doty in 2017 which aims to confront gender-based harm in dance workspaces along with other forms of discrimination and abuse. Their current offerings include resources and referrals that support a holistic support system for change-making in dance culture.

Who is this course for?

The course’s content is first and foremost for dancers.

Dancers, dance teachers, choreographers, directors, rehearsal directors and assistants, and any people working in dance administration and production might all benefit from elements of these resources.

Tags

#dance community
#faire practice
#make change
#empower
#speak up

What does this curriculum consist of?

This curriculum offers a wide range of tools, online courses, videos, talks, worksheets, workshop materials as well as all contacts of international expert contributors.

Crip Movement Lab

  • a critical methodology for practicing, teaching, and creating dance accessibly and inclusively

The Dance Union

  • Dismantling White Supremacy

J Bouey

  • Somatic Astrology for Dancers Guide

OFEN Co-Arts Platform

  • Embodying Anti-Capitalist Process
  • Levelling Hierarchy in Dance
  • Support and Universal Access
  • Speaking Up as an Act of Care

Whistle

  • Messy Talks: A Discussion Toolkit
  • Boundaries and Consent: A Worksheet
  • Working with Consent
  • When Considering Touch (for Teachers, Choreographers)
  • On publicly asking, “Who doesn’t pay?”
  • Practical Tips for Talking to a Journalist [About Your Abuse]
  • Signs of an Emotionally Abusive Choreographer
  • Providing (Self) Care
  • Writing an Impact Statement
  • When Considering Accountability
  • CARA’s Model of Accountability: A Worksheet

Why are these resources needed?

Dance culture is dysfunctional. It’s built on promoting and rewarding dance subordination and submission. It can strip dancers of their autonomy and intuition, and it can displace their own sense of value for narrow ideals of discipline, perfection, and virtuosity. There is a staggering lack of support at an institutional level for dancers experiencing abuse.

Download / Link

All resources are available in English.

disruptingdance.com

Download the Workbook as PDF

What can these resources do?

These resources can be used to help workers in institutions better support dance artists via believability, implementing private complaint processes, and building nutritive environments with wellbeing in mind.

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Whistle

disruptingdance.com

whistlewhileyouwork.art

Note: These resources are free of charge for individual dancers. If this course is being applied at an institutional level, a donation should be considered to Whistle and/or to the individual collaborators involved in the making of the course. Whistle strongly recommends finding the contributors online or in real life, checking out their respective catalogs of works – and booking and hiring them!

Perma-curatorial seeds: A series of workshops by the far° festival and factory of living arts 

The video «Planting perma-curatorial» – a series of workshops as part of the PERMA-CULTURE project – documents a participatory workshop where the principles of permaculture are experimentally applied to a cultural context, particularly to the performing arts. The experts in this field are: the far° Nyon team, Leila Chakroun, and Gregory Stauffer.

Drawing on collective intelligence and creativity, these multi-disciplinary workshops are designed to deploy in different contexts of the publication PERMA-CULTURE (work in progress). The first cycle of far° research aims to make the living arts «more alive». This series of workshops organised across Switzerland is an opportunity to exchange practices and theoretical knowledge and to learn from each other about concrete solutions.

What does this tool consist of?

This is a video tool. It offers an accessible approach to the PERMA-CULTURE concept presented by far° Nyon and its partners. It provides a visual and audio illustration of the work involved in pooling knowledge in order to share experiences within the performing arts. This tool is designed for all arts professionals.

 

Contact person

Anne-Christine Liske
liske@far-nyon.ch
+41 22 365 15 59

Impressum

A video by Matthieu Moerlen, Mr Jadis Production

With far° Nyon, Leila Chakroun and Gregory Stauffer

English subtitles by Alexandre Cracker

Supported by Migros Culture Percentage m2act, the City of Nyon, the Canton of Vaud and the Region of Nyon

 

FemaleAct Calculator

FemaleAct is an association of FINTA actors who live and work in Switzerland (FINTA stands for Women (Frauen), Intersex, Non-binary, Trans and Agender individuals). They use their professional experience to identify where structural change is needed in the performing arts and develop projects to accelerate it.

FemaleAct has developed the online tool «Kalkulator» over the last two years. It has been integrated in the FemaleAct website since December 2023. In 2024, the tool will be further developed in collaboration with the first users.

What does this tool comprise?

On the FemaleAct website, performing artists can quickly and easily calculate care costs outside regular working hours (7:00am-6:00pm).

The first version of the calculator focuses on childcare.

Tags

#care
#costs
#fair wages
#fair practice
#contracts

What does this tool do?

The calculator works out the childcare costs you will have to bear during rehearsals over and above the institutional options. The result can be downloaded as a PDF.

So you can:

  • enter into wage negotiations
  • contribute to a fair wage structure
  • raise awareness of work-life balance

Who is this tool for?

The FemaleAct calculator is available free of charge to both artists and employers.

Why is this tool important?

In performing arts projects (theatre, performance, film, etc.), work is often done outside regular working and institutional childcare hours. Artists therefore often incur additional childcare costs, which they have to bear privately.

The calculator helps to make these costs visible, enabling the additional care work to be adequately factored into cultural project budgets.

Impressum

FemaleAct association: femaleact.ch

Facebook

Instagram

Illustration: Rachel Duc

Migros Pioneer Fund: From 0 to 100

The Migros Pioneer Fund‘s «From 0 to 100» toolbox helps you turn a good idea into an effective pioneering project. Social innovation rarely happens in a straight line: it requires guidance, reflection and the right tools at the right time. The toolbox combines practical instructions, tried-and-tested methods and helpful templates to guide you through your project. It helps you gain clarity, structure challenges and tackle the next steps in a targeted manner. Whether you are at the beginning, in the middle or at a turning point, the toolbox is your reliable companion.

What does this tool consist of?

The «From 0 to 100» toolbox consists of two central elements:
a guide for pioneering projects and a collection of tools, methods and templates. The content is modular in structure and can be used flexibly depending on the project phase, from the initial spark of an idea to further development or scaling.

 

Tags

#migrospionierfonds
#pionierprojekt
#von0auf100

What can this tool do?

The toolbox helps you refine your idea, make informed decisions and consciously shape the course of your project. It offers concrete support on topics such as collaboration, impact, role clarification, communication and reflection. The content is practical, tried and tested, and designed to empower you to take action.

Who is this tool for?

The «From 0 to 100» toolbox is aimed at project teams, initiatives and individuals who want to create social added value with their ideas. It is particularly suitable for pioneering projects in the early and middle stages.

Why is this tool necessary?

Social change is complex and fraught with uncertainty. Projects encounter questions, conflicting goals and obstacles along the way. The toolbox provides guidance, makes implicit knowledge accessible and helps to tackle challenges in a structured manner without losing sight of the individual character of a project.

 

 

Impressum

Authorship:
Migros Pioneer Fund

Concept & production:
Migros Pioneer Fund

Contact:
Migros Pioneer Fund

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution – NonCommercial – 4.0 International License.

Green Rider

Tasty Future encourages institutions in the Swiss cultural landscape to design their gastronomy and catering concepts in a new and sustainable way – with a focus on plant-based nutrition. The Green Rider developed by Tasty Future now enables teams to find out about environmentally friendly options for vegan catering in the backstage area, plant-based milk alternatives or plastic-free water.

The Zurich activists behind the initiative are convinced that «business as usual» is not an option in view of the climate crisis. Founded in 2021 by Daniel Hellmann and Barbara Ellenberger, the team of food activists is constantly growing.

What does this tool comprise?

The Green Rider is a template for artists and creative artists and institutions that they can easily pass on to venues. It enables environmentally friendly options to be requested, such as vegan catering, plastic-free water or sustainable materials.

Tags

#sustainability #techride r#vegan #plasticfree #greenrider #tastyfuture #wegovegan #future #climateactionnow #vegansofzürich #plantbased #cultureinzurich #localvegan #sustainablegastronomyday #sustainableculture #sustainableart #veganfood

What does this tool do?

The Green Rider is a template for artists and creative artists and institutions that they can easily pass on to venues. It enables environmentally friendly options to be requested, such as vegan catering, recommendations for vegetarian and vegan restaurants, plastic-free water or sustainable materials.

Who is this tool for?

The Green Rider is for artists, art workers and institutions and is available to everyone free of charge.

Why is this tool important?

The Green Rider is an important instrument in the performing arts to promote sustainability in an industry that is often very resource-intensive. It provides a clear framework for environmentally aware behaviour and makes it easier for artists and institutions to make environmentally friendly and more sustainable decisions.

Impressum

Ownership: Tasty Future with Soya the Cow

Website

E-Mail

Insta

 

Dampfzentrale Bern: Salary scheme for fair wages at cultural institutions in Switzerland

Dampfzentrale Bern commissioned the Centre for Cultural Management ZHAW to conduct the «Vorstudie Löhne Freie Kulturszene Schweiz» (Preliminary Study on Wages in the Independent Cultural Scene in Switzerland). Based on this, it has developed a scheme for fair standard wages for permanent employees at independent production houses in Switzerland.

This fair pay table is based on the Austrian model, «Fair Pay für Kulturarbeit». To date, no standardised guideline wages nor recommendations exist for employees in production, communication, management and technology at cultural institutions in Switzerland. The tpunkt professional association’s standard fees primarily affect freelancers.

ZHAW’s preliminary study provides an inventory of the current wage situation at independent production houses (focus: guest venues for dance and theatre). The results can also be transferred to cultural centres focusing on other genres.

Ergebnisse Lohnstudie Freie Kulturbetriebe Schweiz 2024 (DE)

Vergleich Gehälter Schweizer Kulturbetriebe (DE)

A salary scheme was created on this basis, enabling cultural institutions to commit to transparent, fair wages. Every cultural institution’s core business is the presentation, discussion and communication of artistic creation. The salary scheme is based on the idea that commercial and artistic professions should be given equal weighting at similar levels of responsibility. 

The study was conducted in German, therefore all documents are in German.

Use Case Gehaltschema Dampfzentrale Bern (DE)

Why is this tool necessary?

The salaries of permanent employees at Swiss cultural institutions are well below average when compared with similar positions in other sectors. This exacerbates the shortage of skilled personnel, weakens social sustainability and negatively impacts the qualitative consistency of work performed at institutions. To date, there are no standardised guideline wages and recommendations for employees in production, communication, management and technology at cultural institutions in Switzerland. The standard fees of the professional association tpunkt and the endeavours as part of the 2025–2028 cultural message primarily concern freelancers.

What this tool do?

The new salary scheme offers an easy-to-use, transferable, transparent modular system for application to all positions in a cultural institution.

Who is this tool for?

Cultural institutions in Switzerland that want to commit to fair, transparent salaries.

Focus: guest venues for dance and/or theatre

 

What does this tool consist of?

Its central element is a modular system that can be used for all positions in a cultural institution.  The basis for this was provided by the results of ZHAW’s preliminary study.

Information on wages in the cultural organisations (all values)

Information on wages in the cultural organisations (median)

Information on wages in the cultural organisations (average)

Impressum

Dampfzentrale Bern

Karin Bitterli (Commercial Director Dampfzentrale Bern), bitterli@dampfzentrale.chThe

Talking Diversity

In its communications, the Schauspielhaus Zürich takes care to use language that is sensitive towards and critical of all discrimination. Schauspielhaus employees and ensemble members have compiled a glossary of basic terms to make sure that the audience knows what certain words mean.

What does this tool comprise?

This glossary is a collection of terms with explanations. The terms presented here are explicitly not definitions. They are not set in stone for all eternity.

Some come from the US-American language region and have not yet found a German equivalent. The terms are often dependent on the local social contexts in which they are used, and their meanings shift in use.

They provide a temporary snapshot of our time, as we all know how quickly social conditions can change.

Tags

#glossary
#diversity
#inclusivelanguage #schauspielhaus.ch
#talkingdiversity

What can this glossary contribute to?

This glossary raises awareness of non-discriminatory language.

Non-discriminatory language helps us to differentiate while counteracting stereotyping and violent ascriptions of others.

It allows all individuals to speak for themselves and in their own words, embracing their personal affiliations.

Who is this tool for?

This glossary is for everyone. The terms are intended to encourage us to see language not as a constraint but a creative tool that enables us to help shape the world actively and autonomously.

Why is this glossary important?

Language is a fluid tool. It reflects social processes; sometimes, it can even drive change. By making yourself aware of discrimination and altering your speech accordingly, you can help

  • overcome centuries-old systems of power and violence that affect society as a whole,
  • avoid belittling vulnerable people and
  • give greater visibility to marginalised groups.

Marginalised people are underrepresented not only linguistically but also in the media, politics and culture, and their voices struggle to find a platform and attention.

Download

The glossary is available in German and English:

Impressum

Text references:
The texts in this glossary are taken from various sources, which we would like to name and thank: Diversity Arts Culture, diversity-arts-culture.berlin; Diversum – Verein für rassismuskritisches Denken, www.verein-diversum.ch and the glossary in Evein Obulor & Rosamag (eds.): Schwarz wird großgeschrieben, 2021. Some of the texts are original contributions to this publication.

Redaction:
Fadrina Arpagaus, Yuvviki Dioh, Miriam Ibrahim, Laura Kaufmann, Laiya Sievi

Published by: Schauspielhaus Zürich AG Zeltweg 5, 8032 Zurich

FIT FOR THE FUTURE: 2025 Annual Report

This Annual Report provides an overview of the first year of FIT FOR THE FUTURE, a three-year project created as part of the FIT Festival. The report covers a process of observation, learning and transformation related to transitions in artistic leadership, outlining often undocumented dynamics, such as relationships, fragilities, responsibility and tacit knowledge. The report also includes a provisional set of principles for transitions in artistic leadership based on experience gained during the first year, providing a tool kit for reflection and guidance. The report does not set out conclusive results, but a work-in-progress pathway towards creating a sustainable and replicable transition model in the performing arts sector.

It reports on the first of three years. Another report will be produced for the year 2026. A third report, scheduled for the end of 2027, will present the entire process as a model project and will be available in all languages.

What does this tool consist of?

It reports on a process documenting the first year of a transition in artistic leadership, outlining reflections, practices and operational principles.

What can this tool do?

It provides guidance, language and key tools to support more gradual and sustainable transitions based on greater awareness.

Who is this tool for?

Artistic directors, cultural teams and institutions facing or considering a change of leadership.

Why is this tool necessary?

To highlight and share what is usually informal and undocumented knowledge, the lack of which often results in traumatic transitions.

 

 

Impressum

Paola Tripoli and Simon Waldvogel

produzione@fitfestival.ch

www.fitfestival.ch

t. Standard wages and fees

Professional and industry association t. Theaterschaffen Schweiz provides as a wage and fee guide for professionals in the independent performing arts. This allows you to calculate appropriate earnings for your work and conduct transparent and comprehensible salary or fee negotiations.

t. Theaterschaffen Schweiz set up a working group for the further development of standard wages and fees. They began their work at the end of 2021. In a broad consultation process, a wide range of actors in the sector from all parts of the country were involved in tool development and in determining benchmarks.

In the process of further developing standard wages and fees, t. Theaterschaffen Schweiz encourages professionals on stage and behind the scenes, as well as interest groups, to engage more actively in the discussions on wages and fees. There is still too little talk about money, both in the independent performing arts and in culture. The t. Standard wages and fees create more transparency and aim to promote a culture of negotiation.

What does this tool offer?

At www.tpunkt.ch/richtloehne there are two newly created tools available that are tailored to the special working realities in the independent performing arts:

Tags

#negotiation
#fairwages
#money
#budget
#fairpractice
#contracts

What does this tool do?

With the t. Calculator, freelancers and self-employed persons can calculate their salary or fee for the development and rehearsal phase. New gradations such as work experience, the level of responsibility in the project and the work region are included.

The t. Budget can be used to calculate the recommended price of a performance and the amortization costs per performance.

Why is this tool important?

Professionals in the independent theatre scene, cabaret and other branches of the independent performing arts have a right to fair remuneration based on their training and professionalism.

t. offers the first national calculation tool for more transparency and negotiation culture in the entire sector.

Who is this tool for?

It serves as a guide for individual artists, theatre groups, agencies, event organisers, theatres and private and public funding bodies.

Contact

t. Theaterschaffen Schweiz
www.tpunkt.ch

info@tpunkt.ch

Impressum

Working group t. Standard wages and fees

  • Cristina Galbiati, Co-President of t. Theaterschaffen Schweiz.
  • Eric Devanthéry, Management Board member of t. Theaterschaffen Schweiz.
  • Nina Mariel Kohler, Management Board member of t. Theaterschaffen Schweiz.
  • Christophe Drag, Administrative Manager Cie Philippe Saire
  • Gabi Bernetta, Producer, Bernetta Theaterproduktionen, winner of the Swiss Theatre Award 2018
  • Anja Lauper, Agent Kunstprojekte.ch / Tourbo-music.ch
  • Judith Rohrbach, former Co-Director Kleintheater Lucerne / Since October 2023, Head of Swiss Artists’ Exchange and Deputy Head t. Theaterschaffen Schweiz).

Project management office t.

  • Chantal Hirschi, Managing Director t. Theaterschaffen Schweiz).
  • Clara Gudehus, Head of Services and Projects

Supported by m2act /Migros Culture Percentage, Swisslos Kultur Kanton Bern, Schweizerische Interpretenstiftung, Federal Office of Culture

Tatenbank

The Swiss-wide central action platform for a more sustainable cultural sphere

The Tatenbank is a project by Vert le Futur, the association for sustainable culture and events.  The platform gathers knowledge from the cultural sector on sustainably producing and organising cultural events. The content of the Tatenbank is researched and curated by an interdisciplinary team of people at the intersection of culture and sustainability, with creative artists, authors, software developers, communication specialists, graphic designers and networking artists continuously building up and further developing it.

What is the Tatenbank made up of?

The Tatenbank offers condensed knowledge checked by experts, specific aids and tools and inspiring examples of sustainable work in all areas of cultural creation:

  • Administration
  • Equipment
  • Purchasing
  • Gastronomy
  • Infrastructure
  • Communication
  • Curation
  • Artistic content

Tags

#tatenbank
#vertlefutur
#tools
#inspiration
#ideas
#examples
#sustainableculture

What does the Tatenbank offer?

  • Information: The Tatenbank is a source of knowledge, inspiration and orientation.
  • Community: Creative artists can use the Tatenbank to obtain low-threshold access to expertise and a network of experts. They can learn how to go about their activities in a resource-conserving, sustainable way.
  • Participation: Users can get involved and share their own «deeds» in the area of sustainable cultural creation. The Tatenbank is therefore continuously updated with experiences from the community.

Why is the Tatenbank important?

To ensure that sustainability does not get swept under the table in the world of culture, it is important to have useful aids, knowledge and in particular good examples at our disposal.

It takes time to collect and study this information, and to draw the right conclusions from it.

The Vert le Futur association aims to close this gap with the Tatenbank.

Who is the Tatenbank aimed at?

The Tatenbank is aimed at creative artists from all genres who want to work towards sustainable culture in their respective areas of work and impact.

All content is available in German and French.

Impressum

Vert le Futur
vertlefutur.ch

Contact details
tatenbank@vertlefutur.ch