JOINT ADVENTURES
JOINT ADVENTURES (JA) is an internationally active dance and theater production firm which, alongside its own artistic projects, primarily strives to encourage structural support for contemporary dance in Germany and abroad. Founded by Walter Heun in Munich in 1990, JA conceives and realizes festivals, workshops, and national and international guest performances in the genres of contemporary dance, contemporary theater and New Media. Furthermore, JA and Walter Heun provide artistic and cultural-policy consulting services for public institutions.
One of JA’s best-known projects is TANZWERKSTATT EUROPA. Recurring every August in Munich since 1991, this eleven-day event offers workshops, taught by international guest instructors to participants of all ages and levels of expertise, in the various techniques of contemporary dance. A diverse performance program featuring renowned dance companies and interesting newcomers from the dance scene offers insights into the latest events in the national and international dance world.
As co-initiator and network partner of the NATIONAL PERFORMANCE NETWORK (NPN) since 1999, JA encourages the national and international exchange of dance productions. Supported by the federal government’s commission for culture and media and by the ministries of culture and art of the German states, the NPN grants subsidies to organizers from Germany and other European countries to help defray the expenses of guest performances. Within the framework of co-production assistance, which began in 2005, the funds provided by Tanzplan Deutschland and the federal cultural foundation have also made it possible to support co-productions and cooperation among numerous organizers in Germany and elsewhere in Europe. Furthermore, Walter Heun is the first chairman of the Bavarian State Association for Contemporary Dance.
The ACCESS TO DANCE initiative began in Munich in 2006. The goal of this cooperative project among various Munich-based dance creators and dance institutions is to assure broad-based, long-term support for contemporary dance in Munich and Bavaria. The ATD’s work focuses on educational and continuing educational programs in dance studios, schools and universities, an Internet portal for dance in Bavaria, and the ATD’s own series of events and guest perfomrmances. Initiated as Munich’s contribution within the framework of “Tanzplan Deutschland,” the project is funded by Tanzbasis e.V. The following initiators have joined together in ATD: Walter Heun (JOINT ADVENTURES), Nina Hümpel (tanznetz.de), Dietmar Lupfer (Muffatwerk), Dr. Katja Schneider (twm – LMU Munich), Simone Schulte (Kulturbüro Simone Schulte & Andrea Marton), Bettina Wagner-Bergelt (Bavarian State Ballet) and Dr. Klaus Kieser (K. Kieser Verlag).
JA also realizes its own artistic productions with the Déjà Donné Company and the British choreographer Rosemary Butcher.
Last but not least, JOINT ADVENTURES is co-initiator and co-organizer of Dance Platform Germany. This platform, which recurs in a different German city every two years, serves as a forum where domestic and foreign visitors can witness the latest developments in the genre of contemporary dance in Germany.