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Tanzquartier Wien: Erste Bank Supports 2007/2008 Season

A versatile centre for dance and performance, Tanzquartier Wien – based at Vienna’s MuseumsQuartier – sees itself as a workshop, studio and communicative interface for artists from Austria and Central Europe. As part of “Kontakt – The Arts and Civil Society Program of Erste Bank Group”, Erste Bank will be supporting Tanzquartier Wien (TQW) during the entire season of 2007/2008.

Erste Bank has repeatedly supported TQW in the past. On the back of several successful joint projects, this cooperation is now being intensified: “Kontakt” will be supporting the entire season of TQW (September 2007 – April 2008), with a particular emphasis on the exciting new performance production “The Frequently Asked” by Tim Etchells and Adrian Heathfield, which runs at TQW from 22 to 24 November 2007. “The Tanzquartier is extremely important for Vienna, just as it is for the entire Central European region. For it is so much more than just a stage,” says Boris Marte, Head of Corporate Sponsoring at Erste Bank and initiator of “Kontakt”, to explain Erste Bank’s involvement. “Here, dance and performance artists from the entire region have the opportunity to attend workshops and seminars, to exercise and rehearse, to make use of the information centre and share their knowledge on the latest developments in their fields. Here, they find an open forum for contact and dialogue.” Marte adds. Dialogue is also the main theme of “The Frequently Asked”, a performance marathon created by British artists Tim Etchells and Adrian Heathfield. During the eight-hour show, 21 artists, the majority of them from Eastern Europe, engage in staged conversations with each other about performance art. TQW makes a point of shifting the discourse in contemporary dance further toward Central and Eastern Europe: For example, the dance centre hosts an Eastern European choreographer in residence twice a year. “We support Tanzquartier in its effort to provide artists from Central Europe with a proper space,” adds Boris Marte. “With 16 million customers in eight countries, Erste Bank is the largest financial services provider in Central Europe. With this economic presence comes a social and cultural responsibility for the region. Cooperating with Tanzquartier is just one expression of our commitment to fostering a lively and sustainable art scene in Central Europe,” he says.