The British Council and Itaú Cultural joined forces to present an International Dance Conference to be held in May 2005 in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

The objective was to bring up ideas from key academics, critics, programmers and artists in contemporary dance internationally. The meeting did not propose to be a global manifesto or poll, but to confront ideas that are circulating among peers in different parts of the globe. Looking at policies and projects, the event aimed to open the discussion on Networking, politics of cooperation.

The conferences were like working groups discussing proposals and thoughts that were previously discussed via email and audio/videoconference using the facilities of British Council worldwide during the previous months. The process of preparation and the final documentation were used as future tools for reflection, and were offered by Itaú Cultural for the international dance community in a website. After the discussions, two UK case studies were presented by invited guests. They both tried to open new possibilities of conceiving dance and performance events and have a track record of success in two very important areas of dance development: new audiences and new artists.

Rio de Janeiro
May 2, 3 and 4
Venue: British Council Rio de Janeiro
Rua Jardim Botânico, 518, 1º andar
telephone: (21) 2105-7500

São Paulo
May 6, 7 and 8
Venue: Itaú Cultural
Av. Paulista, 149
São Paulo (estação Brigadeiro do metrô)
telephone: (11) 2168-1700
fax: (11) 2168-1775