Performing Arts Forum (PAF) comes to London (28-29 March 2015)

Performing Arts Forum (PAF) comes to London
with Jan Ritsema, Mårten Spångberg, Bojana Cvejić and Jonathan Burrows

On 28-29 March 2015, Independent Dance, in collaboration with Siobhan Davies Dance, will be hosting the Performing Arts Forum (PAF) in London – the first time that this unique environment comes to the UK.

PAF, based in St Erme, northern France, was set up by Dutch theatre maker and performer Jan Ritsema in 2006, as a place of self-organised exchange and study for anyone working in the performing arts, visual arts, literature, new media and internet, theory and cultural production and science.

Located in a former convent, PAF has become a vital focus for many people across the world, providing a space where a younger generation, often excluded from the crowded global art market, can develop and distribute their work. 750 people pass through PAF each year, working on their own practices and taking part in bi-annual meetings. There are three rules in PAF: don’t leave traces, make it possible for others and the do-er decides.

People from the UK are slowly finding their way to this oasis of artistic activism and thought, but London remains in many ways out of the loop. Choreographer Jonathan Burrows and Independent Dance have conspired therefore to invite the three main founders, Jan Ritsema, Mårten Spångberg and Bojana Cvejić, to occupy the Siobhan Davies Studios for two days in March 2015, with a cast of up to 80 participants.

This gathering is not a workshop but a place of open exchange, accessible to students as well as teachers, cultural leaders, curators, commentators, academics and artists of all persuasions.

50 places are available by application to Independent Dance; 30 artists will be invited by PAF and Independent Dance.

To download an application form, please click here; more information can be found here.

Deadline for applications is 2 February 2015.

The weekend will take place at Independent Dance at Siobhan Davies Studios.