Tchekpo Dan Agbetou (choreographer, dance teacher, dancer, founder of DansArt Tanznetworks) Born in Benin/West Africa, raised in France, lives and works in Germany since 1995. After an international education (Paris, New York) and a professional career in dance and choreography, Tchekpo Dan Agbetou founded DansArt Tanznetworks, a center for international contemporary dance art in Bielefeld in 1995. Under his direction, state-recognized training courses of all professional levels are offered there. Since building his own theater with adjoining studios in 2005, he has also managed it as a residence for international artists and as a venue for dance festivals and international projects. projects. Diversity and intercultural exchange through the medium of dance is a basic motif and unifying element of his activities. This becomes clear on the one hand in the fundamentally transnational orientation of its training, project and festival offers, in which cultural backgrounds of the participants from many nations flow in and an equal treatment of the different disciplines and cultures is set as the basis of the artistic work. On the other hand, diversity aspects are also specifically addressed through its management, for example when dancers from different African countries enter into artistic dialogue, question the European stereotype of the "African body" and focus on the diversity of dance styles from different regions. The company's own stage features guest performances as well as its own productions, such as those of its Tchekpo Dance Company.