(May 6th, 2025) Today, the ministers of the new federal government are officially installed in office. Wolfram Weimer becomes Minister of State for Culture in the Chancellery. The publisher and publicist has declared his intention to strengthen culture in federal politics as a "cultural advocate".

15,000 dance professionals represent cultural offerings throughout the country - from cities to rural areas. Independent dance artists and teachers still work under precarious conditions. The legal framework and funding opportunities for their work must be strengthened. Only 7% of the money spent on theaters still goes to dance.

In particular, we expect a strengthening of the independent art form of dance, which reaches millions of people in this country - regardless of language, origin, religion or social status. Dance creates cohesion, creates community, creates self-confidence in social interaction.

We are calling for a federal round table on dance promotion with the federal states and local authorities.

The topics of this round table must be

1. social cohesion and democratic dialog: Dance has the extraordinary potential to create encounters that promote social cohesion and dialog in both urban and rural areas.

2. dance has developed exemplary models of joint funding between the federal states and municipalities and the federal government. In the future, these models must be expanded into systematic dance funding by the federal government, the federal states and local authorities. This cooperation in urban-rural-federal dance promotion should further strengthen all areas of dance creation for our society:

• Artistic development, social security and long-term careers in the dance profession
• Strengthening dance as an ensemble art through adequate funding
• Stages, production venues and artistic structures for dance
• Strengthening national and international exchange through sustainable collaborations and guest performances
• Dance for young audiences, expansion of strong networks for participation in dance art
• Expansion of dance education, diversity of dance cultures and participatory dance projects for young and old
• Preservation and visibility of the cultural heritage of dance through the promotion of dance archives
• Visibility and social recognition of dance by strengthening dance journalism, dance studies and dance education
• Integration and inclusion in art, education, dance pedagogy and dance education: funding for accessibility costs and integrative projects
• Visibility in the digital space: promotion of innovative dance projects in the digital and virtual space, in the context of artificial intelligence

3. improvement of the social and economic framework conditions: Access to the artists' social security fund for all forms of dance art; exemption from VAT to promote education and the arts and fair structuring of GEMA tariffs.

The message for INTERNATIONAL DANCE DAY 2025 comes from dancer and choreographer Mikhail Baryshnikov.

"It’s often said that dance can express the unspeakable. Joy, grief, and despair become visible; embodied expressions of our shared fragility. In this, dance can awaken empathy, inspire kindness, and spark a desire to heal rather than harm.
Especially now—as hundreds of thousands endure war, navigate political upheaval, and rise in protest against injustice—honest reflection is vital. It’s a heavy burden to place on the body, on dance, on art. Yet art is still the best way to give form to the unspoken, and we can begin by asking ourselves: Where is my truth? How do I honor myself and my community? Whom do I answer to?"

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Mikhail BARYSHNIKOV, Latvia/USA
Dancer & Choreographer

Born in Riga, Latvia and living in New York City, Mikhail Baryshnikov is considered one of the greatest dancers of our time. In a career spanning more than 50 years in dance, theater, television and film, he has worked with illustrious choreographers and directors. After a
spectacular beginning with the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, he came to the West in 1974 and was principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre (ABT). In 1978 he joined New York City Ballet, where he worked with George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. In 1980 he was artistic director of ABT where, for the next decade, he introduced a new generation of dancers and choreographers. In 1990, Mr. Baryshnikov co-founded the White Oak Dance Project with choreographer Mark Morris with the intent to expand the repertoire and visibility of American modern dance. In 2005, he launched Baryshnikov Arts in New York City, a creative space designed to support multidisciplinary artists from around the globe.

On April 29 we celebrate World Dance Day!

Dance artists, dance teachers and dance professionals of all professions around the world celebrate the creativity, power and inspiration that emanate from dance.

Dance connects, dance creates cohesion - this is a central theme of the umbrella organization's cultural policy work and its work for the dance scene.

We sent out a strong signal with the day of action last September. A sign of social coexistence in diversity. Dance creates cohesion beyond the boundaries of language. Dance thrives on diversity - diversity of aesthetic styles, of geographical, cultural and social backgrounds, of physical diversity. Ballet and dance ensembles - in municipal and state theatres as well as in the independent scene - are examples of successful coexistence, of a social discourse in motion.

At this time, we want to send out a strong signal for diversity in our country, against exclusion and discrimination. We have updated a trailer that was created a few years ago on the initiative of the Diversity Working Group and is as relevant today as it was then.

We would be delighted if you would share this video on your websites and social media - including your own view of diversity in dance #move4diversity

Credits: Video: Valeria Lampadova
Dance: Friedrichstadt-Palast Ballet (2019 season)