Photo: Virve Sutinen

The Aim

The aim of Big Pulse was to build the capacity of artists and festivals to achieve the vision of a more sustainable, relevant and successful dance sector. The Burning Questions are a long list of concerns and challenges that have been the subject of discussion throughout the project. The key feature of the Alliance is to cooperate across different roles. Therefore, it’s been important for the project to create spaces for open discussion between artists, producers, administrators, curators, directors, professionals and academics who could share issues about their working conditions, exchange expectations and look for ways to improve the overall situation in the dance sector.

Still Burning

The Burning Questions is a long list of concerns and challenges that were discussed throughout the project. When there were answers, they did not solve the question. Instead, they provoked new questions. The most frequent themes visited were around sustainability, access, accessibility, cultural diversity and fair practices, including solidarity, trust and transparency in Big Pulse and, in general, in the dance sector.

Photo: Virve Sutinen

Exploring New Questions

Listen to Eduardo Bonito, Project Manager of Big Pulse Dance Alliance, as he delves into the evolving questions that emerged from the last Big Pulse Intensive in Finland. He discusses the project’s journey, the new challenges faced and the insights gained.

Photo: Virve Sutinen

Burning Questions for the Future

• How can we think about ecological awareness and sustainability, given the importance of cultural exchange between different countries and continents?
• How can we deal with aesthetic assumptions and implicit biases, and change long-standing practices that do not allow for change?
• How do we sustain and support artworks in the current political atmosphere in Europe?
• Who has a voice? Who is listening? Who is missing?
• How can we increase the visibility of dance in society?
• How do we combine and integrate diversity with environmental awareness so that it doesn’t become an either/or for organisations and companies?
• What is the role of Big Pulse as a network and/or as a project?

Photo: Christina Simpson