Photographer : Inga Groß 

Understanding the potential of contemporary dance to promote well-being, the SINIPARKSI European exchange project was designed to make this art form accessible to a broad audience, while actively embracing the cultural diversity of communities across Europe. With the awareness that choreographers and dance educators must be better equipped to engage social diversity, the project focused on developing inclusive training opportunities, driven by two central questions:

• How can a dance piece be collaboratively created by choreographers and non-professional participants?
  
  

• How can cultural diversity be transformed into a powerful force for co-creation?

Four European dance companies — based in France, Greece, Germany, and Croatia — via their choreographers, re-examined their practices through a co-creation field experiment (co-creation workshop) with local communities from culturally diverse backgrounds. These experiences allowed the development and testing of inclusive co-creation methodology. The workshops took place with a wide range of participants, including immigrants, refugees, and residents from both rural and urban settings. In doing so, the European choreographers broadened their perspectives, refined their methods, and reflect together on how to create an inclusive dance space.

Through these challenges, the SINIPARKSI project has actively supported the development and dissemination of community-based artistic initiatives that uphold cultural rights across Europe. As an essential part of human rights, cultural rights safeguard the identity, language, and traditions of communities, ensuring the freedom of artistic expression without discrimination or coercion. By promoting cultural participation for all, SINIPARKSI aims to empower communities and reaffirm the role of dance as a universal language of inclusion.

The knowledge gained through these experiences has been merged in the SINIPARKSI Training Kit—a pedagogical guide, accompanied by video tutorials, designed to help dance professionals foster cultural inclusion in their work. It supports choreographers and dance educators in developing artistic and pedagogical approaches that embrace cultural diversity.

This kit offers tools for adapting choreographic practices to the unique cultural and social perspectives of diverse communities in Europe, ensuring that dance becomes an accessible and meaningful experience for all, regardless of background or previous experience.

It provides choreographers with concrete guidance to cultivate the sense of belonging, equality, and creative expression, guiding groups through the entire process of co-creating a performance—from the first steps to the final presentation.

In this training kit, dance choreographers and performing artists, seeking to co-create with culturally diverse groups, will find:

• Approaches  on how to improve their artistic practice
  
  

• Pedagogical tools for initiating the creative process in culturally diverse contexts
  
  

• Reflections from participants and choreographers who took part in the challenges