Project title
Description of initiative
The Dance Ambassadors is dance-based service concept invented by Regional Dance Centre of Western Finland (hereafter the LTA). The concept is nationally known, and the Finnish term Tanssikummi® was registered as a trademark in Finland in 2018. In practical terms, the work involves long-term residencies to engage people in dance in range of contexts. The dance artists at the LTA have a high level of bodily expertise, and they have developed several dance-based concepts, Dance Ambassadors being the most notable one. This concept was initially designed for elderly care and hospitals and they have since expanded the concept to cover day care centres, schools and other institutions, and they collaborate with NGOs in the social welfare and health care sector. The Dance Ambassadors have also produced content for research projects such as the ArtsEqual project at the University of the Arts Helsinki.
Further information on the initiative
Themes: Culture and...
Keywords
Target group
Cultural field
Timeframe
Results, benefits, impact and lessons learnt
Lessons learned:
- they have learned in recent years how to verbalise their sense of uncertainty with both the Dance Ambassadors and the client organisations as, although they can describe the service framework, it can be
difficult to describe in advance what exactly will happen on site.
- they have learned how to establish a dialogue between the party commissioning and receiving the Dance Ambassador service on the one hand and the organisation providing, and how the client organisation operates and adapt the service to its operating environment.
- collaboration with staff in institutional environments is an important factor in highlighting the effectiveness of their work at the individual level
- they provide training for the workplace community in the receiving organisation alongside their Dance Ambassador activities.