The International Organization for the Transition of Professional Dancers’ (IOTPD) annual conference was held in Seoul, South Korea on May 31, June 1 and 2, 2015. Hosted by the Dancers’ Career Development Center, the meeting provides an opportunity for representatives from around the world to share learning, discuss challenges and examine trends on the topic of career transition for professional dancers.
Attending organizations representing their countries: Association pour la Reconversion des Danseurs Professionnels, French speaking Switzerland; Centre National de la Danse, France; Dancers’ Career Development, UK; Dancer Transition Resource Center, Canada; Stiftung Tanz, Germany; Dancers’ Career Development Center, South Korea; The Royal Ballet of Flanders, Belgium and Career Transition For Dancers, USA.
The meeting was also an opportunity for delegates from Hong Kong, China and Japan to meet with representatives from existing Transition Centres to seek guidance on providing career transition support for dancers.
The agenda included: sharing statistics and best practices regarding support for dancers; the future of the IOTPD: the formalisation of the IOTPD as a Legal Entity (a Foundation); plans to ensure the IOTPD is able to develop its work through relevant resources – the possibility of offering the opportunity for a young Korean graduate/student to gain practical experience working at the IOTPD which would allow for growth in the profile of the IOTPD and also further funding opportunities; debate how the IOTPD continues its advocacy mission worldwide and tactics to generate discussions around transition issues in other countries including a full day dedicated to introducing new countries to career transition for dancers as part of the next IOTPD meeting.
2015 International Symposium – “Professional Dancers, Design a New Tomorrow”
Attended by over 150 delegates from Korea and worldwide, the symposium was held at Seoul Cyber University on Saturday 30th May 2015. Supported by Jong-deok Kim, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism and officials from Arts Council Korea, the aim of the symposium was to raise awareness of the need for transition support for dancers in Korea and world-wide, as well as to introduce an international perspective on the challenges of career transition.
The Keynote speech was delivered by Paul Bronkhorst, President of the IOTPD and Executive Director of Omscholing Dancers Netherlands. Four dancers supported by Transition Centres world-wide presented their story including Leanne Benjamin AM OBE, former Principal with The Royal Ballet who recently graduated with a Post-Graduate Degree in Interior Design from Chelsea School of Art and Design in London, Pierre-Marie Quéré, former dancer with Les Ballets de Monte Carlo and Lyon Opéra Ballet, who is now the Administrative Director of the ESDC Rosella Hightower and Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Danse de Marseille, Sun Hye Hur, a contemporary dancer working in Switzerland, who is now an Acupuncturist and Massage Therapist and Paul Waarts from the Netherlands, who performed with several contemporary dance companies, who retrained as a lawyer and has been working as a Criminal Judge since 2011.
The delegates were honored to attend a Gala Performance at Universal Arts Center, hosted by the Dancers’ Career Development Center. The Gala included performances by Seoul Ballet Theatre; National Dance Company of Korea; Universal Ballet; Korean National Ballet and Korea National Contemporary Dance Company amongst others.
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