Dancers and Austerity of Movement

Czech performers have been stuck at home since 12 March 2020, which is particularly catastrophic for dancers and artists in the movement-based arts of physical theatre, contemporary circus and mime. Not only must their bodies, accustomed to daily physical (and emotional) performance and training, contend with new routines and excess energy; they also have to adapt psychologically and economically. The majority of dancers, across all genres and styles, train at home on just a few square metres. Many post their daily training on social media as a motivation for others, or as targeted lessons for their students. The pedagogical activities of dancers have literally flooded social media and other online platforms. The initial enthusiasm and solidarity expressed by sharing free lessons have gradually given rise to a new professional reality: the virtual. The internet cannot replace live teacher-student contact, but online lessons help to maintain both community ties and the participants’ conditioning and at least somewhat offset the economic difficulties affecting the entire arts sector.

Dear artists and representatives of cultural institutions, organisations and creative industry enterprises,
On the decision of the chief medical officer, a nationwide ban on the organisation of cultural events came into effect on 10 March 2020. On 13 March 2020, this was extended to the closure of all leisure facilities until further notice. The anti-pandemic measures thus affected cultural institutes and the creative industries before the other sectors of the Slovak economy.
Self-employed artists, as well as cinemas, galleries, theatres, cultural centres and other visitor-orientated entities in the cultural sector and creative industries, are the group most vulnerable to the economic impact of anti-pandemic measures.

by Jan Jiřík

On Monday 30 March 2020, the Citizens’ Forum of Contemporary Art, Poland’s professional organisation of culture workers, submitted an open letter to the Polish Prime Minister, the Minister of Culture and National History and representatives of local government. In it, they react to insufficient consideration of the impact of the government’s measures to contain coronavirus on the field of culture.