The Swiss Dance Awards are a former set of awards presented biennially, since 2021 merged with the Swiss Theatre Awards as the Swiss Performing Arts Awards.
The Swiss Dance Awards were created as a federal support to dance, introduced as part of the Federal law of encouragement to culture. [1] [2] They were created in 2012 by the Swiss Confederation, as a measure to encourage the dance world. Since 2013 the Federal Dance Jury, [3] the prizes are awarded every two years in collaboration with the Federal Office of Culture (FOC). [4]
It pursued and furthered the objectives of the Swiss Dance and Choreography prize (2002–2011). [5] The [Swiss Confederation] having taken up the prize as recognition and support in its objectives.
The first ceremony of this award took place in the Theatre l'Equilibre in Fribourg in 2013.[ citation needed ] The awards were presented biennially by the Federal Office of Culture (FOC) from 2013 to 2019. In 2021, they were merged with the Swiss Theatre Awards, as the Swiss Performing Arts Awards, and are presented annually at a joint ceremony. [6]
The Swiss Grand Award for Dance [7] pays tribute to an artistic career and is the top prize of 40,000 francs awarded by the Federal Dance Jury. An equal amount is assigned to the Special Dance Award as a recompense for an exceptional contribution in the fields of mediation, documentation or cultural policy. As part of the "Current Dance Creation" competition the jury allocates four Swiss Dance Awards [8] each of 25,000 francs. The June Johnson Prize [9] is given in collaboration with the Stanley Thomas Johnson Foundation and rewards the upcoming dance generation. An Award of 25,000 francs is endowed to Outstanding Female and Male Dancers [10] for their performing role.
The Hans-Reinhart-Ring is a prestigious Swiss award in theatre. Since 2014 it is part of the Swiss Theater Awards as the Grand Award for Theater/Hans Reinhardt Ring.
Stefanie Fabienne Heinzmann is a Swiss pop singer and television personality. She gained public interest in early 2008 when she won SSDSDSSWEMUGABRTLAD, a talent contest hosted in Stefan Raab's late-night-show TV total on the German ProSieben network. Following her win, Heinzmann released her debut single "My Man Is a Mean Man," which debuted straight atop the Swiss Singles Chart and became a top ten hit in Austria and Germany. Her pop soul-influenced album Masterplan was released in March 2008 and made it to the top ten in Austria and Germany, also reaching number one in Switzerland, where it was certified platinum by the IFPI for more than 30,000 copies sold.
Thomas Hauert is a Swiss dancer and choreographer, leader of the Brussels-based company ZOO.
The Geneva Camerata (GECA), is an orchestra composed of forty international musicians of the young generation. Based in Geneva, it performs music of all periods and styles, from early baroque music to contemporary music, as well as jazz, rock, world music, electronic music, in addition to creating a variety of multidisciplinary projects involving dance, theatre, and visual arts.
The Federal Office of Culture (FOC) is an administrative unit of the Federal Department of Home Affairs, based in Bern, Switzerland. The agency has two extensive areas of responsibility: promoting Swiss culture and preserving the country’s cultural heritage. In 2014, its total budget was close to 170 million francs. The FOC promotes culture in the fields of literature, theatre, dance, music, film, the visual arts and design. It helps preserve the cultural heritage by supporting the protection of monuments and archeological research, and it also maintains valuable collections, libraries, archives, and museums.
The Swiss Art Awards, also named the Federal Art Competition, are recognitions that are awarded by the Federal Office of Culture (FOC) in the name of the Confederation.
The Swiss Literature Awards is a Swiss literary award presented by the Federal Office of Culture (FOC).
The Swiss Performing Arts Awards, formerly the Swiss Theatre Awards and Swiss Dance Awards, are a set of annual prizes awarded by the Federal Office of Culture (FOC), to personalities or groups of persons active in the Swiss theatre world.
Thomas Imbach is an independent filmmaker based in Zürich, Switzerland. With his production company Bachim Films, Imbach produced his own work until 2007. He then founded Okofilm Productions together with director/producer Andrea Staka. All of his films have been released theatrically and Imbach has won numerous awards for his work, both in Switzerland and abroad. With Well Done (1994) and Ghetto (1997) Imbach established his trademark audio-visual style, which is based on a combination of cinema- verité camera-work and fast-paced editing. His fiction features Happiness is a Warm Gun, as well as Lenz (2006), I Was a Swiss Banker (2007) and the fictive autobiography Day is Done (2011) all premiered at the Berlinale. His latest feature film Mary Queen of Scots celebrated its premiere in Locarno and at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2013. His latest documentary Nemesis celebrated its international premiere at International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam 2020, where it received the Prize for Best Cinematography. Thomas Imbach is currently considered one of the most unconventional and consistent Swiss filmmakers.
The Deutscher Tanzpreis is a prestigious prize for artistic dance in Germany. It has been awarded annually since 1983.
Goyo Montero Morell is a Spanish ballet dancer, a ballet director and a choreographer.
Claudia Rosiny is a German-Swiss academic in Dance and Media studies, a festival director and cultural manager. She became internationally known as an expert on video dance. Having served as a co-director of the Berne Dance Days for many years, she is in charge of the Performing Arts at the Federal Office of Culture Berne and teaches at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
Gilles Jobin is a Swiss dancer, choreographer and director living and working in Geneva, Switzerland.
Yen Han is a principal soloist of Ballett Zürich. In addition to her career as a ballerina, she serves as artistic director and choreographer for her own ballet school, theYen Han Dance Center, in Zürich, Switzerland.
Rosmarie Tissi is a Swiss graphic designer known for her poster designs.
Noëlle Revaz is a Swiss author, who writes in French. She is best known for her first novel, Rapport aux bêtes, which won several literary awards, including the Schiller Prize, the Prix Marguerite Audoux, the Prix Lettres Frontière, and the Henri Gaspoz Prize, and has been adapted for stage and film.
Erika Stucky is a Swiss musician, singer, composer, and accordionist, best known for her solo albums Jimi (2005), Princess (2005), Suicidal Yodels (2007), Black Widow (2013), Call Me Helium (2015), and Papito (2017).
Daniel Hellmann is a Swiss performance artist. Following a career as an opera singer he has been making headlines since 2012 as a singer, dancer, choreographer and dramatist with his interdisciplinary works which radically question social norms and power structures in the fields of sexuality, human rights, and animal rights.
Cornel Windlin is a Swiss graphic and type designer originally from Kerns (Obwalden) whose work has received national and international awards, been exhibited in museums and published in design books and publications. In addition to his design work, he also lectures regularly in Switzerland and abroad. His work has been extensively recognised in books, trade journals and exhibitions.
Ruth Waldburger is a Swiss film producer.