Dance. Research the working conditions
Marta Seredyńska applied to the WOK Residencies programme proposing a research process regarding the post-pandemic changes in the professional lives of freelance dancers working in the field of contemporary dance. She was shortlisted for the second stage of the residency programme and eventually made it to the standby list. However, we found Marta’s proposal very interesting and worth pursuing in light of the current debate taking place in the dance world. So we invited Marta to explore, together with us, how her research could help us better understand the conditions and particularities of the labour market for freelance contemporary and conceptual dance practitioners.
Undertaking research on the artistic circle of freelance contemporary and conceptual dance practitioners stems primarily from the need to diagnose the conditions of their work, and to recognise that this is an important part of learning about the mechanisms and creating tools to stimulate the development of the cultural sector in Poland.
The aim of the study is to find out how these people have managed on the labour market in the last three years: how contracts have been made, what forms of social security they have benefited from, what degree of institutional and systemic support they have received, as well as the psychological dimension of their professional situation. The main research problem is the lack of a stable employment model in the dance community, especially in the field of contemporary and conceptual dance, where the lack of permanent contracts and freelance work is a given.
In Poland, people from this milieu cannot count on getting stable jobs as a result of financial, institutional and organisational conditions. It is, therefore, worth focusing on what aspects of the situation need to be changed.
Marta Seredyńska
The study, consisting primarily of in-depth interviews, is being carried out from July to November 2023. The final report with recommendations will be made available on the WOK website.