Beatrix Simkó »It Contains Hard Parts«, Foto: Dániel Dömölky

Dance Research NRW

The international scholarship programme enables dancers, performers and choreographers to undertake residencies lasting several weeks for theme-based, production-independent research.

Dance Research NRW is expressly not production-related. Since its introduction in 2009, the programme has offered the opportunity for in-depth exploration of specific themes and the development of artistic working methods. The focus is on interdisciplinary and transcultural research.

Grants of up to 6,000 euros and a documentation budget of up to 1,000 euros are offered, depending on the type and scope of the research.

The call for applications takes place annually in autumn.
The application documents for the Dance Research NRW 2027 programme will be available on this page from 1 September to 15 October 2026.
This will be followed by the selection process, carried out by a jury, and the announcement of the new grant recipients.
The research is context-based and requires the involvement of one or more local partners. The artistic research process is thus shaped by local connections, collaboration and the exchange of knowledge.

As the central point of contact, the NRWKS arranges meetings and discussions for the scholarship holders with artists and cultural institutions from a wide range of disciplines and research institutions and supports the presentation of final reports on their experiences.

Scholarship recipients 2026

The four scholarship recipients for Dance Research 2026 are: Ada Freund, Brig Huezo, ISaAc iSaBeL Espinoza Hidrobo and Krisna Satya.

Dance Research #58 by Finnish artist Ada Freund explores how time is perceived through embodied and sensory experiences. In collaboration with local sound designer Maja Prill and against the backdrop of the Wuppertal suspension railway, the research opens up an intercultural reflection on time consciousness and intermediate states.

As part of Dance Research #59, post-digital choreographer Brig Huezo travels from Cologne to Kyoto and Tokyo. From geiko traditions and oiran iconographies to the digitally amplified fantasies of contemporary hentai culture, Huezo expands a choreographic language between movement, data and desire.

For Dance Research #60, ISaAc iSaBeL Espinoza Hidrobo, an artist and activist from Cologne, deepens her practice in Rio de Janeiro. Under the guidance of local BIPOC practitioners, ISaAc iSaBeL Espinoza Hidrobo connects with the lived realities and spiritual techniques of Rio, linking the water rituals of Candomblé with queer, pre-colonial cosmologies.

Choreographer Krisna Satya transposes the Balinese spatial concept of ‘Asta Kosala Kosali’ into the urban context of Düsseldorf. In Dance Research #61, Satya explores physical adaptation within the Neuer Zollhof, where Frank Gehry’s flowing constructions become a place of cultural and architectural negotiation.

Dance Researches 2026

Dance Research NRW #58

Dance Research NRW #59

Dance Research NRW #60

Dance Research NRW #61