photo by Evan Schwarz
About the Workshop:
How do you create a sustainable dance career?
In addition to excellent dance and creative skills, today’s dance profession requires another type of skills in order for dancers to create sustainable careers. Those skills are what we call entrepreneurial skills.
When we think about entrepreneurship, we might quickly refer to freelancers. And yes, most people working in the Performing Arts (around 70%) are freelancers. But entrepreneurship goes far beyond being self-employed. Entrepreneurship can also be practiced within company settings and doesn’t always mean that you now have to declare your own taxes. There are many different interpretations of what entrepreneurship means. But what does entrepreneurship exactly mean in the Arts & Culture sector? And more specifically, how can dancers use those skills to their advantage?
In this 3 hour workshop, you’ll learn the basics of entrepreneurship and what it could mean for you as a dancer. Sustainability will be of great importance during the workshop. In a more concrete way, you’ll learn how to create a strategic plan for your career. Whether you’d like to dance in companies or as a freelancer, create your own work or want to teach, the workshop is meant for every kind of creative dance professional. Some of the topics we’ll cover are Networking, Hybrid Business Models, Knowing Your Worth, Personal Branding, and Goal Setting.
After the workshop you have the chance to schedule a one-on-one coaching session with Wouter (not included in the workshop price), where these ideas and principles will be applied on a personal level.
Wouter Vertogen
Wouter Vertogen is an entrepreneur, creative business coach and former freelance dancer.
Wouter received his education from ArtEZ, Institute of the Arts, graduating with a Bachelor’s of Dance degree in 2017. After working with Bern Ballett in Switzerland, Wouter started freelancing internationally in both the commercial and contemporary scene. He has worked with Celebrity Cruises, Zürich Opernhaus, and Balich Worldwide Productions to name a few. Wouter continues his work as a dancer by teaching various classes such as Commercial Femme and High Heels.
In 2020, Wouter founded ‘Freelancer Talk’, a startup that focuses on making freelancing more accessible and manageable to creative professionals. Through ‘Freelancer Talk’, Wouter coaches creative professionals on creating sustainable businesses and teaches Entrepreneurship workshops in various Educational Institutions.
Wouter is also the owner of a digital agency named wv_digital through which he performs work as a web designer, social media consultant, and branding strategist. He is currently continuing his studies with a Bachelor of Science in Commercial Economics.
When?
Wednesday, March 23rd
10:00-13:00
Where?
Café Belcampo/OBA De Hallen, Hannie Dankbaarpassage 10 1053RT Amsterdam
Price:
€35,-
Springplank
This workshop is part of the Springplank program but open to all prof-level dancers. Participants of Springplank may join this masterclass for free. The program is open to last-year students and alumni (up to 3 years) from dance academies (HBO/MBO) in the city of Amsterdam. Want to join Springplank? Send us an email at springplank@hjs.amsterdam with your cv, diploma, and motivational letter and we’ll get in touch with you! More info: https://hjs.amsterdam/springplank/
Anouk van Dijk 