TALK: GENDEREQUALITY AND TEAMWORK IN JAZZ AND TAP-DANCE

After COSMIC TAP, which focuses on the collective interplay between step dance and jazz music, a roundtable discussion will take place on Jan. 21, focusing on women's perspectives on collective work in the music and dance scene. Step dancer Andrea Alvergue and jazz musician Myrsini Bekakou will talk about personal experiences and give insights into their work. The talk will be moderated by Susann Hommel, who is an association board member at Music S Women*.

Starting with who and how casts for productions, bands or ensembles are selected, and adding how artistic collaboration, conflict resolution and distribution of tasks within them takes place, gender still plays a role in artistic work. The question arises as to how we can create gender justice and also security when working in teams in both the music and dance scenes. What creative solutions do female musicians find? What are the experiences with FLINTA*-only casting and how do the two conversation participants deal with the different challenges of the respective creative scenes?

Andrea Alvergue studied ballet, contemporary dance and step in Honduras, Canada and Spain and has worked internationally in many different dance companies and groups. She has been living in Leipzig since 2019, is part of the Sebastian Weber Dance Company and has produced her own piece RAVEL at LOFFT in 2021.

Myrsini Bekakou is a musician and composer from Crete and has been studying jazz violin at HMT Leipzig since 2018. She has since participated in various projects, including her FLINTA* band "Shejust_left", in which she combines the violin with loop station and various effects. Political engagement has always been an important part of her life, so Myrsini Bekakou has been involved in various groups dealing with topics such as feminism and anti-racism, among others.

Susann Hommel is a cultural manager, freelance musician and board member of the association "Music S Women*", which promotes visibility and equal opportunities in the Saxon music industry. In 2022, together with the MaLisa Foundation, she developed the study "Gender in Music", which, among other things, examined the FLINTA* share on German festival stages.

The talk will take place mainly in English.