Conducted by FIA with the support of IOTPD, the International Organisation or the Transition of Professional Dancers, from 2016 to 2018, the European project ‘Dance Futures’ aimed to promote the creation of support mechanisms for the retraining of professional dancers in three European countries: Belgium, Spain, and Hungary. It did so through the organisation of three seminars bringing together all the national stakeholders in the sector during which examples of existing successful schemes were presented.
FIA is proud to present to present Konvertigo, the Belgian scheme born from this project.
Launched as a pilot project in October 2019, Konvertigo is a scheme to support the retraining of professional dancers and circus performers in French-speaking Belgium, financed by the Social Fund for Training in the Performing Arts Sector of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.
It is a support system designed to help artists reflect on their career transition. Through individual coaching of about ten hours over a period of six months, Konvertigo enable participating artists to analyse their skills, both professional and personal; to analyse their aptitudes and motivations; to define a professional or training project and elaborate an action plan going forward; and to (re)positioning oneself personally and professionally.
Individual support is provided by the Service for Transformation, Innovation and Social Change (STICS), recognised as a permanent education organisation by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.
The mechanism, which was renewed after its pilot phase, is now open to any artist or technician in the performing arts, provided that they have actually worked for cultural operators in the French-speaking Joint Committee for the Entertainment Industry (Fond 304). So, if you are a dancer, circus artist, or any other artist or technician working in French-speaking Belgium and wishing to change career, you can visit the Fonds 304 website or contact Marc Denisty directly. The costs of coaching are entirely covered by the Fonds 304 (with the exception of travel expenses).
