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Benin/Mali In October 2009 the Dutch Embassy in Benin in connection with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands and Stichting DOEN have granted an interregional dance training programme with Le Grand Cru's partner Compagnie Waló in Benin and The Conservatoire in Mali. The programme Identité Culturelle en Mouvement offers a unique opportunity for Le Grand Cru to support with its trainers the development of professional dance art in the region. The programme consists of workshops by Le Grand Cru trainers in dance technique, composition, didactics, marketing and light design. Highlights of the program are the presentation of young choreographers' work in the production A corps et a Cri, presented in February at the National Museum in Bamako and during one of the most important festivals in West Africa: Festival Sur Le Niger in Ségou. In Benin, the successful production Léwé ou l'enfance de l'art (2008) has her first showing on 5th and 6th of March to be continued with 20 performances and creative dance courses by the company Waló at primary schools until June. The performances take place in neighbourhoods and schools in 4 different cities in Benin. The process and results of this project will be part of a research project by the University of Groningen about the creative industries in a development context. See www.assowalo.com and our weblog NOW.

Jordan/Occupied Palestinian Territories The performance Waiting Forbidden had its world premiere in Amman on October 28th 2009. It was performed in Ramallah as well. Waiting Forbidden was one of the highlights of the Dancing on the Edge Festival with 10 performances in 5 cities in the Netherlands. ('The flow of text and dance scenes leaves the spectator, highly ingenious, behind with a feeling of homesickness...' de Volkskrant, December 7th 2009). Being part of the educative programme in the Netherlands the performance was extended with 16 very successful workshops for secundary schools in all the major cities by Noortje Bijvoets and Debka dance specialists Noora Baker and Sharaf DarZaid of El Funoun Dance Troupe from Ramallah. See our weblog NOW and www.1001bytes.org.

The Netherlands Le Grand Cru and Theatre Embassy, a leading institute in theatre training
and productions in developing countries, will start to work together and share their networks
and intercultural knowledge and practices as from 2010.
www.theatre-embassy.org/nl

De Geus and Bijvoets started their first interviews on video on the subject of dance and religion during a presentation of the DANSLAB team for 2009-2011. They will continue their First year research in April and May 2010. danslab.residentie.net
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