The International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) is helping leaders in the performing arts to stay connected to their colleagues around the world from their homes, by bringing its popular Pitch New Works format into the virtual world.
Normally presented twice a year at ISPA’s congresses, Pitch New Works provides a forum for creators and arts professionals to share and discover 10 new performing arts projects.
The two-hour streaming event will be held on Wednesday, 3 June 2020 at 9:00am EDT. It is free and open to all, accessed by registering here. ISPA members will have ongoing access to recorded footage and presentation materials following the live event.
The 10 selected projects represent a diverse mix of genres and disciplines and are an exciting reflection of new works in development across the globe, but particularly in Taiwan and the wider Asian region, where the June 2020 Congress was to be held. Anthony Sargent CBE, CEO of Luminato Festival Toronto, will be the event’s virtual host.
The 10 pitches include theatre projects Gastronomic by the UK’s curious directive and Passage to Lo-jin by Taiwan’s Gang-a tsui Theater; music theatre The Drought Goddess. Dream of the World by Taiwan’s La Cie MaxMind, and The One Who Sings by Tshisa Boys Productions of South Africa.
There are four dance pieces: Ice Age by Resident Island Dance Theatre of Taiwan, the UK and France; Island x Dancer by TAI body theatre of Taiwan and Indonesia; Filipinx by Kristopher McDowell Productions of the Philippines, Canada and USA; and Rama House by Horse of Taiwan, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Indonesia.
Two interdisciplinary pieces round out the offering: Hardovan (Both of Them) by Iran’s Tarab and Soft Lights for Sleepless Nights by Taiwan’s Riverbed Theatre.
The Pitch New Works projects were selected from a pool of 40 applications by ISPA’s Pitch New Works Committee. The committee was chaired by Hanako Yamaguchi, director of music programming at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Also serving on the committee were David Baile, CEO of ISPA; Clothilde Cardinal, director of programming at Place Des Arts; Jonathan Holloway, former artistic director at Melbourne International Arts Festival; Igor Lozada, director at Universidad de Guadalajara; Piotr Turkiewicz, head of international development and programming at the National Forum of Music in Poland; and Victoria Wang, executive director of The Chien Kuo Foundation for Arts and Culture. For this round of Pitch New Works, priority was given to projects that reflected the cultural diversity of Taiwan and the Asian region.
ISPA is a global association of more than 500 arts management leaders from 56 regions, who come together with the shared goal of strengthening and developing the arts internationally. This is achieved by building leadership ability, recognising and discussing field-wide trends and new developments, and deepening global exchange through the arts. ISPA members include presenters, performing arts organisations, artist managers, competitions, funders, consultants and other professionals working in the performing arts. Founded in 1948 by Patrick Hayes, 2019 marked ISPA’s 70th anniversary.
