“Dance heritage will help us collect the stories that reflect this nation. Coming to Ukraine from the West made me realise how little I knew about the country and how much there still is for us to learn.”
Udance — Forum “Танцплан України 2026”
Type: Presentation / Panel Participation
Date: 18 September 2026
Context: Forum “Танцплан України 2026” / “Dance Plan Ukraine 2026”
Location: Congress and Exhibition Centre “Parkovyi”, Kyiv, Ukraine
Institution / Organisation: Udance / Dance Plan Ukraine
Role: Panel Member
Participants: Representatives of the Ukrainian professional dance community, choreographers, performers, teachers, researchers, producers, cultural institutions, professional networks and international partners
Status: Forthcoming / Scheduled Record
Forum “Танцплан України 2026” — Panel Participation On 18 September 2026, I will participate as a panel member in the Forum “Танцплан України 2026” in Kyiv. The forum is presented as the first open nationwide consultation of the professional dance community in Ukraine, intended to establish an ongoing dialogue between the dance sector, public institutions and international partners concerning the future development of Ukrainian dance.
Activity / Event
The Forum “Танцплан України 2026” takes place from 18–20 September 2026 in Kyiv. The opening day, 18 September, is conceived as an open sectoral consultation bringing together choreographers, performers, educators, researchers, producers, theatre and festival directors, educational institutions, public and municipal institutions, international cultural organisations, professional networks and the independent sector.
According to the organisers, the forum addresses the present conditions and future development of Ukrainian dance, including long-term sustainability, international cooperation, professional education, access to infrastructure, preservation of dance heritage, support for the independent sector, research and contemporary cultural policy. The forum is intended not simply to present finished solutions, but to create an ongoing mechanism for professional dialogue and collaboration. The recommendations developed through the forum are intended to become an open sectoral document for further consultation with Ukrainian state institutions, local authorities and international partners.
My panel participation is scheduled for 18 September 2026 at 13:30.
My Contribution
My contribution draws on my encounters with Ukrainian dance culture through my work in Kyiv and my ongoing research into dance heritage, Oral History and embodied knowledge.
I experienced the dance culture in Ukraine as vibrant, diversified and intensively attuned to the present moment, while rooted in a deep spiritual connection to the elements. I also believe that Ukrainian dance, and particularly its contemporary dance practices, deserve much greater exposure internationally.
My contribution therefore considers not only the challenges facing the sector, but also the richness, diversity and cultural knowledge already present within Ukrainian dance.
This perspective connects my experience as a dance artist with my work as an Oral Historian. I am interested in how embodied knowledge, artistic memory and dance heritage can be recognised as cultural resources and how future infrastructures can support their transmission without reducing the diversity of the practices themselves.
Place / Context
My participation in the forum continues a trajectory of engagement with the Ukrainian cultural and dance field that began with my journey to Kyiv and developed through my work on Oral History for Dance Heritage. My experience of Ukrainian dance has been shaped not only by formal presentations and institutional encounters, but also by observing how dancers, choreographers, teachers and communities continue to create, transmit and transform dance under conditions of profound social and political change.
In this context, international visibility is not simply a question of presenting Ukrainian dance abroad. It also concerns recognising the knowledge, histories, artistic languages and contemporary practices that already constitute the Ukrainian dance field, and creating meaningful conditions for their international circulation and dialogue.
Primary Source / Documentation
Format: Web announcement / Audiovisual Record
Provenance: Udance / Ukrainian dance sector documentation
Status: Official event announcement / Public audiovisual documentation
The official Udance announcement provides the programme context, aims and organisational framework of “Танцплан України 2026”. A related press-conference video documents the public presentation of the Ukrainian dance initiative and its wider context.
Archival Material:
Forum announcement; programme and panel documentation; audiovisual documentation; press material; personal notes and reflections; related documentation of the Kyiv research trajectory.
Post Scriptum — 2 September 2026
This entry is published in advance of the forum as a record of the scheduled participation. The description of my contribution documents the perspective I intend to bring to the panel; it does not constitute a report of the discussion itself. A later archival update may document the actual exchange, observations and outcomes following the event.
The forum is particularly relevant to my ongoing work because it places questions of dance heritage, professional development and international visibility within a broader discussion about the future cultural infrastructure of Ukrainian dance.
Contribution / Ertrag
This participation extends my engagement with Ukrainian dance from documentation and Oral History toward direct participation in a professional dialogue about the future of the field. It brings questions of embodied knowledge, cultural memory, dance heritage and international visibility into conversation with practitioners and institutions working within the Ukrainian dance ecosystem.
Assessment / Relevanz
The forum represents a significant context for my current practice because it connects several strands of my work: dance as embodied knowledge, Oral History as a means of articulating immaterial heritage, and the development of conditions through which dance cultures can be transmitted and made visible. My participation also reflects an emerging dimension of my work: contributing to conversations about how dance heritage and contemporary practice can inform the future cultural development of a dance ecosystem.
Keywords: Ukrainian dance; contemporary dance; dance heritage; embodied knowledge; Oral History; cultural memory; cultural policy; international visibility; dance ecology; Kyiv; Ukraine; transmission; cultural infrastructure; professional dance community
External Links
Udance — Forum “Танцплан України 2026”
WZ — A Journey to Kyiv: A City That Continues to Dance Despite the War
Ukrainian Crisis Media Center — Press Conference Video
Internal Links
Oral History for Dance Heritage
The Injustice of Being Silenced
Common Dance, Uncommon Stories
Archival Note: This page forms part of an ongoing personal archive documenting Ricardo Viviani’s professional work and activities over more than four decades. Names and other personal information appear where relevant to the documented work or collaboration. If you believe that information concerning you has been published incorrectly or should be reconsidered, please contact me.