The Duncan Dance Research Center was, until recently, a unique dance structure available for research, residencies, networking, community building, educational projects, and the exploration and implementation of artistic eco-practices in the dance context.

Now, its future remains uncertain after having been absorbed by the Municipality of Vyronas, following an imposed centralization of management by the Greek Ministry of Internal Affairs.

A Home for Dance

The DDRC, as we know it, was a home for dance, where relationships were nurtured with remarkable care and dedication towards the local and international communities. A longtime member of the network, the Duncan Dance Research Center is an invaluable partner for EDN, whose vision and expertise have led to a number of fruitful international collaborations: PLANT, Zoom-in, Moving Ground, Living Project, and Pilgrim, to name just a few.

DDRC's struggles come at a time when the dance field across Europe mobilises to secure better working conditions in the sector. When dance organisations advocate for fully funded artistic research. And when we are generating awareness around the value of dance in societies while mapping its inherent practices of care.

In Defence of Continuity

‘What will remain of DDRC?’ Dance artists are still fighting to emphasise its continuity, namely its vital connection with the dance community and the citizens of Vyronas, despite the changes in the legal framework. Would that be possible? As uncertainty has become a motto for most dance artists since Covid-19, their commitment to remain vigilant and active in this case is a way to resist yet another loss that would cancel many of the present and future possibilities. And history, if a possible future is cancelled, loses all of its political agency.

Anastasio Koukoutas reports on DDRC for Springback Magazine.

About Duncan Dance Research Center

The Isadora & Raymond Duncan Dance Research Center (DDRC) was founded in 1980 by the Municipality of Vyronas and is housed in a unique building of historical and architectural value: it was built in 1903 and designed by Isadora Duncan's brother, Raymond Duncan.

The DDRC, an international dance research and residency center, is in a constant process of redesigning its practices depending on the history, architecture and landscape of the place, the resonance with the Duncans' legacy on the one hand and the changing needs of the dance scene on the other.

Combining dance practice with theory and research offers artists from the Greek and international dance scene space for inspiration, experimentation and creativity. The structure, location and working methods of the house aim to create a sense of home for the artists.

Through the projects it initiates, the DDRC opens up spaces of encounter between dance, scientific disciplines and practices of craft, care, community and frugal living - concepts with which Raymond Duncan has experimented throughout his life.

These projects, together with the microscopic size of the structure, form the core of the DDRC's role and identity. The DDRC is a founding member of the European Dance Development Network.