Susanne is an international performance arts producer and cultural innovator and speaker. Through her strong international networks and innovative approaches to renewing performing arts, she is known in international performing arts circles.
Susanne Danig owns and runs Danig Performing Arts Service. After decades focusing on coaching and consulting within the performing arts field in an international context, the main focus in recent years is on running the residency place BIRCA – Bækkelund International Residency Center for Artists – on Bornholm in Denmark, creating strong international networks to benefit performing artists.
Susanne’s mission is developing new approaches to the performing arts and new formats taking place outside of the traditional theatre space. She a fierce defender of artists working in the independent field. She is keenly engaged in social politics and the society that surrounds her.
Susanne has always been engaged in gender politics, supporting female creators. In more recent years she has worked with queer politics and non-conformative gender definitions, often through international network programs. This has grown into supporting childrens’ right to creative thinking, something that has been developed through the BIRCA Kids programs.
New ecological performing arts
In recent years Susanne’s work has focused on the new ecological performing arts. On connecting to the more-than-human, our surroundings and learning from them to address the climate catastrophe and bio-diversity crisis. Subsequent to this she initiated a network called RØSK (Reflections on the new Ecological Performing Arts) to gather people working in this field to exchange methods and ideas. The manifest of RØSK can be read here.
This means that part of Susanne’s practice at BIRCA is walking on the grounds, learning from the trees, understanding the landscape and sea, connecting with the energy fields – but also understanding the practices from our ancient past in creating connections. The ambition is to open this knowledge to the artists that works there. She is in a learning process towards the nature and history on Bornholm – the place she is herself connected intensively to.
Having had a long professional life and seen BIRCA grow into a strong position with a lot of history and experience, Susanne is now engaged in developing methods and formats of archiving artistic practices. 2024 saw the launch of an online circular archive for BIRCA, followed up by a publication and a seminar. Material on this can be found here.
Susanne has held a series of positions in the Danish performing arts sector. She is previously director of the Danish ITI Center and producer for several Danish theatres and festivals. She has international expertise in creating festivals and in developing arts institutions, has served as a consultant at the Danish Arts Foundation, is former president of the International Festival Forum/ITI and member of IETMs advisory committee.
Susanne has extensive experience in working in boards of arts organizations. She is current chairing these Danish organizations: H2O, Yggdrasil Dance, Down The Rabbit Hole, Thomas Bentin Works, Nordic Beasts, Beyond Darkness, Spine Fiction as wells as being a board member of Bornholms Cultureweek.
Susanne has a degree in Comparative Litterature and Modern Culture Studies from University of Copenhagen. She has studied at Shippenburgs University in USA and at Sorbonne in France. She holds a diploma in Leadership, is a certified Passion test Facilitator and has published “A Book on Love”.
“I help artists unfold their true potential, shine with clarity, and use their innovative power to tell inspirational stories.” – Susanne Danig