What Uppercut Danseteater does

Uppercut Danseteater is a non-profit Danish contemporary dance theater company founded in 1982 in Copenhagen by Cher Geurtze and Ann Crooset. It is one of Denmark's first publicly funded modern dance companies and operates today under the third-generation artistic leadership of Stephanie Thomasen and Mark Philip. The company creates and tours physical, high-impact dance productions blending contemporary dance with breakdance, acrobatics, and theatrical elements, serving adult audiences, young audiences, and children aged 3-7 through a repertoire that includes the Reumert Award-winning PLEJER ER DØD trilogy (SAMBA, LIMBO, KALINKA) and productions such as BENCHED, PILGRIM, SHÃH MÃT, PAS DE DIEU, and (H)JUL.

The business model is grant and public-funding dependent. Revenue streams include multi-year foundation grants (notably Augustinusfonden's 3-year commitment for the PLEJER ER DØD trilogy), ongoing operational support from Statens Kunstfond, Københavns Kommune, and Holstebro Kommune, project-specific foundation funding (Wilhelm Hansen, Beckett, Bikubenfonden, and others), performance fees from touring bookings at Danish and international festivals, and co-production partnerships with companies such as Holstebro Dansekompagni and fix+foxy. Ticketing is handled through Electra/Teaterbilletter.dk. The company has been resident house company at Dansekapellet since 2012 and tours internationally across Denmark, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Canada, the United States, South Korea, Spain, and Ivory Coast. It employs 13 staff including an 8-person international ensemble of dancers and a composer/musician.

Name

Uppercut Danseteater

Legal name

Uppercut Danseteater

Website

https://uppercutdanseteater.dk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Uppercut Danseteater is a non-profit Copenhagen-based contemporary dance company founded in 1982, producing and touring physically powerful dance productions blending contemporary dance and breakdance for adult, young, and children's audiences across Denmark and internationally, funded primarily through public grants and foundation support.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts / Contemporary Dance Theater

NAICS

Dance Companies (71112)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Contemporary & Modern Dance (MPAGADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Dance Festivals & Dance Series (MPAGADAJ), Theater, Musicals & Performing Arts (THAJAFAB), Youth/Student & Community Dance Recitals (MPAGADAI)

Keywords

• Contemporary dance performances
• Dance theater productions
• Performing arts company
• Live dance touring
• Choreographic productions

Headquarters

HQ city

Copenhagen

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Public Funding and Grants: Primary revenue from government funding (Statens Kunstfond), municipal support (Københavns Kommune, Holstebro Kommune), and foundation grants including multi-year funding agreements such as Augustinusfonden's 3-year grant for the PLEJER ER DØD trilogy.
2. Performance Fees and Touring: Revenue from booking fees for touring performances at theaters, festivals, and cultural venues domestically and internationally.
3. Co-production Partnerships: Revenue support through co-production agreements with partners such as Dansekapellet, Holstebro Dansekompagni, and fix+foxy.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Uppercut Danseteater creates and tours original contemporary dance theater productions that blend modern dance, breakdance, hip-hop culture, and theater for adult, young, and very young audiences. The company performs its repertoire at Danish and international theaters, festivals, and cultural venues, and produces dedicated children's productions such as (H)JUL. The work is sold as live touring performances, supplemented by co-productions with other dance companies and supported by public and foundation grants.

Product overview

Uppercut Danseteater is a Danish dance theater company founded in 1982, creating hard-hitting performances for adult, young, and youngest audiences. The company operates in a dynamic intersection between contemporary dance, breakdance, and theater. Their portfolio includes standalone performances such as PAS DE DIEU, SHÃH MÃT, BENCHED, PILGRIM, CHILD, DIFFERENCES, and (H)JUL, as well as the PLEJER ER DØD trilogy comprising SAMBA, LIMBO, and KALINKA. The company serves as house ensemble at Dansekapellet and tours internationally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PAS DE DIEU A co-production with fix+foxy exploring what happens when a dancer and actor meet in a duet, examining friendship, love, violence, and sex through words and movement.
• SHÃH MÃT A co-production with Holstebro Dansekompagni featuring 16 dancers and three live musicians on a chessboard in new choreography by Reumert-winning Stephanie Thomasen, exploring themes of power and loyalty.
• BENCHED A raw and honest story about life's big and small questions, featuring five dancers and a long black bench in a fusion of street and modern dance.
• PILGRIM A powerful, flowing journey about life's unpredictable, wondrous journey featuring a bathtub as life's baggage and the world as counterweight.
• PLEJER ER DØD - SAMBA First part of the trilogy PLEJER ER DØD exploring community, social arena, and the space between us through samba dance with live percussion.
• PLEJER ER DØD - LIMBO Second part of the trilogy exploring themes of limbo, uncertainty, and the transition from innocent play to the realization that we can lose ourselves.
• PLEJER ER DØD - KALINKA Third and final part of the trilogy PLEJER ER DØD examining the inner pig within, with pig as the lens examining the relationship between body and space.
• CHILD A story about being an adult, standing in the middle of life, exploring time passing through the fingers like sand through an hourglass.
• DIFFERENCES A performance exploring what separates and unites us, featuring six dancers from Holland, France, Denmark, Sweden, and England finding a common language in the body.
• (H)JUL A dynamic dance performance for children aged 3-7 about two street kids dreaming of Christmas and finding true holiday joy.

Quantifiable outcome

• SAMBA won Årets Reumert 2021 for Best Dance Performance
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• DansekapelletcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDansekapellet opened in 2012. Uppercut Danseteater is the resident house company, with co-production arrangements and ongoing performance relationship.
• Holstebro DansekompagnimajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production partner for SHÃH MÃT, described as Uppercut Danseteater's most ambitious production to date featuring 16 dancers and three live musicians.
• fix+foxymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production partner for PAS DE DIEU, a new performance exploring themes of hate and love between two men.
• Dans i NordvestminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDenmark's first community dance project, established in 1999 with support from Copenhagen Municipality. Today a separate institution that still collaborates with Uppercut on projects like Kulturnatten and the Choreography Competition.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Tanzcompagnie Volkstheater Rostock: German regional dance company where Uppercut dancer Giorgia Reitani previously performed; comparable contemporary ensemble scale with regional public funding and touring ambitions.
• Sita Ostheimer Company: Independent European contemporary dance company led by Sita Ostheimer; previously employed dancer Jens Brøndum (now at Uppercut), indicating overlapping artist pools and similar small-ensemble contemporary dance practice.

Broad incumbents

• GöteborgsOperans Danskompani: Swedish opera-house dance company producing contemporary and neoclassical works with publicly-funded ensemble model and international touring, comparable in opera-house-residency or publicly-resourced dance operations.
• Cullberg Balletten: Swedish contemporary dance company resident at Kulturhuset Stadsteatern, comparable in blending street/hip-hop and contemporary dance genres, public-funded, and touring internationally.
• Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT): Internationally leading contemporary dance company with larger ensemble and broader repertoire, but operating in the same choreographic-contemporary space with similar international touring profile and grant-supported model.
• Batsheva Dance Company: Internationally renowned Israeli contemporary dance company with large ensemble and substantial public funding, serving as a benchmark for how choreographically distinctive companies with public funding can scale globally.

Direct peers

• Danish Dance Theatre: Founded by Tim Rushton (Uppercut's board vice-chair), Danish Dance Theatre is Denmark's flagship contemporary dance company producing original works and touring internationally, making it the most directly comparable Danish peer in scale, model, and artistry.
• Holstebro Dansekompagni: Danish regional contemporary dance company and active co-production partner with Uppercut (e.g., SHÃH MÃT), sharing ensemble model, public funding reliance, and touring to international festivals.
• fix+foxy: Copenhagen-based co-production partner of Uppercut for PAS DE DIEU; operates as an independent Danish theater/performing arts company working at the intersection of dance, theater, and social themes.

Regional players

• Skånes Dansteater: Swedish regional publicly-funded dance company producing contemporary works and family/youth programming, with comparable scale, public-grant funding model, and mixed-genre artistic identity.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/uppercut-danseteater

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Uppercut Danseteater