In 1994 the project tanz ist was founded by Dornbirn/Austrian-born dancer and choreographer Günter Marinelli. The 'Performance nights', initially staged at the Festspielhaus - the local festival hall - in Bregenz, evolved into a dance festival in its own right. Since 1998, the festival and associated events have been staged at Spielboden Dornbirn/Austria.
 
The core idea for the creative artistic work has been from the very beginning a project-orientated focus of the highest quality as well as an ongoing cooperation with selected participating artists. Each year thematic core concepts are generated for the series of dance performances and artistic events, and the co-operation with selected artists and institutions is initiated and commissioned accordingly.
 
tanz ist concludes the series of dance choreographies in the West of Austria and complements as well as enlivens the cultural landscape of Vorarlberg, Austria's westernmost province, by engaging international and alternative dance and performance art.