Translated with DeepL.com (free version).

Our dance ambassador Céline took part in the young talent platform JUNGES BLUT. Under the motto "Choreographing for young audiences", up-and-coming artists were invited to exchange ideas about working for children and young people. JUNGES BLUT takes place every spring at TANZKOMPLIZEN (in cooperation with HZT Berlin and Offensive Tanz) and is a space for dance makers to get to know each other and experiment, present and discuss their first works for young audiences.

Research Lab for students

May 6, 2023

The first time "young blood" for everyone. Slight excitement, but also curiosity about how it will go. Who will come and what topics will be hotly debated? I'm looking forward to meeting students from the Master's degree program in Choreography at the Inter-University Center for Dance Berlin (HZT), the representatives of the TanzZeit Campus Company and myself.

Our first point of the day was to get to know each other. And how do you do that as a dance artist? With movement, of course. Everyone had a partner, we briefly introduced ourselves with a few funny anecdotes about ourselves and the partner was then allowed to act out what was said through movement or speech. This caused the group to mix and the atmosphere became more relaxed by the minute.

Afterwards, Gabi dan Droste gave us an exciting input on "dance for young audiences". For example, it is often said: "If you haven't achieved anything in dance, do dance for young audiences". But the fact that working for young audiences is one of the hardest things to do is often completely ignored. The influence of other countries, such as the Netherlands, Belgium or the Scandinavian countries, has given the dance scene in Germany a little push and this topic is now becoming bigger and more in demand. We are still at the beginning, but everything starts small.

Ceren Oran then gave us an insight into her career and showed us with a lot of humor how she started and how her work has developed to date. She repeatedly emphasized how important it is to be authentic and honest and to stand behind the topics you work on.

The audience always sees a play with its own history and from its own life situation. How something is received sometimes has little to do with the play itself. What's important is what they see, and children can often understand and empathize with dance and movement better than verbal elements.

The time with Ceren flew by for me. I could have listened for hours. It was very inspiring for me. Then we focused on one of her pieces, which was also invited to the PURPLE Festival this year. It was called "Flying Words". After Ceren told us more about this piece, we were asked to write down a word ourselves that came to mind at that very moment. Then we formed small groups and chose a word and developed a short sequence from it.

At the end of the day, there was a short final round in which we discussed a wide range of issues. By talking about personal experiences and adventures, it became a very lively exchange. Everyone was able to report on a different background in dance and it was precisely this versatility that made it so special.

The choreographers Dominique Tegho and Veronika Heisig were also there that day. This increased our anticipation for the day when we were allowed to watch the pieces "Fabelhaft" and "Erden". Less than a week later, the time had come.

Two performances and an expert exchange

May 12, 2023

We sit eagerly on the chairs in the Podewil and are ready for the two performances.

The first piece was choreographed by Dominique Tegho. Together with Matilde Bassetti, she explored the question of how to inhabit a damaged planet. In the piece, the performers tried to become one with the ecological system so that the destruction could be stopped. A video projection onto the stones and the bodies created the effect of merging. At times, it was no longer possible to tell what was stone and what was human. The two performers radiated a sense of calm but also tension.

Maintaining this balance in a piece for children was very fascinating. The children sitting in the audience didn't say a word. They were all completely focused on the performance.

After a short break, the lights slowly went out and the room fell silent. Suddenly the two performers, Veronika Heisig and Manuel Lindner, came running onto the stage very quickly and sternly and disappeared behind one of the many hanging transparencies. A playful journey through the body began. "Fabulous" dealt with the question "Who and what can you be?" They merged into each other, disappeared or transformed. Together as a duo, they created funny situations such as shaking hands, which grew and changed continuously. At that moment, I heard a comment from a child in the audience. This child simply and honestly said "funny". A small smile went through the audience.

At the end of the performance, there was lively applause and a joint discussion about "dance for young audiences in dance and choreography education".

Many aspects were mentioned, but we came to the conclusion that this topic is neglected or not mentioned at all in current cultural discourses.

Time to change something together with this platform. We are ready for it.