Dance ambassador Celine
Time to change something
The JUNGES BLUT platform draws attention to the relevance of ‘dance for young audiences’
Our dance ambassador Céline was part of the youth platform JUNGES BLUT. Under the motto ‘Choreographers for young audiences’, young artists were invited to exchange views on working for children and young people. JUNGES BLUT takes place every spring at TANZKOMPLIZEN (in cooperation with HZT Berlin and Offensive Tanz) and is an introductory and experimental space where dance professionals can meet and present and discuss their first works for young audiences.
Céline tells us what she experienced during the first edition in May 2023 and why she finds this annual series important.
Research Lab for Students
For the first time ‘young blood’ for all. Slight excitement, but also curiosity about how it will go. Who is coming and what topics will be hotly debated? I am looking forward to the meeting of students of the Master's program Choreography from the Interuniversity Center Tanz Berlin (HZT), the representatives of the TanzZeit Campus Company and myself.
Our first point of the day was getting to know each other. And how do you do that as a dance artist:in? Of course with movement. Each:r had a:n partner:in, we briefly introduced ourselves with a few funny anecdotes about ourselves and the partner:in was then allowed to represent what was said by movement or language. As a result, the group mixed and the mood became looser from minute to minute.
Afterwards, Gabi dan Droste gave us an exciting input on ‘Dance for young audiences’. For example, it is often said: “Those who have not achieved anything in dance do dance for young audiences”. The fact that working with the hardest is especially difficult for young audiences 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 small push and now this topic is getting bigger and more in demand. We're still at the beginning, but every thing started small.
After that, Ceren Oran gave us an insight into her career and showed us with a lot of humor how she started and how her work has evolved to this day. She emphasized again and again how important it is to be authentic and honest and to stand behind the topics that you work on.
The audience always sees a piece with their own story in their luggage and out of their own life situation. How something is received sometimes has little to do with the piece itself. What matters is what they see, and children can often understand and feel dance and movement better than verbals.
The time with Ceren went by like in flight for me. I could have listened for hours. It was very inspiring for me. Then we focused on a piece of her that was also invited to the PURPLE Festival this year. It was called ‘Flying Words’. After Ceren has told us more about this piece, we should write down a word ourselves, which occurred to us at the very moment. Then we formed a small group and lost a word and developed a small sequence from it.
At the end of the day there was a short final round in which we talked about various questions. Through conversations about personal experiences and experiences, it became a very lively exchange. Everyone could tell about 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 present on that day. Therefore, the anticipation of the day increased, when we were allowed to look at the pieces ‘Fabled’ and ‘Earth’. A week later it was time.
Two performances and a professional exchange
12 May 2023
We sit tensely 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 dealt with the question of how to inhabit a damaged planet. In the play, the performers tried to become one with the ecological system so that the destruction can be stopped. Through a video projection on the stones and the bodies, the effect of the fusion was created. In part, it was no longer possible to distinguish what stone and what man were. The two performers radiated a calmness but also tension.
Keeping this balance in one piece for children was very fascinating. The children sitting in the audience didn't say a word. Everyone was completely focused on performance.
After a little break, the light went out slowly and the room became silent. Suddenly the two performers, Veronika Heisig and Manuel Lindner, came on stage very quickly and strictly and disappeared behind one of the many hanging slides. A playful journey through the body began. ‘Fabelhaft’ dealt with the question ‘Who and what can you be?’ They merged, dived or transformed. Together as a duo, funny situations such as shaking hands arose, which increased more and more and continuously changed. At that moment I heard a comment from a child from the audience. This child is simply and honestly ‘funny’. A little smirk went through the audience.
At the end of the performance there was a lot of applause and a joint discussion took place on ‘Dance for young audiences in dance and choreography training’.
Many aspects have been mentioned, but we have come to the conclusion that this topic is far too short in current cultural discourses or is not even mentioned at all.
Time to make a difference with this platform. We are ready for it.
