FRATZ International 2024
Encounters | Symposium | Festival
October 11th to 17th, 2024
Performances 2024:
- Bounced (3-6) | Performance for children from 3-6 years old | Magnet Theatre | South Africa
- Fields of Tender (6 months to 10 years) | Immersive durational dance performance for babies and children with disabilities* | Dalija Acin Thelander | Sweden
- Hanv Gara Asa [I am Home] (2-5) | "Hanv Gara Asa" is a play for early years, told through sounds, objects and images | Sananda Mukhopadhyaya | India
- LUFT (3+) | A Danceperformance for All Ages | Nir de Volff & Theater o.N. | Germany
- Shall we … together (2,5+ and senior citizens) | Dance performance for children from 2,5 years old and senior citizens | tout petit | Belgium
- The Trees in Us (4+) | A workshop experience for children (from 4 years), adults and trees | Cinzia Schincariol l Germany & Australia
- THINGS at the End of the World (3+) | Dance piece for children and adults | Alfredo Zinola | Germany
At FRATZ International 2024 we touched upon an array of topics concerning the present and the future bringing the generations into dialogue with each other. This happened sometimes in a playful manner, sometimes in an academical one; often it was social and informal and sometimes it was serious. But no matter which format or constellation of people: reciprocal respect and openness towards each other's perspectives formed the basis on which our encounters at FRATZ took place.
FRATZ Symposium and additional program
in chronological order.
Hospitality
After we celebrated the festival opening on Friday afternoon (10/11) with the guest performance Bounced by Magnet Theatre Cape Town and a got together afterwards, we started on Saturday (10/12) with an exchange on sustainability and global equity. Together with presenters of international festivals and the invited guest artists we talked about a sustainable and fair working and producing practice and also gave room to discuss other topics regarding our role as hosts that might positively challenge us, like accessibility and inclusivity.
FRATZ dances
For the first time our festival-party on Saturday afternoon/evening was celebrated as a Disco for everyone and invited children and adults alike to celebrate together in Podewil.
Punching bag, duel or joker?
Under this headline dramaturge Sarah Israel invited professionals for an exchange and workshop on Sunday (10/13) on practice based tools and approaches to solve conflicts in production contexts. Using games, we approached the question of how we can keep spaces open and continue to work together in the case of disputes, conflicts and boycotts.
Inclusion and empowerment
On Sunday evening choreographer Dalija Acin Thelander gave a lecture and offered insights into her multi-year research project with Stockholm University “Towards sensuous ecologies, Rethinking ableism in choreographic and movement practices”.
Dalija's production Fields of Tender, which was created in connection with this research and is aimed at neurodivergent children and children with disabilities, was also part of the festival.
Nature and imagination
We also put a spotlight on the choreographic and playful practice of dance artist Cinzia Schincariol. In her experiential workshop The Trees in Us, she invited children and adults to imagine new futures together through encounters with trees. On Monday morning (10/14), she presented her approach in an artist’s talk to interested colleagues at the Tanzhalle Wiesenburg.
Building relationships
The research labs and their presentation have become an integral part of FRATZ. Since 2020, we have increasingly used this format to initiate or deepen relationships with international artists. In 2024 we asked our cooperation partner, the cultural organization ThinkArts Kolkata, to design the research labs according to the needs and interests of the theater scene for young audiences in India.
On Monday evening (10/14) two participants, Swapnika Reddy and Sidharth Varma, shared their lab results as part of the symposium and spoke about their process.
Afterwards, ThinkArts Kolkata, the team of the invited guest performance Hanv Gara Asa from Goa and the Lab artists and FRATZ International invited to a talk about theater for young audiences in India: What is the scene there concerned with? What structures are they working in?
In addition to the guest performance program and the symposium events, a FRATZ Atelier took place at Podewil - 2024 designed by Michaela Millar and open to all visitors - children and adults of the festival, who left their FRATZ traces there and took part in an installation that continued to grow over the course of the festival.
Team
Artistic Direction: Dagmar Domrös, Vera Strobel, Doreen Markert
Production Management: Lena Scheitz, Julie Peters
Technical Direction: Wibke Tiarks
Technical team: Cathy Walsh, Tom O’Doherty, Jerry Geiger (GRIPS), Martin Pilz, Marek Lamprecht (Tanzstudio), Ivan Bartsch, Torsten Litschko (English Theatre), Heiko Schramm (Tanzhalle Wiesenburg), Stefan Neumann (FELD), Daniel Paiva de Miranda, Thiago Rosa (Dock11)
FRATZ Encounters, Theatre pedagogy: Kathleen Rappolt, Julia Gotzmann, Cindy Ehrlichmann
FRATZ Jury: Tessa Hart, Susanne Tod, Nishna Mehta, Maria Yan, Dagmar Domrös, Vera Strobel, Doreen Markert
Sustainability consulting Markus Roche
Accessibility consulting: Constanze Klunker, Susanne Tod, Katrin Sold
Carers for guest performance groups and artists: Coila Leah-Enderstein, Gosia Gajdemska, Camila Hein, Neo Hülcker, Claire F. Crescini
Ticketing & contact for professional visitors: Kata Kovács
Administration/Revenue: Susan Schiek
Marketing & contact for daycare groups: Silke Saalfrank
Box office and entrance services: Kata Kovács, Julie Peters, Susan Schiek, Silke Saalfrank, Kathleen Rappolt, Hannes Raphael, Maha Farid Majid
Public relations: Vera Strobel, Nele Riepl, Sophie Braun, Silke Saalfrank, Maha Farid Majid
Press: Nora Gores
Photography: David Beecroft
Translations into English: Qwigo Lydia Baldwin
Translations into German: Mira Lina Simon
Translations in easy language: Schriftgut Text & Konzeption Marlene Seifert
Layout: Sabine Klopfleisch
Venue decoration: Kathleen Rappolt, Michaela Millar
FRATZ Angels: Maha Farid Majid, Sarah Nitzsche
FRATZ International Encounters – Symposium – Festival for the Very Young from 10/11 -10/17 2024 produced and presented by Theater o.N.
In cooperation with ThinkArts Kolkata, Kulturprojekte Berlin and Offensive Tanz für junges Publikum.
With the kind support of GRIPS Theater, FELD Theater für junges Publikum, Tanzhalle Wiesenburg, DOCKART, blu:boks Berlin, English Theatre Berlin - International Performing Arts Center, Nachbarschaftshaus am Körnerpark, Vivantes Hauptstadtpflege Wilmersdorf.
FRATZ 2024 is funded by the Berlin Senate for Culture and Social Cohesion (Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalt).
The guest performance »Shall we ... together« is supported by the Department of Culture, Youth and Media of the Flemish Government and Vivantes - Forum für Senioren GmbH / Vivantes Hauptstadtpflege Haus Wilmersdorf.
The guest performance »THINGS at the End of the World« takes place in cooperation with TANZKOMPLIZEN - Tanz für junges Publikum and is supported by the 'NATIONALE PERFORMANCE NETZ Gastspielförderung Tanz', sponsored by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media, as well the Ministries of Culture and the Arts of the federal states.
Certain program elements by dance professionals within the framework of FRATZ International 2024 are supported by the Offensive Tanz für junges Publikum Berlin, funded by TANZPAKT Stadt-Land-Bund with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media and the State of Berlin with funds from the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion (Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalt).
Media partner: taz, Himbeer und Kindaling