Young Audiences

An exploration of the topic

Atelier in Hamburg

In May 2019, participants gathered for the first edition of “Explore dance – Festival for young audiences” and exchanged with other colleagues on best practice presentations in different parts of Europe. Many topics were raised during this Atelier, among which the one of taboos in performances for young audiences, and the question of labelling performances for certain target groups.

These topics, and others that were touched upon during the Atelier, relate to bigger questions like the shared responsibility between institutions, artists and audiences, but also to more societal questions on who decides what for whom, how do we consider children and youngsters to be and is that ‘our’ (the adults) role? How do we as a society value art in general, but also in the relation toward children and youngsters and how do they value that? Who has a seat at the table discussing those topics? And how does that impact the (financial) structure and hierarchy we are working in and that we need to navigate through?

Read more about the Atelier here.

Many dancehouses have developed a specific line of programming for young audiences. Additionally, some outstanding projects are taking place at the moment to develop further the engagement with young audiences.

Best practices in the network

explore dance

To develop a sustainable structure for the production of contemporary dance for young audiences in Germany, fabrik Potsdam, Fokus Tanz Munich and K3 in Hamburg have entered a long-term cooperation called explore dance – Network dance for young audiences, in which six choreographers per year are invited to create a new piece. 

Find out more.

Shape It!

The cooperation project Shape It proposes a new model for developing dance performance for young audiences, by adapting (adult) performances to a younger public. It will run from 2019 to 2021, under the leadership of The Place (UK).

Find out more.

Unique size

In Mercat de les Flors they started the project Unique Size. This project states that performances are there to be enjoyed for different ages. Mercat does an age proposal, but everyone is welcome.

Find out more.

Tanzhaus Young

Under the label Tanzhaus young, Tanzhaus Zürich presents dance performances for young audiences and school classes, offers courses for children and young adults, and launches its own projects and holiday courses in cooperation with other municipal institutions.

Following steps

Creating Proximity: Atelier in Marseille

Building on the experiences of the Atelier on Young Audiences in Hamburg in May 2019, this Atelier at Klap (Marseille, France) in January 2020 looked into the strategies for creating for and connecting to young audiences - and more.