Festivals
General
Aarhus Festival
Since the mid-1960s, the Aarhus Festival has been one of Scandinavia’s largest and most wide-ranging festivals with a programme covering all genres, including both top international names and local talent. Theatre, classical and contemporary music, dance, opera, visual arts, local cultural events, sport and popular events.
The theme of the annual festival (“Womania” in 2006) is art by women and about women. A new director will be appointed after the 2006 festival. Therefore, the theme for 2007 is pending.
City: Aarhus
Dates: Annually - first week in September
Organiser: Aarhus Festuge, The City of Aarhus
Metropolis - Biennale
Metropolis is a new urban arts festival launched in 2007 with the aim of creating a Scandinavian platform for dance, performance, installations, media and conceptual art which works in and with the urban space and the urban infrastructure.
Metropolis focuses on innovative Danish and international work featuring not just outdoor performance work, but work which in particular is cross-disciplinary (architecture, design, performance, art and media) and work which challenges our notion of space, place and the city.
City: Copenhagen
Dates: August 2009
Organiser: Copenhagen International Theatre (KIT) (the current artistic team consists of founder Trevor Davies, programme co-ordinator Katrien Verwilt).
New Circus Festival
A seasonal programme – initiated in 2006 – of top international new circus acts defining this new genre, intended as an inspiration for Danish artists.
City: Copenhagen
Dates: TBC
Organiser: KIT with support from the Danish Arts Council
P@RT - an international showcase for Danish performing art
The aim of p@rt.dk is to create an inspiring platform where international guests can meet artists from Denmark and create opportunities for collaboration.
The showcase provides a three days platform with selected live performances in both full length and extracts, informal visits to artists' studios and theatres and a late night hangout. It is a unique chance to meet with leading directors, choreographers and producers working in Denmark. The program spectrum covers most of the performing arts: theatre, new circus, dance, new drama, performance, site specific and music theatre.
City: Copenhagen
Dates: November 5 – 7, 2009
Organiser: Copenhagen International Theatre (KIT) in collaboration with the Danish Arts Agency
Waves
Waves is an international dance and performance art festival, held every other year in Vordingborg (100 kilometres south of Copenhagen). The festival is hosted by the international performance art theatre Cantabile 2, headed by Italian director Nullo Facchini. Waves attracts a great many guest companies from abroad – often cantering around a theme. The theme for the 2005 festival was Latino International Dance & Performance. Will be held for the 9th time in 2007.
City: Vordingborg
Dates: August 2009 (Biennale)
Organiser: Cantabile 2
Copenhagen Puppet Festival
Copenhagen Puppet Festival is a thought-provoking world of fun. The festival will introduce new facets of puppetry to a wider audience. A number of the big shots on the international puppet scene alongside young Danish performers will show that puppetry in Denmark is not only alive and kicking but also an artform in and an artgenre in a violent progress of change.
Various genres of puppetry – shadow-, rod-, marionette- and hand puppets, will be followed up by debates, films and talks. The ultimate purpose is to create a space where puppeteers, enthusiasts, organisers and newcomers to the world of puppetry can meet and share experience and fun.
City: Copenhagen
Dates: Spring 2010
Organiser: Copenhagen Puppet Festival is arranged by Kultur Vesterbro og Børnekulturstedet i samarbejde med UNIMA-Danmark, TeaterHuset og Nordland Visual Theatre.
Festival of Wonder - Silkeborg International Puppet Theatre Festival
Festival of Wonder presents puppet-, object-, and visual theatre for adults and for children in a cross-cultural an innovative context. The festival is always following the international development within this field of theatre and accordingly aim to present the most interesting performances of the world today.
At each festival there is organised a showcase of the most innovative and high quality performances within Danish puppet-, object-, and visual theatre for children. The showcase is aimed at international festival directors and presenters and creates a forum of interesting meetings and debates.
Workshops for professionals, films and exhibitions are an important part of Festival of Wonder.
The festival also cooperates with Tucholsky Connection, an informal network of international festival directors of the most respected international festivals as well as local and national institutions such as The Artscentre Silkeborg Bad and Performers House.
City: Silkeborg
Dates: November 12th - 15th 2009.
Organisers: A number of local cultural- and artinstitutions. Artistic director: Ulla Dengsøe
Children
Caravan – An International Childrens' Festival
Caravan is a festival that travels through large parts of Denmark with national and international theatre productions for children, young people and adults. In 2005, the festival extended from western Zealand to Funen to the greater Århus area. The programme also offers workshops and symposia.
City: A score of cities in Denmark
Dates: TBC - (Biennale)
Organiser: Fair Play Theatre
Childrens’ Theatre Festival
The festival has existed since 1971 and is the largest annual children’s theatre festival in Denmark. The festival, which takes place in different cities every year, attracts a large number of international visitors. More than 100 professional theatres for children and young people from all over Denmark put on more than 150 different theatre productions over the course of a week. In all, there are about 450 performances – all free of charge – for school children and other enthusiasts. From Thursday to Sunday, a special program is arranged for the many representatives from abroad.
City: Næstved
Dates: Spring 2010 (Annual)
Organiser: The Theatre Centre in collaboration with the host municipalities
:DANISH+ - Aarhus Performing Arts Festival for Children and Young People
:DANISH+ is a showcase of professional Danish performing arts for children and young people. The performances are selected by a curatio group; the selection being based on one sole parameter: quality. The performances are presented in English and thus :DANISH+ is an exclusive opportunity for theatre representatives and presenters from around the world in a few days to see and experience the very best that Danish performing arts for children and young people has to offer. All performances are regarded as equally compelling for adults and children/young people.
:DANISH+ first took place in 2008 and in the light of the positive feedback it was decided to continue :DANISH+ as a biennale. The performances are presented in English. The :DANISH+ 2010 showcase will be combined with a one-day conference, where Danish 'Quality' research will be presented and discussed. In 2010 international delegates from 16 countries will take part in the showcase.
:DANISH+ is expected to take place again in the spring of 2012.
The showcase is initiated and organized by Teatret Gruppe 38 and supported by Danish Arts Council, Central Denmark Region and the Municipality of Aarhus among others.
Place: Aarhus
Time: Spring 2010
Organiser: Teatret Gruppe 38.
Horsens Childrens' Theatre Festival
Festival with over 40 participating children’s theatres, held over three days. The festival functions as a trade show for the theatre branch. More than 13,000 tickets are distributed to buyers, theatre people, and the general public – children and adults alike. 15 venues, with Horsens Ny Teater at the head, play host to approximately 150 performances. The programme is aimed at all age groups.
City: Horsens
Dates: September 18th - 20th, 2009 (Annual)
Organiser: Municipality of Horsens, the Cultural and Recreational Administration
Spring Festival
New international children’s theatre festival in Copenhagen. For five days, Dansescenen, Krudttønden and the area around the square Øster Fælled Torv, and other places, are transformed into a Mecca of theatre, dance, modern circus and other types of performing arts intended for children and young people.
SpringFestival 2007 presents a wide selection of genres within modern performing arts for children and young people: speech-based shows, dance shows, musical theatre shows, performance theatre, puppet theatre and productions that utilise the electronic media.
Denmark is famous for its children’s theatre, which is unique worldwide. But other countries also create amazing theatre performances for children and young people, which the audience in Denmark sadly rarely gets the opportunity to experience. SpringFestival shows the best from Denmark and other countries.
City: Copenhagen
Dates: TBC - on Østerbro in Copenhagen.
Organiser: Corona la Balance