Kanuti Gildi SAAL

It is the tenth time that Kanuti Gildi SAAL is organizing August DanceFestival, an international festival of contemporary dance. With the years the festival has come to be a renowned early autumn festival in the Nordic Countries and all of Europe being the most well known festival of contemporary dance in Estonia.

It is a festival known for its nonchalant atmosphere enjoyed both by the participants and the audience. The productions will this year be shown at Kanuti Gildi SAAL and at the other theatres and public space venues in Tallinn. As it is a jubilee for the festival the programme is made with the widest audience in mind. Performances taking place in public parks and streets will be free of charge and are suitable for families.

The programme of the jubilee edition of August DanceFestival can be described with the word "synthesis" for the programme brings together both some of the best choreographers in Europe today and the best choreographers of the emerging generation. Besides there is also a synthesis of different fields of art: dance and machines, dance and sport, dance and technology, dance and theatre, dance and art, dance and music etc. Besides performances at theatre venues the festival will also feature works in public parks and streets. This diversity should help to create a particular atmosphere suitable for a jubilee festival.

Beside choreographers from Estonia the festival also welcomes performers from the Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland and Canada. It is hard to point out a culmination event of the festival for thanks to long time efforts we have managed to invite guests that are as diverse as they are original.

Yet most probably the main guest of the festival is the well known and renowned choreographer Thomas Hauert who will come to Estonia with "Accords", a production that saw its premiere last year and can now be see at virtually every major dance festival in Europe. According to many specialists this piece has "restored the faith in physical choreography". The festival is well ended by a music-based production "empty holes" by Mark Tompkins.

What certainly will gather attention will be the productions shown outside of theatre spaces. Dominique Boivin has earned himself considerable fame with his duet between a man and a digger, a production that has been shown all over the world. Silke Z., a choreographer in possibly her most creative artistic period since, is visiting the festival with her production that had its first rehearsal period in Tallinn.

Mette Ingvartsen and Jefta Van Dinther have brilliantly merged together sport and dance performing their piece on two trampolines. At this August DanceFestival we present the work of the Canadian-Estonian choreographer Antonija Livingstone. Hopefully her visit this time will lead to working together with Estonian artists in the future. Just recently she obtained Estonian citizenship.

Kasper Daugaard Poulsen will offer the audience a new and exiting kind of dance from Scandinavia where crushing humour plays a crucial part.

We are especially glad to be able to present in Estonia for the first time Teodora Castellucci an "up and coming" star of the Italian scene who is clearly very much influenced by the very visual productions of his famous father (Romeo Castellucci).

The Estonian dance scene will be present at the festival with Mart Kangro whose new production "Can't Get No / Satisfaction" is at the moment and in future on tour at various theatre venues around Europe.

However, the programme is not yet fully fixed and may be subject to some further positive surprises.

The detailed programme of the festival will be announced and ticket will start on June 19.

The 10th, jubilee edition of August DanceFestival is realized thanks to numerous partners: Tallinn City Council Cultural Heritage Department; Culture Endowment of Estonia; Estonian Ministry of Culture; Italian Embassy in Tallinn; Goethe Institute; CulturesFrance; ProHelvetia; Flemish Ministry for Culture, Youth Work, Media and Sport; Canadian Embassy in Tallinn; French Culture Centre in Tallinn; European Union Culture Programme / Baltoscandal Festival, Danish Art Council, Culture Department of the City Köln and Århus City Council, CRAMO, Multifix, Sokos Hotel Viru.

Kanuti Gildi SAAL - www.saal.ee

Priit Raud
Artistic Director/Producer of August DanceFestival 2009
priit @ tants.ee / (+372)5010419

PRESS REFLECTING ON THE August DanceFestival:

http://www.vesti.ee/kultura/6862/

10th edition of August DanceFestival at Kanuti Gildi SAAL / Annika Haas, Eesti Ekspress 27.08.09

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