FAST FORWARD PRESENTS: ANN VAN DEN BROEK, DAGMAR SLAGMOLEN, JETSE BATELAAN AND PROJECT WILDEMAN

Last year Ann Van den Broek celebrated the 15-year anniversary of her company Ward/waRD. The new season of 2016-2017 marks the start of a next step in her artistic development. She aims to expand her artistic idiom in the coming years by combining different art disciplines and by connecting with artists of other disciplines. Ann Van den Broek has opted for a project at London’s Barbican Centre, as Europe’s largest cultural centre that is also, among other things, the home base of the London Symphony Orchestra. It is a location where many art disciplines are housed and artistic crossovers occur naturally. During an earlier residency, the Barbican Centre proved to be an infinite source of inspiration for Ann Van den Broek. Artists having different perspectives or work methods drew her attention and inspired new ideas. The Barbican Centre gives her the time, space and (artistic) support to explore new paths. She will explore her new, interdisciplinary work method through a number of different ‘research labs’, mostly within the Barbican Centre. The research will ultimately culminate in the performance titled (provisionally) Memory Loss, which will premiere in the spring of 2019.

Concerts Norway is like Oorkaan’s big brother. Oorkaan presents around 200 theatre concerts annually for children until age 12. Concerts Norway is commissioned by the Norwegian Ministry of culture to organise some 9000 school concerts for children until age 16. For Scott Rogers (artistic leader of Concerts Norway), the performance Cellostorm, directed by Dagmar Slagmolen, was his introduction to Oorkaan’s work. He was immediately captivated by the work, and a dialogue with Dagmar sprung up. Besides continuing and intensifying the artistic dialogue and exchanging experiences, Oorkaan wants to learn from Concerts Norway’s experience with involving children in the creation process. Dagmar Slagmolen will also have the opportunity to further research movement and choreography. Together they will create three projects: first, Dagmar will make a solo for the Norwegian violinist, composer and dancer Andreas Ljones. The second project is a choreography for the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra for the piece Verklärte Nacht Op. 4 by Arnold Schönberg. The third project is an interdisciplinary performance with classical music and dancers.

Künstlerhaus Mousonturm wishes to programme more performances aimed (also) at a younger audience, through their ALL INN programme. Working closely with the international theatre festival for young audiences, Starke Stücke, and with the Hessische Theateracademie (HTA), they offer an international residency programme for young makers, and for this they have invited Jetse Batelaan. The collaboration consists of different projects and will eventually result in a performance directed by Jetse Batelaan. The collaboration with Künstlerhaus Mousonturm will help Jetse Batelaan bring his work to international attention. He is also looking forward to going all the way back to the very start of the creation process: to the moment where, in the absence of all expectations and certainties, theatre can still become everything the maker wants it to be.

The members of music theatre company Project Wildeman are fascinated by today’s urban dweller. They wish to investigate the homo civitas in three different European cosmopolitan environments, namely Berlin, Milan and Amsterdam. In Berlin they will develop the Resonance Room in collaboration with the Neuköllner Oper. This is a series of four times three performances in which the audience is the lead character in an immersive experience. Artistic leader Bernhard Glocksin will supervise the whole project as dramatist. In Milan, Project Wildeman will spend two years working with Mare Culturale Urbano to develop an urban ritual, specifically geared to the neighbourhood in the vicinity of the San Siro stadium. This neighbourhood is home to many wealthy football stars, but also contains many deprived areas. Paolo Aniello, founder of Mare Culturale Urbano, will supervise the project as dramatist. Project Wildeman will incorporate and present all the insights acquired throughout this research in a cosmopolitan Wildeman ritual, in 2020.

The programme 'Fast Forward: talent in international context’ has existed since 1 January 2014 with the goal of giving talented makers the opportunity to work on a performance or concert under the supervision of an international producer. Director Sjaron Minailo, the Ragazze Quartet, choreographer Itamar Serussi and director Jorinde Keesmaat were the first four participants.

The programme will run for three years, from 2014 to 2016. Between 12 and 15 makers are expected to embark on a (multi-year) collaboration project abroad with the goal of producing a performance or concert, with the support of Fast Forward. An amount of 1.1 million euros has been made available for this three-year programme.

For more information about Fast Forward go here .