Explore Dance

Germany has a long theater tradition with well-known companies for young audiences and festivals. 
Dance for young audiences remained somewhat in the shadows, but that has changed radically! 
What has driven this positive development and how is that work developing an audience at home and around the world?

From 2017, Simone Schulte-Aladag (Munich), Sven Till (Potsdam) and Kerstin Evert (Hamburg) worked together to support dance for young audiences. In 2019, a first dance festival from Explore Dance was presented in Hamburg. From 2022, Dresden also joined as a fourth partner and the network became increasingly stronger, with a clear focus on production and distribution. The balance after six years of work is impressive: 34 productions that have been performed more than 500 times.

Now that dance for young audiences is experiencing a dip in Flanders, Krokusfestival wants to develop a renewed focus on dance for young audiences with the presentation of Dance from England in 2024 and Explore Dance Germany in 2025. Thus, we seek inspiration from good practices abroad. 

We therefore invite some of the Explore Dance inspirers, passionate people who support the development of dance for a young audience. This morning is also an ideal time to meet the artists who are presenting work at the festival this year and those who are currently developing new dance work.

Programme