The Berliner Festspiele stage is traditionally recognized as a venue for high art and elite productions. However, this focus on high-caliber stagings has been expanded since the 1980s through dedicated formats carving out space for young voices: theater in 1980 (Theatertreffen der Jugend), music in 1984 (Treffen junge Musik-Szene), literature in 1986 (Treffen junger Autor:innen), and finally Tanztreffen der Jugend in 2014, focusing on youth dance companies, forming the links of this ongoing transformation. Ranging from independent stages to schools and state-funded theaters, this platform allows young dancers to express their own themes through contemporary and urban body languages.
With over 60 companies applying to the festival this year, 10 remarkable works selected by an expert jury were invited to Berlin. Carrying no monetary prize, the meeting’s ultimate reward is taking the stage in Berlin between September 26 and October 2, 2026.
Highlights from the 2026 Selection
Hailing from across Germany and representing a broad spectrum spanning street dance to contemporary performance, the invited projects are:
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Die Ermittlung – Nach Peter Weiss: Oberstufentheatergruppe des Dientzenhofer-Gymnasiums Bamberg
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Find no Words to say: JugendTanzCompany an der Potsdamer Fabrik
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Herzhaft romantisch: TanzTheater-AG Neukölln 11 der Berliner Schule am Bienwaldring
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La premiere Fois: Emmatheo (Stuttgart)
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Nichts wird vergessen: Stralsunder Perform[d]ance Jugendkompanie
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Schwarz: Zhechang Yuan aka Mr. Chaos (Munich)
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Till Eulenspiegel – Teile von mir: Collaboration between Theater für Niedersachsen (Hildesheim) & Schule der Tanzkünste Saltazio
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ver_rückt: iMove (Saarländisches Staatstheater Saarbrücken)
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Zwischenkörpern: Soley Huber & Jonathan Walker (tanzApartment-Studio Berlin)
Centering the experimental courage of young choreographers and dancers, this gathering offers one of the most dynamic stops of the Berlin autumn for those wishing to glimpse the future forms of contemporary dance today.
