1. How to start (again) and look forward?

3. How to reserve space for the unexpected?

You probably already know that you will not see any more performances on our stages this season. Kaaitheater and the Kaaistudios will remain empty in May and June, and we have no programme to announce. And yet coordinators Agnes Quackels & Barbara Van Lindt decided to write you this letter.

Normally we would have presented the Kaaitheater programme of the coming weeks. But then everything changed. So there is no programme this time. Instead, we are proud to present a collection of contributions by artists whose productions have been cancelled, as well as by two artists-in-residence. They each answered a simple question: ‘What would you like to say to the Kaaitheater audience now?

Normally we would have presented the Kaaitheater programme of the coming weeks. But then everything changed. So there is no programme this time. Instead, we are proud to present a collection of contributions by artists whose productions have been cancelled, as well as by two artists-in-residence. They each answered a simple question: ‘What would you like to say to the Kaaitheater audience now?

Normally we would have presented the Kaaitheater programme of the coming weeks. But then everything changed. So there is no programme this time. Instead, we are proud to present a collection of contributions by artists whose productions have been cancelled, as well as by two artists-in-residence. They each answered a simple question: ‘What would you like to say to the Kaaitheater audience now?

We live in surrealistic times. A virus has brought our society to a complete stop: every planned event has been summarily cancelled. That includes all the productions at Kaaitheater and the Kaaistudios until 30 June.

This talk draws on interviews conducted with staff and students who have made complaints within universities that relate to unfair, unjust or unequal working conditions and to abuses of power such as sexual and racial harassment. It approaches complaint as a form of diversity work: the ordinary and often painstaking labour of trying to transform institutions so they are more accommodating. Sara Ahmed explores the significance of how complaints happen “behind closed doors,” and shows how doors are often closed even when they appear to be opened.  

Gender quota have been introduced in politics in many European countries. But are quota sufficient to create gender equality? The political agenda, communication and staff are not aligned with a broad swathe of women and their ideological and intersectional diversity. This leads to a lack of trust and legitimacy, and unstable relationships between groups of women and their political institutions and politicians. In times of crisis, the informal social relationships of white men continue to have the upper hand.

What kinds of bodies do we generally see in dance productions and how do we look at them? Choreographer and dancer Doris Uhlich decided at a young age to break through the norms dictating dancing bodies. On 2/04, she is coming to Kaaitheater to present Every Body Electric, in which the performers all have a physical disability. Uhlich: ‘I’m more interested in the energy of a body than its outward appearance.’

Ecopolis 2019 was a special edition for but especially with #GenerationHope, on the theme of a sustainable future on a liveable planet.