http://vti.be/en/http/%252Fwww.fabuleus.be

fABULEUS offers young people a professional framework in which to create theatre and dance productions. This mission takes the concrete form of a flexible production structure in which young theatrical and dance talent works together with more experienced artists. Both youngsters (track 1) and young professionals (track 2) receive support on an artistic, logistical and commercial level. The variations are presented to a broad audience, with special attention to youngsters and children.

A central focus of fABULEUS’ activities is the creation and presentation/dissemination of professionally contextualised theatre and dance productions, including hybrid forms such as dance theatre, musical theatre, live art, etc. fABULEUS is characterised by a great variety of artists, stories and styles and by a continuous influx, outflow and through-flow of new young actors, dancers and authors. In order to emphasise this diversity and openness, fABULEUS prefers to call itself a production organisation rather than a company. The productions emerge from the stories and the needs of the artists, who are invited by fABULEUS or who themselves come knocking with a production proposal that they want to create with either young people (track 1) or young fellow professionals (track 2).

At fABULEUS, the starting point for a creation may vary greatly: a fascination for a novel or youth novel, a repertoire piece or a newly written work, philosophical, religious or scientific writings. Or it could be a film, a piece of music or a piece of thematic research, a spatial or movement-related concept, or the mythology of one’s own childhood. In addition to the diversity of source materials, the great differences in the backgrounds, education and ages of the artists also lead to widely varying interpretations of the medium of theatre or dance.

Despite this diversity, there are several common threads which run through fABULEUS creations. They can be found on the content/thematic level but they also have to do with the aim or intended impact of the productions.

On the one hand, the productions are primarily populated by young characters and are often explorations of recognisable youth themes. However, at the same time they can function as metaphors for existential or social transition phases and in this way they transcend the typical young person’s world. Confusion, angst and uncertainty may lead to an intensified existence among young people, but it is also an existential condition of mankind. Consequently, fABULEUS productions are simply about people who dare to question their existence, their search for meaning or content and about the poignant beauty of this search.

On the other hand, fABULEUS productions attempt to meet the expectations of the audience, but at the same time also to challenge them. fABULEUS is always seeking a good balance between recognisability and alienation. Whatever balance is found, the performers are bursting with ambition and effort, with a commitment to the material and to the audience. The performances are meetings with other people, stories, ways of thinking, patterns of behaviour, survival strategies, worlds and world views. fABULEUS aims to create enthusiasm for the performing arts among the audience, but also for the power and beauty of the story, an image, a movement which touches you, or makes you dream or reflect.

Due to its youthful image, fABULEUS is often counted among the youth theatres. Indeed, it is the case that most productions, since they are created by or out of a fascination with young people or children, are especially enjoyed by young audiences and are primarily performed on the youth-theatre circuit. However, although this young audience is a result of the youthful profile of the productions, unlike most subsidised youth theatres, this is not the fundamental starting point. After all, the true starting point is the artists and their stories. Many fABULEUS productions are just as popular with typical evening audiences.

In addition to artistic director Dirk De Lathauwer, the fABULEUS artistic team consists of Randi De Vlieghe and Peter Anthonissen.