Climate change is a critical issue in the global agenda, as it increasingly affects our habits and changes our way of life. Ecology rises to be a subject that concerns us all in this planet, regardless of standard of living, religion, gender, or any other identity aspect. Theatre and dance, as we have often witnessed in their history, reflect contemporary worries. So, it follows that ecology today is a rising concern of the theory and practice of performing arts.

This new Erasmus+ programme, HAT, is an answer to today’s ecological concerns. The core of the HAT operations and actions aims to encompass diversity in young people, helping them take action in order to define their own world, with their own rules. At the same time, the programme aims to raise public awareness on ecology and climate change.

For HAT, Kinitiras collaborates again with the Irish Crooked House Theatre Company. Kinitiras is an internationally recognized artistic network that connects professionals and amateurs through performing arts. It started in 1995-96 as a dance company called Kinitiras Horotheama. During the last 2.5 years it works in a nomadic fashion, without a permanent base, but this is does not stop Kinitiras from continuing collaborations with entities in Greece and abroad (erasmus+ programmes, residencies, etc.). The Irish youth theatre Crooked House Theatre Company organizes theatre activities specifically for teenagers and young people. It was founded in 1993 and is based in Newbridge, Ireland. The company uses theatre to help young persons find their way in the world, explore their own identity and values, and develop basic social skills.

The programme is addressed at young people aged 18-30, regardless of social background, gender, financial means, origin, and experience on dance and theatre. Experiential workshops, theatre and dance exercises, discussions, research, and site-specific performances, will explore the role of the creative process and performing arts in sensitizing and mobilizing us against the “ecology crisis”.

HERE AND THERE (HAT), performing ecologies
A new erasmus+ youth program

Artistic coordination: Antigone Gyra, Dimitris Agoras
Duration: 5 May 2022 – 4 May 2023
Participants: Kinitiras (Greece), Crooked House (Ireland)