KIDS
Backstage
Europe’s largest ensemble
for kids and young people
Kids and teenagers from all over the world
are the stars of our Young Shows.
The Palast
Backstage
Kids and teenagers from all over the world
are the stars of our Young Shows.
Casting
Every year, over hundreds of children and teenagers apply for the 20–30 spots.
According to the motto of “Kids perform for kids,” they showcase
their talents on the huge stage every winter season.
The kids are taught by experienced teachers who are trained to work with children. The teachers direct the kids’ education in the stage disciplines of dance, singing and acting (speech) according to their talents. The kids quickly learn that theater work is also always teamwork. Rigorous training, rehearsals, corrections and a lot of discipline are essential, not only for a successful premiere but for every show.
The choreographers, acting and vocal coaches, acrobatics and master trainers involved in the junges Ensemble (young ensemble) are experts in their fields. The training takes place in an atmosphere suitable for kids and no one is burdened beyond their capabilities. It is by no means a walk in the park nonetheless.
junges Ensemble
Six young people share insights into what it’s like
to be a part of our Young Ensemble.
I’ve been a member of the Young Ensemble since 2012. The Palast has great magic to it. I love the sense of togetherness and all of the people the most. I have my friends here, who share the same passion as me. Everyone loves the arts, dancing, music, acting – and it really is the most wonderful thing just to be a part of it and to have fun together.
The stage confidence I gained in my first few years here at the theatre was a huge help to me when I took part in ‘The Voice Kids’, too. (Egon won the 2021 edition of ‘The Voice Kids’!)
So, I really love EVERYTHING about it here. Everyone is nice to each other. We laugh a lot, but we’re also here to learn something, so we’re always busy either dancing, singing or watching.
Also, I’m not from Germany, so being here is a great opportunity to learn German and to improve my pronunciation when I’m on stage with all the others. It’s a lot of fun and helps me a great deal.
I love that it’s not always just the older kids, who can be independent on stage – I can, too. For me, one of the best things was that we trained on stage with water and the water basin from the very start. That was really cool.
I definitely get stage fright, but I always say to myself “Just close your eyes and get on with it”. Then I go on stage, dance and feel less and less nervous.
I’ve been with the Young Ensemble since 2015. I love the family atmosphere here. We do pretty much everything together: we dance, sing, play – and all grow up together.
For me, performing here is something of a family affair, as my grandmother was already a dancer at the Friedrichstadt-Palast and now works in the costume department. My mother and my aunt were also in the Young Ensemble in the past. So I’m now the third generation.
In January 2022, I performed in ‘Neues Jahr, neues Glück’ for the first time. I played a human from the Stone Age and liked the dancing the best.
The training is pretty exhausting, especially in the last few weeks leading up to the premiere. You really have to make sure that you remember all of the instructions well.
I always try to chill out before a performance and to relax as much as I can, but then when I’m on stage I give it my all. It’s so amazing!
For me, the best thing is when I can try on a new costume for the first time and then know what character I’m actually playing. That feeling before the first fitting is fascinating; when I know that it’s never been shown before and that I’m the first to wear the new costume – that feeling is simply indescribable.
I’d like to become a musical performer or to pursue a career in dance in the future. Gaining experience here at the Palast first will really help me to make my dream a reality.
A friend of mine danced in the Young Ensemble and asked me one day if I maybe wanted to, too. I hadn’t heard of the Palast before as I didn’t grow up in Germany.
I love the team spirit here and that we motivate each other before performances. We experience so much together, train really hard and then perform on stage side by side – that’s a cool feeling. It feels really, really good.
Informations
The children in our Young Ensemble receive semi-professional stage training in dance, acting and singing. The dance training is compulsory; additional specialist courses in acting and singing are offered from the fourth year of training. The training is geared towards the needs of our Young Shows, which are performed annually in the autumn and winter.
Membership of the Friedrichstadt-Palast’s Young Ensemble is also a wonderfully enriching experience that will enable you to develop important skills, such as the ability to work as part of a team, a sense of responsibility and self-confidence as well as to make countless friends. While there’s no certificate at the end of your time here at the Palast, you’ll receive a recommendation for their future development – perhaps on stage again or in film or television.
Children can join the Young Ensemble’s ballet group from the age of six (school-age children). Membership of the Young Ensemble ends when you reach the age of 17 at the latest. It is alternatively possible to join the Young Ensemble from the age of nine as a lateral entrant.
Training and rehearsals take place from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. two to three times per week. Each training session lasts 1–1.5 hours. During the performance season from mid-November to the end of January, our Young Shows already start at 4 p.m.
We charge an annual fee of €240 for the Young Ensemble training as well as a one-off admission fee of €30.
Auditions are held to get an impression of your dancing and physical talents as well as your singing and acting abilities. These take place in two different age groups:
Every February, we hold open auditions for all children aged 6–7 years (school years 1 and 2). This is exclusively a ballet audition. There’s no need to submit a written application in advance. We announce the dates for the open audition on our website every autumn.
Every January/February, we hold auditions for all children aged 9–15 years in dance, acting and singing. The dance audition is compulsory; the acting and singing auditions are open to those with a particular interest and aptitude. As the children will be integrated into our existing groups as lateral entrants, experience in these fields is definitely an advantage. A written application must be submitted in advance. Once we’ve reviewed all of the applications, we’ll decide who we’d like to invite to the auditions.
There’s no need to register in advance for the open ballet auditions. All interested children can simply come to the Friedrichstadt-Palast on the audition day and introduce themselves. There’s no need to prepare anything in advance. We pay particular attention to the physical requirements, movement and musicality of our youngest dancers. The audition is held in larger groups in our ballet hall; parents are able to wait in the foyer during the audition.
The auditions for children aged 9–15 years are by invitation only. In the dance component, one of our dance teachers will work with you to prepare a short choreography, which must then be performed in small groups. So there’s no need to prepare anything in advance. Should you be interested in participating in the singing and/or acting auditions, you’ll have the opportunity to do so afterwards. We’ll provide a short improv text, which we’ll also work on together beforehand. For the singing component, we ask that you prepare two songs of your choice (one ballad and one up-tempo song).
At least one of the two songs should be in German.
All auditions comprise two rounds. Your overall suitability is assessed in the first round; after the second round (admission procedure), we’ll decide who we’d like to offer a spot in the Young Ensemble. This will then be followed by a three-month rehearsal period.
We ask that all children bring dance clothes or sportswear and appropriate footwear (slippers if available) with them to auditions.
Palast Berlin
2024-12-09 10:59:54 | 1733741994
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