TANZ IM AUGUST – 38th International Festival Berlin

Reading Time:

13–29 August 2026
Presented by HAU Hebbel am Ufer

Pre-sale Launch: First Programme Highlights for 2026

Pre-sales begin today for the 38th edition of Tanz im August, the International Festival presented by HAU Hebbel am Ufer. The festival is once again under the artistic direction of Ricardo Carmona, marking his fourth year in this role.

Tickets for the first three programme highlights are now available. Early bookers can benefit from a 15% discount on full-price tickets* until 17 May 2026.

The full programme for Tanz im August 2026 will be announced in early June.

Programme Highlights

“Sounding Light” – Cheng Tsung-lung / Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan

One of the first productions on sale is Sounding Light, a work by choreographer Cheng Tsung-lung for the internationally renowned Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan.

Inspired by the impressions gathered during long walks through forests, the piece unfolds scenes from a day in the life of nature: bird mating rituals, rain falling through leaves, and sunlight breaking through clouds. On a minimalist stage with twelve dancers, sound and movement merge as much of the atmospheric score is created by the dancers’ bodies themselves.

The work becomes a poetic meditation on the beauty of nature, revealing connections between human and natural worlds.

“Bat Dances” – Kareth Schaffer & Jonas Hauer (Premiere)

In Bat Dances, choreographer Kareth Schaffer and composer Jonas Hauer explore how different species perceive the world—and how dance might express these experiences.

Designed as an inclusive performance for sighted, blind, and visually impaired audiences, the work takes the form of a danced monologue from the perspective of a bat. Performed by Leah Katz, the piece incorporates echolocation and subtle humour to create an interspecies narrative that reflects on ecological crisis and coexistence.

“Bruits Marrons” – Calixto Neto (German Premiere)

Bruits Marrons by Calixto Neto is inspired by the music of Julius Eastman, a Black, gay composer and performer who died in poverty in New York in 1990 after being largely unrecognized during his lifetime.

Taking Eastman’s piece Evil N* as a starting point, Neto creates a choreographic response that draws on the history of the Maroons—communities of formerly enslaved people who formed independent settlements. Six performers and a piano come together to explore themes of resistance, solidarity, and collective identity through movement and sound.

Overview of the First Three Productions

• Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan / Cheng Tsung-lung
  “Sounding Light”, eine Arbeit des Choreografen Cheng Tsung-lung für das Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan
• 15–17 August 2026 | Haus der Berliner Festspiele
• Kareth Schaffer & Jonas Hauer
  “Bat Dances”, eine Premiere von Kareth Schaffer & Jonas Hauer
• 26–29 August 2026 | HAU3
• Calixto Neto / VOA
  “Bruits Marrons” von Calixto Neto / VOA27–29 August 2026 | HAU2
• Das Gesamtprogramm von Tanz im August 2026 wird Anfang Juni veröffentlicht.

Venues 2026

HAU Hebbel am Ufer (HAU1, HAU2, HAU3), Berlinische Galerie,
Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Radialsystem, Sophiensæle,
St. Elisabeth-Kirche, Stadtbad Oderberger, Tempelhofer Feld

Tickets & Information

Tickets and further information are available now:

• Box Office:
  HAU Hebbel am Ufer
  Stresemannstr. 29, 10963 Berlin
  Tel. +49 (0)30 259 004 -27

* Limited ticket availability per event.

Tanz im August is a festival by HAU Hebbel am Ufer, funded by the Capital Cultural Fund.