Iberoamerican Theater Festival

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Logo of the 2006 version of this festival

Iberoamerican Theater Festival is the largest theater festival in the world. It's held at Bogotá, Colombia every two years.

[edit] History

FITB became a reality in 1988. It was founded by Fanny Mikey and Ramiro Osorio, and launched as part of the 450th anniversary of the founding of Bogotá, with the slogan An Act of Faith in Colombia. One of its original goals was to foster the integration of Latin American artists and countries before the world. Fourteen years later, it is acknowledged worldwide as one of the largest international events of its kind. This biannual celebration of life is Colombia’s most important cultural event. It presents artists from the five continents and has a profound social impact that transforms and enriches the life of the country’s citizens.

Throughout its 18-year history, the FITB has been committed to presenting diverse work and to promoting plurality, tolerance and the harmonious interaction of all nations. It is a multidisciplinary event that showcases and celebrates all genres of the performing arts: it includes theater, dance, circus, music, puppetry, pantomime, multimedia and performance art. Through the presence of companies and artists from around the world, FITB has fostered an unprecedented development of the performing arts in Colombia.

From the 4 cardinal points of Bogotá, the city is all decked out for the celebration. Squares, parks, suburbs, coliseums, shopping centers, big tops and unconventional spaces are the home to shows, street theatre and parades. The theatre for open spaces has astonishingly captivated huge popular audiences with shows that have had enormous social, visual and poetic impact representing many diverse trends. Audiences ranging between 4000 and 8000 people per show have exceeded all forecasts during the last Festival. The decentralizing and staging of massive shows all around the city has been one of the fundamental objectives of FITB since its beginnings.

As a meeting place for the guest artists and their audiences, The Cabaret Big Top offers a fantastic program every night to give free rein to music, rumba and the best cabaret shows and musical revues.

Children are also a central concern of FITB. A special program with exclusive theaters for family audiences showcases work from around the world, targeted to younger generations and families. FITB includes a program for kids between the ages of one and to one hundred, so that new audiences can discover (and older audiences, re-discover) the magic of the performing arts.

FITB also has an ongoing commitment to the education of the general public and to updating the craft and knowledge of Colombian performing arts professionals. For this reason, FITB provides a space for meeting, exchange and reflection that is open to the artistic community during the Festival. FITB offers workshops, courses, seminars, colloquia and forums held by directors, actors, dramatists, producers and other theatre professionals from around the world. This project brought together well over 8000 participants in 2002

[edit] 10 Years after

The best and greatest shows from the five continents will be in Colombia at the opening of the X Iberoamerican Theater Festival of Bogota. For 17 days, Bogotá will be featuring “The World on the Stage” with the best of the scenic arts from over 45 countries. Classic, dance, avant-garde, circus, music and street theater productions will take over all the auditoriums, parks, coliseums and streets of Bogota, as well as the bull-fighting ring and Corferias turned into a Theater City. An unforgettable event, not to be missed, from March 31 to April 16 2006.

It is expected that the X Iberoamerican Theater Festival of Bogota will exceed the 2´600.000 espectators of the last FITB, therefore it will be a lavish celebration to mark this 10th version.

The world most important companies and the most recognized directors will be attending with productions gathering all the contemporary tendencies of the scenic arts. Thus, we will find the Austrian Burgtheater´s “Babel”; the Hungarian Katona Jozsef´s “Ivanov”, “Hamlet” and “The Tempest” of Lluis Pacual .Also a staging of “The Triumph of Love” by the Bulandra Theater of Rumania; the astonishing gracefulness of “The cousin of Pantagruel” of Silviu Purcarete from France; The Chinese Opera with an impressive “City of Thebes”. Even Eva Yerbabuena, the visceral Spanish flamenco dancer will be present, among others.

Russia was chosen as Guest of Honor, as it is the cradle of modern theater, the country where the art of theater was renovated and reconsidered, opening the horizon to contemporary scenic arts. Additionally, having gathered and projected this tradition, the Balkans represented by Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia, will be Especial Guests. Therefore, we will be able to enjoy“The three sisters” staged by the Chejov International Festival and directed by Declan Donnellan. Additionally, there will be “The Coat” by Valery Fokin, “War and Peace” directed by Piotr Fomenko; the vanguard version of “Queen Margot” of Mlandisko of Slovenia. An impeccable “House of Bernarda de Alba” will be arriving from Macedonia, and even the tenderness and the knowledge of a tradition of dolls, represented by the Potudan Theater will make the delights of all. There will also be gypsy music, Slavic cuisine and the striking Belgrade National Ballet, among many other surprises. Workshops, magisterial classes, conferences, and meetings with directors, playwrights and artists will compose the Especial Events, that for this occasion will have as their motto “The importance of Theater and the Russian School in the World”. For this reason, and because they are the protagonists of an academic space, great masters such as Stanislavski, Chejov and Meyerhold, among others, and their contribution, will be studied. The Festival will also pay Tribute to Pina Baush and Meter Brook. People will be able to participate in workshops with the technical directors of the outstanding companies participating, and hold dialogues with the directors of Colombian and Latin American troupes present.