EAMT contemporary solo performance festival "LÄBU"

Series

WELCOME TO LÄBU!

LÄBU is the contemporary solo performance festival organised by the MA in Contemporary Physical Performance Making (CPPM) at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (EAMT).

It showcases sixteen original solo works by sixteen artists from thirteen countries: Zhenyan Ding (China), Elar Vahter (Estonia), Leah Gayer (Germany / Great Britain), Edward Skaines (Australia), Maarja Tosin (Estonia), Jeson Joy (India), Clarisse Degeneffe (Belgium), Daniel Ortiz Amézquita (Colombia), Ana Trif (Romania), Charis Tapin (Great Britain), Avery Gerhardt (USA), Juuli Hyttinen (Finland), Dita Lūriņa (Latvia), Anette Pärn (Estonia), Oskar Moore (Latvia), Maria Papachristodoulou (Greece).

These are not polished productions touring for years, but urgent, first statements: raw, uncompromising, and alive with discovery. Each work has been developed during the initial study term, with guidance from some of the most influential voices in the field: Lloyd Newson (DV8 Physical Theatre), Wim Vandekeybus & Maria Kolegova (Ultima Vez), Grzegorz & Alicja Bral (Song of the Goat), Ivana Jozic (Troubleyn Jan Fabre), Stacy Makishi, Marco Donnarumma, Henry McGrath (Eden’s Cave), Sasha Pepelyaev, Giacomo Veronesi, and Sandra Küpper. Their provocations and methods have shaped, tested, and challenged the young artists, who now step forward to declare their authorship.

LÄBU is also about collaboration. CPPM students are working together with composers from the electroacoustic music programme at EAMT, scenography students from the Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA), and with their long-term artistic collaborators. The aim is to foster collaboration between artists from different fields, institutions, and countries, encouraging fresh encounters between performance, sound, and design. This makes LÄBU a truly cross-disciplinary platform, where future makers begin to build the habits of dialogue and cooperation.

The themes reflect the world these artists live in and the issues they cannot ignore. Audiences will encounter works that explore identity and migration, grief and care, masculinity and vulnerability, language and translation, illness and resilience, ritual and myth, ecology and power. Some solos turn inward, drawing us close to the performer’s personal experience. Others look outward, prompting us to rethink our shared structures and assumptions. What unites them all is the courage to act, to take a further step into their own authorship. 

DATES 
6-14 September 2025

VENUES
EAMT black box, Kanuti Gildi SAAL, Püha Vaimu SAAL, and a private apartment (address shared with ticket holders)

 

FESTIVAL TEAM
Producers: Jüri Nael and Annika Üprus
PR and Communication: Maret Mikk, Mari Tammesalu, Evelin Värva, Svea Ideon
Designer: Maite Kotta
Technical Team: Rommi Ruttas and Leon Allik

Senior Stage Managers: Oliver Rikkas and Rait Sohkin

Stage hands: Martin Tuuling, Poul Jakob Levertand, Mehis Meesaak

Front of House Managers (EAMT black box): Saara Silvia Soasepp and Liis Lillemägi

The festival is organised and produced by the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre

PARTNERS
Kanuti Gildi SAAL
Tallinn Fringe Festival

SPECIAL THANKS
Malle Maltis, Priit Raud, Sille Roots, Mart Koldits, Liina Jääts, Maret Hook, Dan Renwick

MORE INFO
www.cppm.ee