One week to immerse yourself in the art of the moment.

onCe Festival Freiburg -
THE FESTIVAL FOR INSTANT COMPOSITION

Every two years, the onCe Festival Freiburg celebrates the diversity and richness of improvised performance art.

Instant composition is based on democratic action and presence in the moment. In Freiburg, it goes back to the 1980s and is known and recognized both nationally and internationally. We are convinced that today it is more important than ever to give this democratic art form a visible space.

At the Festival, you can explore and rediscover the potential, diversity and origins of performance art of improvisation. Artists from different disciplines, generations and cultural backgrounds meet and exchange ideas. For one week we will celebrate improvisation as THE ART OF A MOMENT IN TIME: during the day there will be workshops for dance professionals, enthusiasts and interested amateurs as well as an active supporting program. In the evenings, E-WERK Freiburg and SÜDUFER will host various performances by improvisation artists from all over the world.

Under the title onCe, additional exciting formats are regularly offered in connection with the festival: see Stage platform and Workshops.

HOW WE UNDERSTAND INSTANT COMPOSITION

Within the performance art of improvisation – or in other words the ART OF A MOMENT IN TIME - a (dance) piece is created in real time and directly in front of the audience. The performers are material inventors, composers and performers at the same time. They work together to shape the moment. There is no leader or follower, all performers are equal participants in the creative process. Through years of training, they are able to intuitively read the needs of each moment, respond to them, listen to each other, and develop a common dramaturgical line.
INSTANT COMPOSITIONS unfold - unpredictable, lively and unique.

Save the date!
The next onCe Festival 2027
will take place from 01. - 06.06.2027!

Past onCe festivals

Foto: Roman Pawlowski

onCe Festival Freiburg 2025

After two successful editions in 2019 and 2023, the festival entered its third round in May 2025. In 2025, onCe once again brought together artists from different disciplines, generations and cultural backgrounds. For the first time, there were “SNEAK IN's” for all interested people and spectators of the evening performances (you can read the offers here). And for the first time, Freiburg's urban dance scene also took part, culminating in a performative party “House Dance Session X onCe Festival” at the end of the festival. Unexpected ways in which the art form of instant composition continues to develop were presented. onCe 2025 was a rare opportunity to experience the pure creative power of the moment!

These artists took part:

Shinichi Iova-Koga (Japan/USA)
Maria Marta Colusi (D/I)
Lily Kiara (NL)
Lilo Stahl & Thomas Mettler (D/CH)
Company Blu / Claudia Catarzi & Nicola Simone Cisternino (I)
Paolo Cingolani (I)
Alessandro Bertinetto (I)
Accomplices / Findings Vol.12 (D/ CO/ USA/CH)
Martin Kilvady & Milan Tomášik (SL)
Jos Baker (USA)
Miriam Cheema (D)
Freiburger Urban Dance Scene with DJ van Goetz & FL3X (D)

You can find the PROGRAM 2025 with workshops and performances in German here.
You´ll find the English tender for the performances here.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO WAS INVOLVED!
(Sorry, unfortunately we do not have an English translation of the program!)

onCe Festival Freiburg 2023

The onCe festival 2023 allowed various art forms of instant composition to blossom: dance, live music, action theater, writing and contact improvisation.
IT WAS AWESOME AND WONDERFUL !
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO WAS INVOLVED!

The PROGRAM for workshops and performances can be found here.

IMPRESSIONS can be found right below in our PICTURES and TEXT GALLERY. After photos of a performance you will also find one or more dance texts. These lively texts about the evening performances were created during the workshop Moving Texts with Thaddäus Maria Jungmann. The workshop participants have conquered methods to look at pieces and to develop creative texts.

The onCe instant composition Festival Freiburg 2023 could be realized thanks to friendly support. We would like to thank the city of Freiburg, the Regierungspräsidium Freiburg, the Sparkasse Freiburg-Nördlicher Breisgau, the Tanznetz Freiburg gUG and the Ewerk Freiburg.

The onCe instant composition Festival Freiburg 2023 and 2025 could be realized thanks to friendly support. We would like to thank the city of Freiburg, the Regierungspräsidium Freiburg, the Sparkasse Freiburg-Nördlicher Breisgau, the Tanznetz Freiburg gUG and the Ewerk Freiburg.

DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS

Feel free to contact once@bewegungs-art.de.

onCe Festival Freiburg - THE FESTIVAL FOR INSTANT COMPOSITION