introduction - Dirk De Lathauwer

tesimonials - Jonas Baeke & Zoë Demoustier

panel discussion - Mokhallad Rasem, Haider Al Timimi & Carli Gellings

conclusion - Koen Haagdorens

JONAS BAEKE – Director

Jonas Baeke graduated as an actor and director in 2022 from the KASK School of Arts in Ghent. His graduation project, Pinokkio, created with Jef Hellemans, was selected for TAZ and Shortwood. Jonas participated for many years in the theater workshops at KOPERGIETERY, where he performed in the play Fun Loving Humans. In 2021, he created Bambiraptor with Mats Vandroogenbroeck for the same theater company. Jonas won the TAZ and Sabam Creation Scholarship, with which he created the family show Mr. Beam in October 2023, in collaboration with Lucas Van Der Vegt and is currently touring Infinity forever.

DIRK DE LATHAUWER – Artistic Director of fABULEUS

Since 1996, Dirk De Lathauwer has been leading fABULEUS, a theater company based in Leuven dedicated to develop and support young talents. fABULEUS has gained international recognition for its innovative creations focused on dance and theater, while providing a supportive environment for the development of young artists. De Lathauwer champions an open artistic approach, rejecting the idea of limiting young people to educational projects, instead focusing on their artistic potential and encouraging creative exchanges with professionals in the field.

ZOE DEMOUSTIER – Director, Choreographer

Zoë Demoustier is a choreographer and performer passionate about intergenerational work. Her career began at the age of 7 with a production by Kabinet K and fABULEUS, an experience that shaped her love for working with artists of all ages and abilities. As a choreographer, she strives to make dance accessible to all by creating works for young audiences, such as Nesten (2019) and Wat was en wat nu (2020) with fABULEUS. Her approach highlights personal stories and authentic bodies, aiming to break traditional expectations around dance. In 2020, she became an ambassador for International Dance Day, seeking to make this art form accessible to a wider audience. She continues to create intergenerational works, such as What Remains (2023), involving artists aged 5 to 75.

HAIDER AL TIMIMI

Haider Al Timimi is an actor, choreographer, director, and dancer. He began his artistic journey with dance, particularly hip-hop and breakdancing, before joining the collective Union Suspecte. In 2013, he founded his own theater company, Kloppend Hert, based in Ghent. This collective is known for its transdisciplinary and socially engaged theater. Notable productions include Ich bin wie du, Utopera, and Studio Shehrazade. In addition to his artistic work, Haider Al Timimi teaches and organizes workshops aimed at involving young people from diverse cultural backgrounds in the cultural sector. Through the Jong Gewei program at Kloppend Hert, he mentors these young people and helps them access the professional field. Since August 1, 2020, Haider Al Timimi has been the artistic director of Theater Antigone, continuing his commitment to inclusive and socially engaged theater.

CARLI GELLINGS

Carli Gellings is a dancer and choreographer, graduated from the Fontys School of Dance in Tilburg in 2015. She made her debut as a dancer in productions by fABULEUS/Karolien Verlinden and Talitha De Decker. After her studies, she worked as a dancer with companies such as Max Last, LAP vzw, and WOEST. Her graduation solo Flamingos Will Never Die won the award for Best Dutch and Belgian Dance Solo at the Tweetakt Festival in 2016. In 2019, she co-founded the company BATMAT, dedicated to young audiences, where she is active as a creator and performer. In 2020, she created the show We Go Places for young audiences, co-produced by fABULEUS and several cultural centers. She is currently focusing on her development as a choreographer while continuing her collaborations with various companies.

MOKHALLAD RASEM

Mokhallad Rasem is an Iraqi actor and director. He grew up in the world of theater thanks to his father, Rasem Al Jumaily, a renowned actor in Iraq. He studied theater in Baghdad before training in European traditions under a regime of strict censorship. Rasem directed several plays at the National Theater of Baghdad and won an award for Sorry, Sir, I Didn't Mean It in 2004. In 2005, due to the war in Iraq, he fled to Syria and later to Belgium, where he continued his artistic career, becoming an associate artist at Toneelhuis. In 2023, he created the production ALLES is niet perfect (NOTHING is perfect) at hetpaleis, co-created with two young performers, Jes and Zoé. In 2024 the piece te laat, laat et in co-creation with a grou of youngsters was produced by Rebels Kunstplatform MOB.

KOEN HAAGDORENS

Koen Haagdorens is a dramaturg. He has often worked on productions with directors such as Johan Simons, Alain Platel, Liliane Brakema, Luk Perceval, Sanne Van Rijn, Florian Fischer, as well as with collectives like Wunderbaum and Olympique Dramatique. A few years ago, he began working at hetpaleis and focused on creating for a young audience (aged 3 to 18). He has collaborated with artists such as Jetse Batelaan, Simon De Vos, and Suzanne Grotenhuis. A distinctive aspect of his practice is co-creation with children and/or young people, in collaboration with creators like Mokhallad Rasem, Joke Laureyns/Kwint Manshoven (kabinet k), Lisbeth Gruwez/Maarten van Cauwenberghe (Voetvolk), and Dalilla Hermans. In addition to his work as a creative dramaturg, he is also the in-house dramaturg at hetpaleis (Antwerp, Ghent) and mentors young artists in the development of their work.