'Startissimo 2009' – the 7th International Variety Show and Circus Festival in Dresden

Curtain call for 'Startissimo 2009' – the 7th International Variety Show and Circus Festival in Dresden looks forward to welcoming young worldclass artists

From 23rd to 26th April, Dresden will host 'Startissimo 2009', the 7th International Variety Show and Circus Festival. Because of a reorientation of the festival, greater media exposure and a new venue at the exhibition centre Messe Dresden, this year's festival will run under the new title 'Startissimo' for the first time. Festival patron is Dresden's Mayor Helma Orosz.

The 7th International Variety Show and Circus Festival will provide a stage for variety show and circus artistes and ensembles from all over the world to present their work and compete in two main categories with fellow international artists. The 'Young Newcomer' competition will be held on 23rd April 2009, and the 'Young Professionals' competition for the 'Goldene Rathausmann' trophy
on 24th April 2009 respectively. One of the highlights of 'Startissimo 2009' will be a big TV gala on 26th April 2009 which will be broadcast live through the regional MDR network.
Helma Orosz, Mayor of the City of Dresden, the new patron of the 7th International Variety Show and Circus Festival, responded with great enthusiasm when she learned of the recent changes to the festival concept, ‘The International Variety Show and Circus Festival does not only contribute to maintaining Dresden's longstanding circus tradition but it also highlights the cosmopolitan
character of our city. Moreover, the festival makes a special contribution to Dresden's reputation as an important centre of art and culture and I am sure that many Dresdeners and our guests will simply love it.’

Like the city's previous variety show and circus festivals, 'Startissimo 2009' will be organised by Dresden's Varieté- und Zirkusfestival e.V. which has held annual events in Dresden every autumn since 2002. In 2009, however, the festival will be held in April for the first time. 'The festival has constantly developed since it premiered in 2002,' sums up Andreas Uhlig, chair of Dresdner Varieté- und Zirkusfestival e.V.. 'With the increased support of MDR network and with new partners such as KI.KA children's TV and TELEPOOL on our side, we will take yet another massive step forward. The reorientation of our variety show and circus festival also meant that we had to incorporate many conceptual changes, and as a result we decided to reschedule the event from autumn 2008 to April 2009,' says Uhlig. Teaming up with MDR's marketing company TELEPOOL GmbH Leipzig, the organisers did not only go for a new host for the festival – they also chose a partner who could make decisive contributions to the new concept. Dirk Thärichen, head of TELEPOOL Leipzig, speaking about the reorientation says, 'Our aim is to establish "Startissimo 2009" not just as an extraordinary festival and media event but also as a large meeting of the international variety show and circus scene.

The festival will give international artists an opportunity for presenting their work to a first-class jury and to exchange ideas with colleagues and top people in the trade.' Because of their attendance, the festival will become an international meeting and networking event for the variety show and circus world. 'The festival will focus on variety show and circus art of the highest quality, which is why we dubbed it 'Startissimo'. We chose the name because it refers to the Latin word "artis" which stands for artistry, skill and dexterity,' says Thärichen.
The festival's extensive collaboration with regional network MITTELDEUTSCHE RUNDFUNK (MDR) will also ensure extensive media coverage for 'Startissimo 2009'. The network will broadcast the big festival gala live on prime time TV, Sunday, 26th April 2009, at 8:15 pm. During the gala, selected artists from the 'Young Newcomers' and 'Young Professionals' competitions will be able to present their work as a kind of special reward. In addition, the show will feature
international stars and entertainers.

'The Variety Show and Circus Festival is an exceptional event for the entire sector in our network's service area,' says Udo Foht, programme director of the entertainment division of the network, MDR Entertainment. 'It is a springboard for young artists who want to compete with our guests of the international variety show and circus business. With our TV gala, we aim to support these young talents in their careers.'
In addition to the live broadcast of the festival gala, MDR will also cover much of the 7th International Variety Show and Circus Festival in Dresden in other media, in particular through services of its state broadcasting network LANDESFUNKHAUS SACHSEN. This will include extensive coverage on TV in MDR SACHSENSPIEGEL and on MDR 1 RADIO SACHSEN. In addition to MDR, 'Startissimo 2009' has teamed up with the German children's channel KI.KA as a partner.

The 7th International Variety Show and Circus Festival Dresden is open to artists and ensembles from all over the world. The application documents can be downloaded from the festival website www.startissimo.de or requested by writing to festival@startissimo.de. Application deadline is 15th January 2009, and the competition participants will be nominated on 15th February 2009.
Tickets for the festival at Dresden's exhibition centre, Messe Dresden, will be available from early 2009. For further information please log on to www.startissimo.de.

Organiser:
Dresdner Varieté- und Zirkusverein e. V.
Andreas Uhlig (chair)
Peschelstraße 39
01139 Dresden, Germany
Phone: +49 (0)351 85 35 611
Fax: +49 (0)351 84 05 206

Public relations:
FAIRNET Gesellschaft für Messe-, Ausstellungs- und Veranstaltungsservice mbH
Anett Strenger
Messe-Allee 1
04356 Leipzig, Germany
Phone: +49 (0)341 2 61 82 34
Fax: +49 (0)341 2 61 82 33
E-mail: media@startissimo.de
Web: www.startissimo.de

This release was published on openPR.