Ballhaus Naunynstraße
Passion in the ballroom
The Ballhaus Naunynstraße theatre, dating from 1983 has since become a hub of (post)migrant theatre in Germany.
In 2008 the Ballhaus Naunynstraße was successfully reopened by Shermin Langhoff. The stage in the beautiful ballroom became a pivotal point of (post-)migrant theatre in Germany. The house relies on in-house and co-productions with international actors and directors. The artistic director Wagner Carvalho continues this focus and is particularly dedicated to the promotion of young talent.
The programme of the Ballhaus is complemented by a large number of interdisciplinary projects, film series, readings, concerts and local art education projects such as the Kiez-Monatsschau within the framework of the Akademie der autodidakten.
Dancing for more than 150 years
The Ballhaus Naunynstraße was opened in 1863 as a dance hall in a Wilhelminian style building in Berlin. After restrictions due to building regulations and problems with permits for the hall to be used for theatre performances, the owners change several times. Wilhelm and Elise Döring took over the hall in 1922 and gave the Ballhaus its name. Until the end of the 1930s it was used as a restaurant for private parties.
During the Nazi dictatorship, the "imperial capital Berlin" takes over the hall building and uses it to accommodate forced laborers. The house survives the war relatively undamaged and Elise Döring finally receives the official dance permit in 1949.
From 1961 the ballroom was more or less idle - the hall was closed, the building served as a warehouse.
Since 1983 the Ballhaus has been owned by the district office Friechrichshain-Kreuzberg. Since 2008-2012, the non-profit Kultursprünge e.V., with which the district office determined the use of the building, has been sponsored, and since 2013 the postmigrant theatre has been operated by Kultursprünge gemeinnützige GmbH. She designs the program in the Ballhaus Naunynstraße.