The CPPM Manifestal is a bespoke performance festival, created with the sole purpose of providing a platform for CPPM students to present their original works to a wide, international audience. Students have total creative freedom to choose who, where, and what form these final projects will take – works have ranged from large scale dance to intimate one-on-one experiences, promenade to immersive, from virtual to aural. You have the possibility to explore, experiment, and create outside of traditional performance spaces – 2021’s locations included blackboxes, studios, basements, art-houses, private homes, hotel rooms, abandoned factories, city streets, forests, and online virtual spaces.

CPPM Manifestal is not a final showcase of students’ material, but rather a springboard for works to continue developing and touring internationally. Performances draw attention from a number of international festivals and companies, and Manifestal works have gone on to be presented in other countries across Europe. All works in the festival are professionally live-streamed online for international audiences, reaching those who would otherwise not have the opportunity to experience these exciting new works. The festival also provides a platform for CPPM alumni to return and perform new works amongst current students’ – creating a melting pot of experience, artistic investigation, and cooperation.

Students actively collaborate with a range of professionals from the Estonian performance scene, existing collaborators from their home countries, as well as international guest artists from throughout the course. These collaborators were performers, designers, mentors, and dramaturgs for the work, creating a rich, multicultural tapestry of performance. CPPM artists are given the necessary tools and pathways to apply for external funding for rehearsals, space, and collaborators, and in 2021 several projects were financially supported by the Estonian Cultural Endowment.

CPPM Manifestal 2021

• 6 weeks of continuous performance across the city of Tallinn
• Over 1000 audience members
• 14 international premieres
• Over 70 individual performances
• 12 live-streamed events, including post-performance talks with audiences and creatives