Portrait of a man with short hair and a beard in front of a light-colored wall.

Jury member Jan Kress, Tanztreffen der Jugend © Milli Rosa

Jan Kress

Jan Kress, deaf, has been living and working in Berlin since 2008 as an actor, dancer, performer, choreographer and activist. He regularly collaborates with Athena Lange, Eyk Kauly, Michaela Caspar and Gabriel Garlindez Cruz. In 2020/2021, he was Artist in Residence at the Sophiensaele Berlin and developed his solo piece swallow swallow as a co-production. Together with Julia Keren Turbahn and Jan Rozman, he founded the company baff in 2024, which develops stage productions for young audiences, both deaf and hearing. baff’s productions have been invited to the Augenblick Mal! Festival twice and tour internationally. Since 2020, he has been working at FELD – Theatre for Young Audiences, which received the Federal Theatre Prize in 2024. Here, he is responsible for the inclusive design of the programme, acts as a consultant or performer in various projects, and offers inclusive workshops as a theatre educator. For him, it is important to make Deaf culture and sign language visible to everyone.

As of: April 2026