the numerous workshops and labs on the two rehearsal stages, all these formats have offered visitors the opportunity to participate intensively in the artistic events. With various participatory projects it has been possible to include people of all age groups in artistic processes and to promote their involvement with social issues, their creative attitude to and sensitisation for music and dance. Café Publik, curated by Andreas Fränzl, was opened in September 2009 and has already established itself as a performance venue, a workshop and communication platform. Every Wednesday – four times a month – the tango community gathers in the café and on the rehearsal stages. On Tuesday the Café's Choir does its weekly rehearsal. From Thursday to Saturday the stage in the Café Publik is completely taken over by the creative minds in the city, when everyone is invited to discussion rounds, games evenings, live-music karaoke, poetry slams, literature and film lectures and culinary evenings. Parties, DJ lines and small-format concerts like Trouble Over Tokyo open intersections between the international programme of the main house and regional artists. Architecture The Festspielhaus St. Pölten was designed by Austrian architect Klaus Kada. It contains four halls, suitable for all different cultural events due to their diverse sizes. At the Festspielhaus St. Pölten one can attend orchestral concerts, dance and music theatre, occasionally also traditional world music and poetical circus. The Große Saal of the Festspielhaus offers 1,063 seats, a standingroom with 70 places, 4 wheelchair places and a stage, that allows music- and dance performances. The dance-season has for instance a number of Sadler's Wells Theatre's productions like one of Russell Maliphant, and additional companies like Aszure Barton, Michael Clark, Wayne McGregor Random Dance, William Forsythe's Impressing the Czar by the Royal Ballet of Flanders, Akram Khan or the Cullberg Ballet as guests. Artists and ensembles of erudite music are Leif Ove Andsnes, Juliane Banse, Rudolf Buchbinder, Gautier Capucon, Christoph Eschenbach, Bernarda Fink, Claus Peter Flor, Kirill Gerstein, Vadim Gluzman Marc-Andre Hamelin, Stephen Hough, Emmanuel Krivine, the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, Paul Meyer, Chen Reiss, Elisabeth Schwarz or Thomas Zehetmair; popular music is presented by Jane Birkin, Juan Carlos Caceres, Edson Cordeiro, Chick Corea, Guy Klucevsek, Otto Lechner, Christian Muthspiel or Lizz Wright. For orchestral concerts there has been built a special acoustic shell. By means of subtle mechanical changes the Große Saal offers perfect conditions for dance and its outstanding acoustics