In the festival programme: experiments with raw social themes, a sanctuary of the body, and classical movement.

The festival opened with Mont Ventoux, a dance performance by the Italian–Spanish company Kor’sia, inspired by a historic letter describing an ascent of a mountain — a journey that symbolizes both self-discovery and a rediscovery of nature. The creators believe that dance is the best medium for drawing attention to the human being, their connection to the world, and inner transformation.

One of the most sensitive and progressive works in the festival program, Harmonia — created by Hungarian artist Adrienn Hód in collaboration with the German company Unusual Symptoms — invited audiences into an intimate experience dominated by the longing for closeness and the sacredness of diverse dancing bodies. Dedicated to humanity, the piece gains authenticity and emotional depth from the performers with disabilities, offering a sense of a more hopeful world.

The Swedish–German work Unearth by choreographer Jafta van Dinther — who also performs in the piece — was a standout gem, described as a manifesto of the body as a sanctuary. This four-hour “phenomenon” breaks down stereotypes of what a dance performance can be. A bold and distilled choreography of body and voice, it invited audiences to reflect on the transience of life and on loss.

The energy of flamenco, unfiltered authenticity, and burning onstage passion unfolded in the Spanish duo La Chachi, in which dancer María del Mar Suárez and singer Lola Dolores invited audiences into a vivid, raw, and unembellished southern experience. This whirlwind-force duet introduced us to Taranto — a flamenco style originating in the mining region of Almería.

One of the most anticipated solo premieres in the program, When the Bleeding Stops by Icelandic choreographer and performer Lovísa Ósk Gunnarsdóttir, explores women’s experiences during menopause. No matter the country or the age of the audience, this work — which unites women around the world — receives thunderous standing ovations, smiles, laughter, and tears.

The audience was also fired up by Mirlitons — a unique duel-performance between two well-known figures in the French dance and music scenes: beatboxer Aymeric Hainaux and renowned rebel choreographer François Chaignaud. The duel’s main goal is to create extraordinary moments of grace, like a ritual of a new era capable of shaking one’s soul to its core.

The festival concluded with the cutting-edge work Non+Ultras by German choreographer Moritz Ostruschnjak. Drawing on the logic of omnipresent social media, the choreographer examines links between fanatical supporter culture and forms of political protest. Taylor Swift fans and football ultras collide here; politics and protest meet overturned police cars, smoke flares, and plush mascots; Arabic chants mix with anthems sung in English stadiums, the Mickey Mouse Club with Beethoven. A whirlpool of layered meanings illuminating a society captivated by the power of images and torn by irreconcilable division.

The Lithuanian part of the festival – with premieres

Lithuanian contemporary dance artist Agnietė Lisičkinaitė, together with Belarusian artist Igor Shugaleev, who has previously appeared at the festival, presented the premiere Clap & Slap — a dialogue between fear and the necessity to act, between collective and personal responsibility, between personal tragedy and geopolitical catastrophe. Agnietė also performed in a duet with Greta Grinevičiūtė in their piece Dance for 1000 Years, exploring the hidden choreographic possibilities present in every person’s life.

G. Grinevičiūtė, in partnership with the Arts and Science Laboratory, presentedA Dance for a Cigarette and a Best Friend,a work examining friendship, while dancer Giedrė Kirkilė explored questions of constructing and reconstructing identity in the performance Dowry. The dance performance Chiaroscuro introduced audiences to part of Liza Baliasnaja’s artistic research, which examines the influence of fear and disgust on political views in an era of increasing societal polarization. Oksana Griaznova, Marius Pinigis, and the company Nuepiko presented Moderation — a work about the often forgotten and overlooked value of moderation in our society.