The national and international call for new choreographic creations by the Biennale Danza 2026 has recorded a striking figure: 700 applications submitted by artists and companies. A number that reflects the intensity and dynamism of the emerging dance scene, while also pointing to the role of cultural institutions as key points of support and visibility for new generations of choreographers.
This high level of participation further heightens expectations around the selected projects, particularly in the national and international sections. Among the international winners is New Zealand choreographer of Māori descent Oli Mathiesen, whose Just Between Me and Jesus brings together choreographic languages, aesthetics and cultural references in an electrifying fusion, ranging from waacking to femme vogue.
Set to the pulsating rhythms of techno music, the work interweaves shared rituals, forms of devotion and a sense of belonging, generating a space of collective euphoria. Drawing from both dancefloor culture and the collective memories embedded in systems of belief, Mathiesen explores a contemporary paradox: the increasingly blurred boundaries between faith and fanaticism, ritual and radicalism, where devotion risks dissolving its own limits.

23, 24 July h. 6 pm
Teatro alle Tese, Arsenale