Confirmed as Head of the Dance Sector of the Biennale for the 2025/26 biennium, British choreographer and director Wayne McGregor (Stockport, 1970) continues the journey he began in 2020. Under his leadership, the Venetian Festival has gained increasing international prominence as an outstanding platform for contemporary dance, focusing on discovering new talents and involving prominent artists from all continents, capable of inspiring an ever-broader and more diverse audience.
The 19th International Festival of Contemporary Dance will take place from July 17 to August 2, 2025, featuring a daily program showcasing international soloists and dance companies. As in previous years, Biennale College Danza will remain an integral part of the Festival, driving innovation through training and education projects for young artists.
Among the most anticipated guests is Twyla Tharp, the legendary American choreographer and recipient of the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. She will open Biennale Danza on July 17 at Teatro Malibran (with a second performance on July 18). In celebration of the 60th anniversary of her company, Tharp will present the European premiere of a diptych: Diabelli (1998), an acclaimed choreography set to Beethoven’s 33 Variations, and Slacktide, a new creation set to Philip Glass’s Aguas da Amazonia.
The Silver Lion will be awarded to Carolina Bianchi, a Brazilian choreographer, director, and writer now based in Amsterdam. A key figure in the South American experimental scene, Bianchi will present the national premiere of the second chapter of her trilogy Cadela Força: The Brotherhood. This work powerfully explores themes of masculinity and the male gaze and will be performed at Teatro alle Tese on July 18 and 19.
Among the winners of the calls for new choreographies, selected from 361 applications, are Nuovo Balletto di Toscana and the duo Bullyache. Founded by Cristina Bozzolini, Nuovo Balletto di Toscana won the national call with the project Sisifo felice / Smiling Sisyphus, created by choreographers Philippe Kratz and Pablo Girolami and inspired by Albert Camus’s The Myth of Sisyphus. Bullyache, a duo of multidisciplinary artists Courtney Garratt and Jacob Samuel, won the international call with A Good Man Is Hard to Find, the first chapter of their Exploration Trilogy, blending music, cinematic imagery, songs, and narratives to delve into the theme of institutional exploitation. Both works will premiere during the Festival.
