Dance Bridges Festival is an international dance biennial celebrating a diverse range of contemporary dance that is artistically innovative, thought-provoking and relevant. The Festival is run by Dance Bridges, a social business enterprise with a core value for excellence and believing in the power of community built through artistic exchanges and discursive dialogues. The Festival supports year round activities in addition to the main festival under the artistic direction of Vanessa Mirza (UK/India).
The Festival was founded in August 2014, and has taken place in the month of August since its origin in 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2024. Over these past 5 editions Dance Bridges has presented performances, residencies, workshops, artist talks and film screenings collaborating with more than 85 independent artists and dance companies from over 35 countries as well as engaging with 25,000+ audience members and participants.
The 6th edition of the Festival will be held in Kolkata from August 20th-24th, 2026. This year’s festival will have a host of international and national artists presenting performances, workshops, dance film screenings, artistic showcases and other outreach events. Artists previews will be released shortly with the full programme and venue details shared by end June 2026. Most events are ticketed and bookings should be made in advance. Details of ticket links will be announced in June 2026.
We are also launching our industry event ‘DBF Rendezvous’ for arts professionals on 21st & 22nd August. Registration for global/local delegates who would like to be part of these conversations and networking events can sign up online and a confirmation email will be sent by the Dance Brides team. Due to limited capacity we would like to limit attendance to one person per organisation.
We look forward to engaging with you in the City of Joy soon!
ARTISTS’ PREVIEW
‘ALLEO’| COLECTIVO GLOVO (Spain)
Concept:
“ALLEO” (meaning “Alien” or “Other”) is based on the idea of the watchtower —the conditioning of the “privileged” position of the tower and of those who occupied it as observers.
We inhabit both bodies: the power granted by the knowledge of the unknown and what is yet to come, and the solitude of that position together with the weight of discovering what is foreign.
ALLEO is a highly physical, dynamic, and musical work, with a strong connection to the audience, seeking to create a direct and shared experience between performers and spectators.
Credits:
Creation and performance: Esther Latorre & Hugo Pereira
‘THE PIECE ON YOUR SEAT’| CHEN YU-CHI (Taiwan)
Concept:
“I long for purity.”
The purity of the body, the purity of space, the purity of thought, and the purity of state.
By limiting my movement and shutting off my vision, I focus on each present moment.
In a state of complete improvisation, the fusion of Asian and European physical vocabularies
naturally emerges. Without judgment, I listen to the arising of imagination and sensation,
allowing them to become the driving force of the body while opening up the senses,
so that the surprises in music and spatial energy may interrupt or extend the body’s motion,
keeping the flow of the moment alive. Every instant holds its own meaning—or is given meaning.
Through this deep attention to the present, a connection forms with the viewer,
and resonance happens organically, here and now.
Credits:
Performer and Choreographer: Chen Yu-Chi
Composer: Liao Yan-Yeong
DEKHO MEIN HOON| GIA SINGH ARORA/ NAVTEJ SINGH JOHAR (India)
Concept:
A small film crew observes the poetic world of choreographer and teacher Navtej Singh Johar’s workshop, where participants are taken upon an introspective journey through movement exploring touch, intimacy and expression
Credits:
Film Direction: Gia Singh Arora
Artists: Navtej Singh Johar, Simrat Dugal, Rana Rakul, Tarosh Rao, Anup, Maitrika Kumari Rathore, Ira Sen, Pourvaja Ganesh, Vaishnavi Shinde, Shivani Kumar