26th Cyprus Contemporary Dance Festival

The 26th Cyprus Contemporary Dance Festival presents a rich and diverse programme of performances from 7 countries, featuring 10 unique productions. The festival focuses on cultural plurality and bodily expression as a canvas for social questions and emotional transformation.

All performances begin at 20:30. See the full schedule below.

4 June | Rialto Theatre

Vénus Anatomique – Sarah Baltzinger (France) | 55’ | 14+Inspired by 18th-century anatomical wax figures, this work explores femininity as a constructed object. With puppet-like aesthetics and mechanical gestures, five women embody bodies in survival mode, deconstructing dominant representations of the female form.

6 June | Rialto Theatre 

The Love Behind My Eyes – Ali Chahrour (Lebanon) | 55’ | 14+A poetic elegy to love that was never allowed to exist. Through Arabic poetry, song and physical expression, Chahrour delivers a deeply emotional work on love, loss, and resistance to social and religious constraints.

8 June | Nicosia – Municipal Theatre

11 June | Rialto Theatre

Full Moon – Josef Nadj (France) | 60’An audiovisual journey with African dancers, inspired by free jazz and their cultural heritage. Their instinctive movements and symbolic puppets transform creation into a continuous act of identity and rebirth.

12 June | Rialto Theatre

Erroneous Encounters – Panayiotis Tofi (Cyprus) | 45’Three performers embody the fragmentation of the self after trauma. Through live electronic music and poetic text, the piece reveals the body’s fragility and the growing disconnect of contemporary life.

14 June | Rialto Theatre

CUIR – Arno Ferrera & Gilles Polet (Belgium) | 45’Two men, bound by harnesses, engage in a physical exchange where attraction and resistance coexist. A duet about consent, strength, and partnership beyond dominance and submission.

16 June | Rialto Theatre

Folklore Dynamics – VIDAVÈ (Italy) | 50’Five performers confront an authoritarian voice through dialects and folk forms. Italian tradition becomes a platform of resistance, with choreography that asserts collective identity and political intent.

18 June | Rialto Theatre

He aquí un acto romántico – Richard Mascherin (Spain) | 60’A work dedicated to both physical and emotional falls. Three performers move through moments of violence and tenderness in a ritual journey toward catharsis, romantic surrender, and rebirth.

20 June | Rialto Theatre

Birdboy – Emma Martin / United Fall (Ireland) | 45’A tender, chaotic inner journey seen through the eyes of a child who doesn’t fit in. With dance, sound, and objects, Birdboy celebrates difference and the transformative power of imagination.

22 June | Rialto Theatre

SONOMA – Marcos Morau / La Veronal (Spain) | 75’A fevered cry of existence. SONOMA is a rhythmic, ritualistic and surreal explosion, inspired by Buñuel and surrealism. A powerful finale by one of Europe’s leading dance companies.

INFO:

Organised by: Deputy Ministry of Culture and Rialto Theatre

In collaboration with: Limassol Municipality

Media Sponsors: Phileleftheros, CyBC, Russian Radio Cyprus, Lenta Cyprus, and Radio Monte Carlo

Technical Support: Event Pro

Supported by: Nicosia Municipal Theatre, Nea Kinisi , Lemesos Newspaper, Limassol Today, Limassol Tourism Board, Vestnik Kipra, Social et al.

Ticket Price: €8 (or €30 for all performances)E-tickets: www.rialto.com.cyBox Office: 77 77 77 45 (Monday–Friday, 10:00–15:00)

Free admission for students, pupils, soldiers, pensioners, people with disabilities and professional dance artists.