Dance as an Evolving Library: Reflections from Dance Fest Skopje

Text by Tomáš Danielis

In April 2026, I was a participant of the Visiting Artist Programme at the Dance Fest 2026 and Skopje Dance Platform, supported by the Bratislava in Movement Festival.

For me, Dance Fest 2026 together with DanceTech and Skopje Dance Platform became a melting pot where artists, curators, dramaturgs and journalists from across Europe came together with curiosity about the society we live in. The warm and welcoming atmosphere, invited everybody to talk, chat and discuss in an open environment where even challenging topics of today were discussed openly.  From the beginning, the impression I had was of the Balkan atmosphere creating an exchange platform that constantly inspires, challenges perception, and expands artistic thinking and understanding of social realities. Through performances, workshops and networking sessions, I enjoyed a variety of dynamics of artworks and how differently their respective context shapes artistic and social meaning.

There were two particularly informative experiences. One was a workshop with Gilles Jobin, where he very generously explained his creative process as well as working platform, and openly discussed questions of technology in the context of the artistic and production frames. The second was a workshop by Stretchin partnership with Diagonal Dance, led by Ines Carvalho and Bernardo Queiros.

This series of workshops went through every aspect of an artist’s reality: production, marketing, networking and promoting. It was a great refresher and a valuable realignment of the work every freelance artist has to do. What’s more, it was also a source of inspiration, as within my environment and my practice these aspects can get really challenging.

I saw the entire programme of the Dance Fest as well as Skopje Platform. As a choreographer, I was invited into the personal artistic worlds of artists from corners of the Europe which was previously unknown to me. Talking to them as well as seeing their artwork opened for me a new world of aesthetics and approaches. These works had been in contrast in their artistic world with RESET – Beasts and Demons from Gilles Jobin. This clash of aesthetics were a beautiful and enriching experience. 

From Skopje, I carried a lot of artistic inspiration but also new friends and a start of a new network. It inspired me to continue building networks and creating platforms for my colleagues in Slovakia and Central Europe. The Dance Fest reminded me that dance is an evolving library of lived experiences. For this opportunity and exchange, I am deeply grateful to the Visiting Artist Programme.