VAP brought an international gathering of artists to Bratislava

As part of the Bratislava in Movement festival, the Visiting Artist Programme took place in October 2025, focusing on international exchange, the sharing of artistic experience, and connections between international guests and the local dance scene. Over the course of several days, Bratislava became a place of intensive meetings, conversations, and shared performance experiences that opened up space for professional dialogue and new contacts.

This year’s participants were Mariia Bakalo, Carlo Diego Massari, Kaide Alexander Gonzalez, Patryk Gorzkiewicz, Juraj Bilený, and Nela Rusková. The programme offered them a series of activities through which they could get to know the festival more closely, its artistic profile, and the wider context of the Slovak dance scene.

The Visiting Artist Programme included the festival performances Camille by Lívia MM Balážová, Glory Game by Polish choreographer Dominik Więcek, and Trailer Park performed by tanzmainz and choreographer Moritz Ostruschnjak. The programme also featured a screening of the dance-for-camera films The American-Canadian Dream in cooperation with Dance Film Festival Prague.

As Nela Rusková wrote in her reflection for Opera Plus, the programme consisted of “four busy days” dedicated to sharing practices and connecting dance scenes.

An important part of the stay also consisted of formats focused on the exchange of experience and professional discussion. Participants took part in Sharing of Practices with Maja Hriešik, a pitching session with Eva Priečková, a discussion on residency opportunities in the region, a workshop with Moritz Ostruschnjak, as well as post-show meetings with artists. The programme was further complemented by visits to important venues and conversations with representatives of the Slovak dance and festival scene.

It was precisely this combination of performances, discussions, workshops, and personal meetings that gave the programme its real significance. The Visiting Artist Programme within Bratislava in Movement created space for meetings, professional exchange, and new connections between international guests and the local scene. It showed that a festival can be not only a platform for presenting performances, but also a place of active professional encounter.

The programme was also made possible thanks to the support of the European Union through the Creative Europe programme.