Visiting Artist Programme during One Dance Festival
© Mihail Novakov
Eight international contemporary dance artists participated in the Visiting Artist Programme encounter at One Dance Festival this May, which offered creative exchange, training and professional development. It took place between May 22 and 24 May 2025, during the first long weekend of Edition No. 17 of the festival, with the support of the Municipality of Plovdiv, and gathered a diverse group of dance artists – choreographers, performers and lecturers.
Full list of participants and sending festivals:
Lilian Steiner – Danscentrum Syd (Sweden)
Aura da Fonseca – DDD Festival (Portugal)
Malika Djardi – Biennale de Lyon (France)
Nataša Kustura – Dance Week Festival (Croatia)
Clara da Costa – Tanec Praha (The Czech Republic)
Jean-Baptiste Baele – Europe Beyond Access (Norway)
Rita Mazza – Europe Beyond Access (Germany)
Shannelle Fergus – Dance Umbrella (UK)
A special mention goes to Europe Beyond Access, a collaborating partner of the VAP project, for supporting two disabled artists to participate in this encounter.
On May 22, the group visited the outdoor stage of One Dance City in the centre of Plovdiv with two lessons in new urban dances and the performance LEVEL UP by the French choreographer Amala Dianor, which was attended by hundreds of citizens and guests.
Over the next two days, the artists participated in 4 studio workshops on Indian waacking, African pantsula, improvisation and dramaturgy. They also attended the opening performance of the festival – DUB by Amala Dianor, and brought vibrant energy to the dance floor in the post-show freestyle dancing in front of the Boris Hristov State Palace.
One of the successes of the programme was also to create opportunities for the participating artists to also share their work and practice. There was also room for debate and discussion, as well as social activities, such as a night tour of the Old Town and a presentation at a partner chocolate factory. The visiting artists shared this packed programme with local artists who had pre-registered for the events, and the participants of the CultArt Academy of Municipality Foundation Plovdiv – European Capital of Culture 2019.
Visiting Artist Showcase as the first step
The first-of-its-kind Visiting Artist Showcase that was presented on 24 May attracted strong interest and gave the artists an opportunity to present their work as part of the festival programme. The event took place in the Boris Hristov House of Culture, and included a 45-minute performance-lecture by Lilian Steiner, a 15-minute solo by Nataša Kustura inspired by the myth of the mermaid-seducer Melusina, and finally the VR-performance Sex and Death by Aura Fonseca. Solo performances in the lobby of the theatre were presented by Clara da Costa (Peel the Onion and Jean-Baptiste Bael with FERA.
The Visiting Artist Showcase demonstrated the diversity of voices in the dance scene, which is thriving in Europe thanks to mobility and experience-sharing projects such as the VAP, of which ODF is a proud partner.
© Mihail Novakov