The international festival of contemporary dance and movement theatre, TANEC PRAHA 2024, is scheduled to run from June 2 to 27, encompassing various stages in Prague and spanning over 20 cities and towns across the Czech Republic. The program of its 36th year underscores the festival's remarkable evolution towards exceptional quality. 

Audiences of the festival can anticipate journeys through various dance cultures, featuring choreography from artists worldwide, from Africa to Iceland, Brazil, Norway, Portugal and Ukraine. Moreover, domestic creators will debut their work in several premieres. The festival isn't just for adults; children are also invited to embark on an exhilarating exploration of the dance world, with productions like Rock Me Baby catering to ages as young as 0! This year's overarching theme is diversity, with performances poised to challenge taboos surrounding topics such as menopause, nudity and the queer community.

This year's TANEC PRAHA will kick off with a performance by the renowned Lia Rodrigues at the New Stage of the National Theatre on June 2. This marks Lia Rodrigues' inaugural appearance in Prague, a feat the festival has pursued for five years. Encantado promises to infuse TANEC PRAHA with unabashed expression, physicality and spontaneity, even incorporating nudity on stage. The performance is a wild jungle brimming with colour, movement and pulsating vitality. Lia Rodrigues is celebrated for her choreography, which approaches dancers' bodies without prejudice, treating them as objects that, at times, may appear raw but yield fascinating results. In Prague, Lia Rodrigues and her ensemble will conclude their European tour.

The finale of the festival, slated for June 26 and 27 at the PONEC Theatre, will feature the compelling work of Erica Zueneli, a prominent Italian-born choreographer based in Belgium. In Landfall, ten young male and female dancers delve into questions about our world and its future through dynamic, rhythmic, and spontaneous dance. Questions such as "What should we do?" "What do we want to become?" and "How can we attain absolute freedom?" are explored onstage. The performers onstage intentionally represent a diverse range of types, fostering audience identification. Landfall drives home the message that even though we are all different, we can work together.

International coproductions

The ambition of the TANEC PRAHA Festival is to foster connections among creators and inspire the development of new works, and this year's program demonstrates its remarkable success in doing so. A notable result of this collaborative effort is the Czech premiere of Fairy Tales produced in conjunction with two other prominent dance festivals. This production showcases the internationally acclaimed POCKETART collective, featuring eight dancers accompanied by live singing and music (Never Sol and Lukáš Palán) in a visually captivating performance scheduled for June 4 at the PONEC Theatre. Its world premiere at the Sísmograf festival in Spain on April 27 received an enthusiastic response.

However, the involvement of Czech artists in international projects through co-productions with the TANEC PRAHA Festival doesn't stop there. Spitfire Company will present the premiere of Vivat Messi, inspired by their research on the African continent. On June 19, at the Hybernia Palace, the only Czech world champion in freestyle football, Daniel Pražák, will join forces with the renowned music producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Prokop Korb, also known as badfocus, alongside talented dancer Taro Troup. Together, they will narrate a story about football, Messi, freestyle, which serves as motivation for children worldwide, and the importance of having a hero and pursuing one's dreams.

As part of the festival's co-productions, Brazilian dancers are participating in two open-air projects: Clara da Costa is collaborating with Yana Reutová and musician Jana Kubánková to prepare Womanhood, a celebration of femininity in its entirety. In this duet, Clara from Brazil and Yana from Ukraine explore personal themes such as the challenges faced by female artists and single mothers simultaneously. Their duet, characterized by intense physicality, is accompanied by original music composed by violinist Jana Kubánková. The second premiere, Fantasmas, brims with Brazilian spontaneity. Flávia Tápias returns to TANEC PRAHA after a year, inviting dancer Jitka Čechová, with whom she collaborated at the festival last year, to join the trio. Both Womanhood and Fantasmas will be featured in the Landscape Festival on June 14 at the Žižkov Highline.

Jaro Viňarský is preparing the festival's fifth co-production as part of the European Dance Well project. The culmination of this two-year endeavour will be the premiere of Elevated on June 15 and 16 at the Trade Fair Palace. Dance Well facilitates regular dance sessions for individuals with Parkinson's disease, and beyond. The actors in Elevated will be the participants of these specialized classes, organized by Tanec Praha z.ú.

Family Friendly

This year's TANEC PRAHA is also marked by a large number of family friendly productions.  

Ten years after the captivating experience of DESH by Akram Khan, one of the most significant figures in contemporary world dance, the festival will present an adapted version for children and their parents titled Chotto DESH. Together, they will immerse themselves in the enchanting and poignant story of a boy navigating through today's chaotic world. The performances will take place on June 20 and 21 at the ARCHA+ theatre. Following a guest appearance in Brno, where he will participate in the international festival Divadelní svět Brno with a large-scale production of Jungle Book, the renowned British dancer and choreographer of Bangladeshi origin, Akram Khan, and his ensemble will travel to Prague.

On June 6, at the PONEC Theatre, the Norwegian performance or danced punk-rock concert Rock Me Baby will demonstrate that productions aimed at children can possess entirely unexpected nuances. Featuring sparkling costumes, styled hair, live music and playful antics, this creation by queer performers was crafted with the intention of entertaining children and their fathers, while also aiming to elicit laughter and challenge prejudices associated with the queer community. The result is a fantastic show thoroughly enjoyed by performers, children and parents alike. Extensive research and preparation, including adjustments to sound volume, ensure that even the youngest viewers can fully engage with the performance.

Both children and adults can also delight in other featured works such as the previously mentioned Vivat Messi and the Irish dance production Birdboy.

Mondays with Aerowaves 

The festival selected three shorter performances from the Aerowaves platform, a European network for the support of budding choreographers. Each of them represents a completely different approach to dance and all of them are fascinating.

Icelandic choreographer and dancer Lovísa Ósk Gunnarsdóttir has directed her focus towards a taboo subject – menopause. In her ongoing project, she has engaged 100 women from five countries, aged between 40 and 65, and has extended her outreach to women from the Czech Republic as well. These women share their stories, frustrations, and the immense joy that dance can bring into their lives. The performance of When the Bleeding Stops on June 10 at the PONEC Theatre will primarily be a dance celebration of life and the female body in all its phases. 

The second act is MOS. Greek choreographer and dancer Ioanna Paraskevopoulou will present a captivating multimedia spectacle, characterized by playfulness, precision and originality. Through the scenic interplay of movement, sound and imagery on June 17 at the PONEC Theatre, two dancers will craft a live soundtrack while simultaneously unveiling the mysteries of "ruchařina" to the audience.

Emma Martin will present the dance performance Birdboy dedicated to all those who don't fit in. For many young individuals still in the process of discovering themselves and their unique identities, feelings of anxiety and isolation can often arise. Birdboy, scheduled for June 24 at the PONEC Theatre, is a celebration of otherness and a beacon of hope for those who feel different.

Dance art across continents 

Stories of Africa, scheduled for June 15 at the PONEC Theatre, will guide the audience through three solos, each evoking different emotions. On one hand, there is the powerful and resilient woman from Mozambique, Mai Juli, in the solo choreography Sinais Particulares. On the other hand, Amal Dianor, a Senegalese artist residing in France, will present his own male solo Man Rec and a sensitive adaptation for an inspiring female performer titled Wo-Man. Amal Dianor stands as one of the most distinguished figures in the dance world, and his performance will be featured in the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Paris.

Marco da Silva Ferreira, one of the most renowned Portuguese creators, drew inspiration from choreographies typical of the Portuguese dance school for his two works. The dynamic CARCASS will grace the stage of the ARCHA+ theatre with the presence of ten spirited dancers on June 18. The lively atmosphere will be accentuated by live drumming. Ferreira's unconventional duet, Fantasie minor, crafted for street performers from France, promises a captivating experience as part of the Open Air event on June 18, under the open sky at náměstí Republiky in the heart of Prague. The title is derived from the contrasting music, which diverges significantly from the movement style, catering mainly to a young audience.

For the third consecutive year, TANEC PRAHA will shine a spotlight on the contemporary Ukrainian dance scene. As part of Unity in Motion, on June 21 at the PONEC Theatre, the festival will present news from workshops featuring various Ukrainian dancers, including the renowned choreographer and dancer Yana Reutová, who has been residing in Prague for the past two years, with her contribution Paradoxical Bodies.

TANEC PRAHA in the regions

In keeping with tradition, the festival will again visit the regions – more than 20 cities and towns in the Czech Republic. Jazmína Piktorová and Sabina Bočková will go on the road with their award-winning Microworlds. Through micro-movements, body landscapes and play with small objects, the playful and poetic staging focuses attention on small things that are often not visible at first glance. Václav Kuneš and Helena Arenbergerová from 420People impressed partners outside of Prague with their sensitive duet Where. Smetanova Litomyšl chose Tereza Lenerová with a specific version of Taxon seven as well as Tereza Ondrová. Others also opted for open-air projects, especially the Brazilian-Czech co-productions Womanhood, Fantasmas or Fantasie minor, which will also be joined by Peter Šavel (SK). The dance quintet TETSU – The Energy That Shapes Us will perform. Norwegian rockers will travel to Ostrava and Plzen with Rock Me Baby, and the Greek duo MOS will visit Pardubice.

More information and online ticket sales for the TANEC PRAHA 2024 festival at https://tanecpraha.cz/en

Thank you to all partners and supporters of the festival:

Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, City of Prague, Creative Evropa
Main media partner: Česká televize