The 2024 TANEC PRAHA International Festival of Contemporary Dance and Movement Theatre presented a total of 61 performances from June 2 to 27. The festival featured 15 foreign productions and four international co-productions. A total of 127 artists performed on several stages in Prague, and an additional 30 artists travelled to 22 cities and towns across the country.

"This year's event was energized by guest artists from Brazil and Africa, alongside original concepts from the European dance scene. The numerous thank-you messages from performers and spectators are a great motivation for us in the years to come," sums up Yvona Kreuzmannová, founder and director of the TANEC PRAHA festival.

The 36th annual TANEC PRAHA festival showcased some of the most compelling work from both the domestic and international dance scenes, featuring emerging and established world-class stars. Among the highlights was the renowned Lia Rodrigues, making her Prague debut at the start of the festival. She captivated audiences with Encantado, a performance brimming with expression, physicality and spontaneity. The final evening was marked by the remarkable choreographer Erika Zueneli, who presented Landfall. In this piece, ten young male and female dancers explored questions about our world and its future through dynamic, rhythmic and spontaneous movement. The renowned British dancer and choreographer of Bangladeshi origin Akram Khan thrilled the festival audience across generations with a dreamy and moving story of a boy who, like all of us, is searching for a place to call home in today's chaotic world – Chotto Desh. Finally, the Portuguese creator Marco da Silva Ferreira presented a captivating experience with the performance of Carcass, as well as the open-air duet Fantasie Minor. Three Monday evenings were dedicated to performances by artists from the European Aerowaves platform. One of these artists, choreographer Emma Martin, also engaged with a young audience. They also enjoyed the Norwegian dance concert Rock me Baby. On the other hand, Stories of Africa captivated the audience with its intimate solos, and Amala Dianora's personal performance also left a lasting impression.

Of course, the program also featured domestic creators. For example, Spitfire Company premiered Vivat Messi, co-produced by the festival. At the Hybernia Palace, world freestyle football champion Daniel Pražák joined DJ and musician badfocus and talented dancer Taro Troup on stage to tell a story about determination, will and the pursuit of dreams, directed by Petr Boháč and Miřenka Čechová.

Elevated, choreographed by Jaro Viňarský, which concluded the two-year European Dance Well project, was a special experience for both the audience and performers. Dance Well facilitates regular dance sessions for people with Parkinson's disease and others. Other successful co-productions, Womanhood and Fantasmas, were created through Brazilian-Czech collaboration. The Pocketart ensemble also presented the Czech premiere of Fairy Tales, a co-production involving three European dance festivals.

Did you miss some of the shows in person, or did you attend but are curious about different perspectives? What do dance and theatre critics appreciate about this year's festival? The Prague experiences were once again widely covered in the media. Here are our recommendations for interesting reviews and reports (in Czech):
 

LIDOVKY.cz | Lucie Dercsényi: Gejzír barev a brazilský temperament s africkou stopou. TANEC PRAHA nabídl představení Encantado 
Opera PLUS | Lucie Kocourková: Hororové princezny v režii POCKETART
Opera PLUS | Kateřina Rézi Szopová: Odkojení na rocku a třpytkách: Rock Me Baby, představení pro nejmenší
Opera PLUS | Hana Strejčková: Globálně komunitní a výsostně lidské setkání
Opera PLUS | Lucie Kocourková: Pod širým nebem na Žižkově – tanec ženský a existenciální
Opera PLUS | Kateřina Rézi Szopová: Střípky z TANCE PRAHA: Fantasie minor a Okřídlení
Opera PLUS | Hana Strejčková: TANEC PRAHA v klapotu kokosových ořechů až po bangladéšskou džungli
Divadelní noviny | Vladimír Hulec: Tanec na křižovatkách (No. 6)
Opera PLUS | Kateřina Rézi Szopová: Příběhy Afriky – Sinais Particulares & Man Rec & Wo-Man na TANCI PRAHA
Dance Context Taneční aktuality | Kristina Soukupová: Na fotbal do divadla aneb Vivat Messi 
Dance Context Taneční aktuality | Lucie Dercsényi: Akram Khan na pouti z Bangladéše do Londýna
Opera PLUS | Lucie Kocourková: TANEC PRAHA stále připomíná blízkost věcí, které vytěsňujeme
Opera PLUS | Kateřina Rézi Szopová: Finále festivalu TANEC PRAHA: Landfall

Thank you to all partners and supporters of the festival:
Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, City of Prague, Creative Europe (Big Pulse Dance Alliance, Aerowaves, Dance Well)
Main media partner: Česká televize
Statutory cities of Plzen, Brno, Ostrava and the Plzen region, IDU and many others.