Dancers and troupes from around the world will be coming to Greece to participate in the one of Europe’s most influential contemporary dance events: The Kalamata International Dance Festival (KIDF) from July 17 to 26.
In its 32nd year, the festival returns to the seaside town of Kalamata in the Peloponnese with a program inspired by the magic of dance and its transformative power.
This year’s edition will feature performances by Greek as well as international artists from Brazil, France, Germany, Sweden, Cape Verde-Portugal, Slovenia, the Netherlands-Venezuela and Spain. In addition to the main performances, the festival will host masterclasses, film screenings, exhibitions, concerts, lectures and open discussions.
‘He who falls’ by the Yoann Bourgeois Art Company will open the 32nd Kalamata International Dance Festival. Photo: Géraldine Aresteanu
Events in the festival’s “Dancing on Screen”, “Encounters Off Stage”, and “Dancing in the City” sections will take place at venues around Kalamata, and in six additional cities throughout the Peloponnese.
“In this increasingly unstable world, art emerges as a pre-eminent space of transformation -almost a form of magic,” said Artistic Director Tzeni Argyriou. “Through the ‘magic’ of art, fragility is transformed into a place of encounter and possibility – a space where uncertainty is not excluded, but becomes common ground, and our vulnerability becomes a condition for meaningful coexistence.”
The festival opens with French choreographer Yoann Bourgeois and his work He Who Falls. Other major artists featuring this year include Marlene Monteiro Freitas, Kalle Nio, Fernando Melo, Jefta van Dinther and Leïla Ka, known for choreographing Beyoncé’s performance at the César Awards.
‘Amazigh in Situ’ by the Filipe Lourenço Company. Photo: Ernest Mandap
The festival comes to a close with the Greek National Opera Ballet presenting a new work by composer George Koumendakis inspired by the poetry of Constantine P. Cavafy and featuring choreographies by Patricia Apergi, Elias Hatzigeorgiou, and Eva Georgitsopoulou. A primary goal of the festival is to support and promote Greek artists internationally. In this direction, the KIDF has expanded partnerships with SYSTEMA – For the Greek Performing Arts, the Athens Epidaurus Festival, and the National Theatre of Greece to identify opportunities for Greek creators abroad.
Among this year’s highlights is the opening, for the first time, of the archaeological site of Ancient Messene for an interactive performance inviting audiences to dance as part of the festival’s new “Dancing with the Community” initiative.
Since its launch in 1995, the festival has hosted hundreds of performances by international companies and Greek dance troupes, while presenting the debuts of 108 dance groups, cementing its reputation as one of Europe’s leading contemporary dance platforms.
* Tickets for the festival and the full program can be found on the official festival website.
