16th ARC FOR DANCE FESTIVAL
#un-rest

16th ARC FOR DANCE FESTIVAL
#un-rest

7 days | 70 artists | 10 countries | 15 performances

Artistic Director: Frosso Marina Trousa

May 24 - June 8
"Anna & Maria Kalouta" Theatre | Dipylon Theatre | online

Free admission | Advance reservation starting May 6

The International Contemporary Dance Festival ARC FOR DANCE by DAN.C.CE Unitiva is back in its 16th instalment, from May 24 to June 8, 2025, exploring the power of "un-rest". For 7 days, 70 artists from 10 countries present 15 performances, with free admission, at "Anna & Maria Kalouta" Theatre, Dipylon Theatre and online.

At the heart of "adolescence" in its 16th edition this year, ARC FOR DANCE FESTIVAL focuses on un-rest as a constitutive force of dance, hosting performances by Greek and foreign artists as essential shared gestures of interest, solidarity, questioning of certainties and compromise.

Through a program of three modules-the MAIN Fest at the "Anna & Maria Kalouta" Theatre, featuring nine performances, seven of which in their debut in Greece; PRIME MOVERS with works of experimentation; and ARChitects at the Dipylon Theatre-ARC invites us, in the era of diffuse great unrest, to resist against complacency and partake of the poetics of un-rest as a prerequisite of caring for the world.

PRIME MOVERS

The festival begins with a return to Dipylon Theatre, where it first appeared in 2008, with the PRIME MOVERS module that looks to the future by strengthening the audience's connection with bold works by young artists. On Saturday, May 24, Diamanto Hadjizacharia creates "a dance for the end of the world," a powerful metaphor of modern-day precarity, where fear and hope merge into new versions of hopefulness. On the same day, Stella Spyrou's Diásporas presents two beings who map a landscape of collective and personal memory. On Sunday, May 25, Filiz Bozkuş Al and her dance-theater performance GONG trace the turbulent journey of existence from childhood innocence to the conflicts of maturity and the ensuing transformation. Then, Angelos Papadopoulos's An UMBRA Story trails the invisible presences, shadows and spirits that haunt us with a mixture of desire and fear. In the ARC Dialogues section, after the end of each evening's Prime Movers performances, choreographer Chrysanthi Badeka converses with the choreographers about their sources of inspiration and the challenges they face.

ARChitects

The Architects module at Dipylon Theatre offers an experience of intimacy through alternative routes of choreographic inspiration. On Saturday, May 31, Kristina Paunovski's ARTtissue: Lineage looks at the past as a source of creation, while Harry Koushos, with Not all wars are visible, invites viewers to participate in the outcome of a battle like those fought by active bodies every day.

MAIN FEST

From June 5 to June 8, the festival culminates at the "Anna & Maria Kalouta" Theatre with nine dance works, seven of which are presented for the first time in Greece. On Thursday, June 5, Panos Malactos, with NO IM NOT, reveals the pressures that erode our personal and professional lives, while award-winning Sung Im Her, with Tomorrowisnowtodayisyesterday (TiNTIY), deals with the informational over-saturation of our hyper-connected era.

On Friday, June 6, Panzetti/Ticconi, with AeReA, highlight the flag as a symbol of identity and division, while Ermira Goro, with Thirst, explores rituals as upshots of somatic memory. On Saturday, June 7, Natasa Frantzi (The Garden of the Beasts), Alex Kros (Me.Myself.I) and HURyCAN (Te odiero) take us on a journey from self-acceptance to the paradoxical coexistence of hate and love.

The festival is concluded powerfully with Eva Georgitsopoulou's W(h)oman, a hymn to survival, realized and presented by the Greek National Opera Ballet, and the Masterwork for Six Dancers by Emese Cuhorka & Csaba Molnár, a work embodying the clash between discipline and rebellion, stasis and movement, presented by the En-Knap group.

A few words about DAN.C.CE Unitiva

Since 2008, the persistent work of DAN.C.CE Unitiva, the artistic non-profit that is organizing the ARC FOR DANCE FESTIVAL, is the consistent development and systematic fostering of a sound dance ecosystem in Greece. As a member of the international networks Aerowaves and Moving Balkans, DAN.C.CE Unitiva reinforces the participation of choreographers in the global dance discourse, while enhancing the presence of dance in the public sphere and proposing new ways of understanding and enjoying movement.

The "International Festival of Contemporary Dance ARC FOR DANCE FESTIVAL" is implemented within the framework of the "ATTIKI 2021-2027" Program and is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and National Resources.