In 2021 the Swiss Dance Days had to be cancelled due to the Covid pandemic. We are all the more pleased to announce that the next Swiss Dance Days will take place from February 2 to 6, 2022, once again in Basel. This international platform of Swiss dance will be organized by the following partners: junges theater basel, Kaserne Basel, ROXY Birsfelden, Neues Theater Dornach, Theater Basel, Vorstadttheater Basel and Reso –Dance Network Switzerland.

Among approximately 150 pieces premiered since 2019, the jury has selected twelve remarkable Swiss dance productions. We look forward to dynamic, humorous and powerful physical studies and autobiographical works full of performative joy and the courage to question virtuosity. A special focus is on several powerful works from the younger generation of Swiss choreographers. Discover the jury’s program now!

Professional attendees and programmers may register for the Swiss Dance Days from November 2021 onwards, benefitting from reduced admission and accommodation at our partner hotel Stücki, which we are able to offer thanks to the Swiss cultural foundation Pro Helvetia. Subscribe to our newsletter for programmers in English!

We thank our supporters and foundations, particularly Pro Helvetia, Swisslos-Fonds Basel-Stadt, Swisslos-Fonds Basel-Landschaft, Swisslos-Fonds Solothurn, the Ernst Göhner Foundation and Migros Kulturprozent, whose generosity enabled us to pay out the dance companies’ fees for the cancelled 2021 edition.

It is with great regret that we are forced to announce that the current coronavirus situation does not permit us to hold the Swiss Dance Days in Basel from February 3-7, 2021 in a meaningful way. Instead, the partners are considering a new edition in February 2022.

Extremely limited audience numbers, even the threat of closure of all cultural institutions make it impossible for our partners in Basel – junges theater basel, Kaserne Basel, ROXY Birsfelden, neuestheater.ch Dornach, Theater Basel and Vorstadttheater Basel – to plan with confidence. High numbers of infection in Switzerland and international travel restrictions will keep international programmers and presenters from traveling to Basel, which makes one main purpose of this special festival impossible to attain.

The goal of the Swiss Dance Days is to help outstanding new and independent Swiss dance productions find engagements at international festivals and theatres. Much of the festival is designed to facilitate personal exchange between artists and programmers, to support international and national networking and thereby enable Swiss dance productions to tour more extensively and achieve greater dissemination. There will be no online version of the festival. Just like networking, dance requires physical encounters and three-dimensionality.

We will post more information here as soon as it becomes available.

Thank you for your understanding.

Should you be interested in contacting any of the artists featured in the final selection directly, we will be happy to help. Please contact us by emailing info@swissdancedays.ch.

After numerous cancellations of summer festivals and dance performances due to the coronavirus, we are happy to announce the next edition of the Swiss Dance Days, which will take place as planned in February 2021. We are convinced that it is more important than ever to initiate exchange beyond borders and to celebrate the immediate expressive power of live dance on stage together. Therefore, we are delighted to welcome you to this international gathering of programmers.

For the 2021 Swiss Dance Days, theatres from the Basel region are working together with Reso – Swiss Dance Network, jointly presenting the biennial platform for Swiss dance. Since October 2019, the national jury, which includes a wide range of experts, has been viewing dance pieces performed throughout Switzerland which were created during the past two seasons, aiming to present an intriguing programme of ten to fifteen pieces to a regional, national and international audience in February 2021. The Final Selection will be announced in October 2020.

Apart from the jury programme, the partners in Basel – junges theater basel, Kaserne Basel, ROXY Birsfelden, neuestheater.ch in Dornach, Theater Basel, Vorstadttheater Basel and the Théâtre La Coupole in Saint-Louis (FR) – are planning to present a focus on “Dance for Young Audiences” for the first time. Furthermore, the popular «Salons d’artistes» will take place, enabling particularly younger Swiss choreographers to introduce their works to programmers from Switzerland and abroad.

The jury 2021 is selected and has started its mission for the «Final Selection»:

- Dr. Adriana Almeida Pees, Artistic Director and Curator Dance, Theater Freiburg
- Selina Beghetto, Dramaturge, Lucerne
- Rares Donca, Director, L’Abri, Geneva
- Foofwa d’Imobilité, Choreographer, Geneva (with a Carte Blanche)
- Sandro Lunin, Artistic Director, Kaserne Basel

Over the course of a year, the jury members screen all new dance productions from all over Switzerland and select a range of varied, high-quality pieces for the Swiss Dance Days programme, providing an insight into Swiss choreographic creation.