The sixth International Festival of Contemporary Solo Dance "Festival SOLA 2026" will be held from May 29 to 31 in Belgrade. This year's edition of the festival brings a rich program of contemporary dance, performance art, VR art, workshops and interdisciplinary projects that explore the possibilities of the solo form in a contemporary performance context, in which artists from Austria, Belgium, Greece, Slovenia and Serbia participate.
Individual on stage
The announcement says that the festival opens up the question of the individual on stage - the body, which at the same time becomes a space for personal expression, communication and artistic research. The program brings together authors of different poetics and generations, from established artists of the European scene to new choreographic voices of the region.
The central event of this year's opening will be the premiere of a dance VR film Dancescapes, created within the international project Danube Dance Alliance. Through contemporary dance, the project explores public spaces as places of performing art and connects artists from several countries of the region.
The film is signed by Slovenian multimedia artist Enja Belak, while choreographers Ognjen Vučinić, Maša Kolar, Nik Rajšek, Branko Mitrović and Aleksandar Ilić participate in the project. During the opening, the audience will have the opportunity to attend a live performance of choreographic miniatures, as well as a photo exhibition that follows the process of the creation of the project.
Forgotten presence
Possibly the most attractive part of the festival will be the premiere of the dance performance Forgotten presence: Return to the source choreographer Aleksandar Ilić.
The special guest of the show is the artist Aleksandra Duende, known for her authentic blend of electronic sound, atmosphere and ritualistic approach to music. As a member of the Belgrade-Berlin collective and radio station D59B Radio, where she hosts the "Rituals" show, she developed a distinctive musical expression. It will be her first performance as part of a contemporary dance project of this format.
Ilić's new production explores the theme of female strength, cultural heritage and collective memory, starting from monuments and artifacts as powerful but often neglected places of remembrance. The play especially plays with the idea that a work of art is never one-size-fits-all and can be perceived in different ways. The moment when the performers draw the audience into the flow of the performance with their energy, the boundary between the stage and the auditorium is erased.
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