14th Dance Days Chania

The international contemporary dance festival "Dance Days Chania" will be held again this year in July for the 14th consecutive year. The festival programme includes performances (in theatres and neighbourhoods of the city), workshops, the section "New Creators and Public Space", the Video Dance section, a transnational artistic residency, exhibitions, discussions, events in the city, etc.

Dance Days Chania is organized with the voluntary work of the members of the "Syn-Kinisi" Association of Expressive Dance, the co-organization of the Region of Crete, the Municipality of Chania and KEPPEDICH-CMA. In the previous years of its implementation, it has received the support of the J. F. Costopoulos Foundation, Embassies as well as donation from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and other local and national institutions. In addition, it has received grants from the Ministry of Culture for the years 2017 - 2023. The festival has been recognized with the EFFE Label 2017-2018, 2019-2021 and 2022-2023 by the European Festivals Association (EFA).

Aim of the festival is to highlight the diverse choreographic and creative approaches of the contemporary dance scene as well as to offer equal space both to emerging and to established creators. The participation of the community plays a core role in the programming and realisation of the festival through workshops and events in the city, offering the possibility to non “dancing” audience to get introduced to the art of dance. In our view, dance should be accessible to everyone.

Dance Days Chania has hosted, over the years (2011-2023), a total of 166 contemporary dance performances, 19 site specific original productions by new creators, 119 workshops by choreographers and dancers, 22 masterclasses, 2-day and 3-day video dance tributes (screenings & talks), 40 video dance screenings, the Athens Video Dance Project, 2 transnational artistic residencies, 13 lectures, photography and painting exhibitions and 3 scientific conferences. Events have taken place in theatres, specially designed outdoor stages, cultural spaces, archaeological monuments and neighbourhoods of the city and artists from Europe, Asia, Africa and America have participated. In total, to date, 202 choreographers, 391 dancers, 70 visual-musical artists, 32 theorists-academics. Finally, it is estimated that more than 2500 spectators per year attend and participate in the events of the festival.

The festival remains a reference point for the world of contemporary dance and performance, with constant and meaningful community engagement.