KoresponDance is an international festival of contemporary dance, physical theatre and new circus and the largest site-specific festival of contemporary dance in the Czech Republic.
Every year at the beginning of July, KoresponDance opens its doors in Prague, and especially at the Žďár nad Sázavou Castle, to dozens of artists and thousands of visitors for a fantastic experience of contemporary art of the highest international standard. You can already look forward to the next edition of the festival, which will again feature a selection of artists from many different countries.
KoresponDance is the first outdoor festival of dance in the Czech Republic. It began to take shape in 2009 in the context of the KoresponDance Europe project, which offered opportunities for artistic development to over 100 choreographers from different countries. Since 2013, the festival has existed as we know it today: the largest site-specific festival of contemporary dance in the Czech Republic, the only contemporary dance festival in the Vysočina region and, above all, a festival with a long term commitment to working with the public. From its very beginning, it combines an international and Czech program with the involvement of communities mainly from Žďár nad Sázavou, later also from Prague. The festival offers locals to participate in contemporary art, be it dance, new circus, movement theater or street dance, regardless of social or age category.
KoresponDance’s offer is unique, fusing the genus loci of a baroque castle with contemporary art. The concentration of the entire programme on the estate fosters a real festival atmosphere, as opposed to simply a series of performances. The border between artist and spectator disappears, as members of both groups converge in the castle’s first courtyard. Last but not least, each year’s programme includes unrepeatable, site-specific work, created by invited groups in the three weeks preceding the festival. KoresponDance is also notable for its program, carefully curated each year by founder Marie Kinsky and her collaborators, who attend festivals and performance platforms around the world to select the participants. Žďár nad Sázavou has already welcomed such stars as Dominique Boivin, Paco Decina, Béatrice Massin, Jordi Galí, Joseph Nadj, Barely Methodical Troup and Foco alAire producciones and committed to memory such unforgettable performances as Něžný bagr (The Gentle Excavator), Contigo, La Cosa and many others.
In 2017 the festival received the EFFE designation (Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe), as well as the patronage of the Governor of the Vysočina Region since the same year. KoresponDance is ranked among the VIP events of the Vysočina Region and, in 2018, received support from Creative Europe’s Roundabout Europe project. In 2020, the festival established a prestigious cooperation with the Czech Centers. In 2022, the festival presented several projects supported by INTERREG EUROPE program.
In 2019, it increased by more than 25%, a year later the capacities were sold out and insufficient. It was in 2020, despite the coronavirus crisis, that the festival confirmed its viability by being able to guarantee action and come up with a concept that had a variant for any epidemiological condition.
Jean Vilar, one of the founders of the Festival d’Avignon, built that now cult event on the basis of a certain vision: that a truly good performance speaks to absolutely everyone. Each year at KoresponDance, it’s possible see exactly how that happens.
"The KoresponDance Festival, which takes place partially in Prague, but primarily in Žďár nad Sázavou, connects trends in movement and thought emerging in numerous countries and across three continents. The festival supports community projects and engages local audiences; its poetics express a friendly and open approach to interdisciplinary and transcontinental collaboration. It speaks equally to professional dancers from around the world, devotees of contemporary dance and accidental passersby. The the prestige of the participants converges with an almost home-like atmosphere.”
Veronika Hrabalová for tanecnizona.cz, full article here.
Anyone who finds themselves asking, ‘why go to Žďár for contemporary dance?’ simply hasn’t been there yet…
The festival is organized by the non-profit organization Center for Choreographic Development SE.S.TA.