Moving Balkans is a three-year European contemporary dance project funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union (No. 101128452). Art Link Foundation / Derida Dance Center is the lead partner and coordinator of the project, which started at the beginning of 2024.
The platform builds strong partnerships in the Balkan region and presents the most outstanding young choreographers to programmers and guests from around the world. The first edition of the Moving Balkans Contemporary Dance Showcase took place in 2025 in Zagreb, Rijeka and Ljubljana, and the second in 2026 in Novi Sad.
The project also includes training for choreographers, dance producers and cultural managers, co-productions of Balkan artists, new dance routes beyond the big cities and digitalisation.
* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
The second edition of the Moving Balkans Contemporary Dance Showcase took place from 13 to 16 May 2026 in Novi Sad, Serbia. The ten productions were selected from 214 applications by the platform’s Artistic Board together with two external experts, Ingrida Gerbutavičiūtė (tanzhaus nrw, Düsseldorf) and Same Raemakers (former director of Dansens Hus, Oslo), at a curatorial meeting in Sofia.
Six artists pitched their projects to curators, producers and festivals:
Three of the selected productions, Somatic Freaks, Unfolded Moments and ALL’ARME, are in the programme of Derida Dance Fest 2026. Read more about the artists and the productions of Showcase 2026 and about the platform at movingbalkans.eu.
The official aftermovies of the first two editions of the Moving Balkans Contemporary Dance Showcase.
Ljubljana, Rijeka and Zagreb · 10-13 May 2025 · Video: Igor Crnković
Novi Sad · 13-16 May 2026 · Video: Igor Crnković
Moving Balkans Coproductions 26 supported a number of co-productions between different partners in the project. Art Link Foundation took part in a co-production together with our Romanian partners, the National Center for Dance Bucharest. It produced two dance miniatures, Seems Familiar by Simona Dabija and Deyan Georgiev and Suck it up, buttercup!, which shared a premiere at Derida Stage on 25 April 2026.
The project is carried out with the financial support of the Creative Europe programme of the European Union and the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
© 2026 Art Link Foundation (Derida Stage, Derida Dance Center). This site was created within the framework of the project “Sustainable development of Derida Stage”, financed by the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria under the program “Recovery and development of private cultural organizations ’22”.
In the period 2020-2023, the activities of Art Link Foundation (Derida Stage, Derida Dance Center) became possible thanks to the financial support under the structural anti-COVID-19 programs of the National Culture Fund of Bulgaria: One-year program to support private professional organizations in Arts / Pilot Session 2020, One-Year Grant Program 21, One-Year Grant Program 22, and Recovery and Development of Private Cultural Organizations Program ’22. We thank the National Culture Fund for the support and trust!
