12th International Festival: DANCE | MODERN | DANCE
From 16 to 20 September 2026, Chemnitz will once again become a showcase for contemporary and urban dance. Following the major festival edition held during the City of Culture year, which attracted more than 18,000 visitors last year, TANZ | MODERNE | TANZ is now entering its 12th edition. Under the theme ‘Dance meets Industrial Culture’, the festival will bring international dance companies, workshops and extraordinary performances to special venues across the city, including public spaces, the Opera House and, for the first time, a new venue: the fabrik chemnitz.
With fabrik chemnitz, the festival gains a new venue, where the opening celebrations will take place on 16 September. Here, international artists will engage with the city’s industrial history and open up new perspectives on space, movement and encounter. To mark the start of the festival on 16 September, there will be a reunion with the French “Compagnie Retouramont”, which has been a frequent guest in Chemnitz and is now returning with “Environnement Vertical”. In its work, the company blurs the boundaries between dance, architecture and acrobatics. Bodies move vertically, seemingly defying gravity and turning the space itself into a choreographic partner.
The British “Company Chameleon” is also returning to Chemnitz. With “The Ultimate Player’s Handbook”, the company combines its characteristic athletic dance style with explorations of competition, collaboration and interpersonal relationships in an open-air setting.
A particular highlight is Adi Boutrous’s performance of “Nature of a Fall”. Having been unable to take part in last year’s festival due to the conflict in the Middle East, the choreographer will be presenting his work for the first time this year on 16 September at TANZ | MODERNE | TANZ. The production explores the irresistible pull of human nature and, with great physical intensity, examines closeness, dependence, resistance and the forces that bind people together.
Alongside other guest performances, such as “Power Moves – Restaged” by the “Fabien Prioville Dance Company” from Düsseldorf, or “[Superstrat[” by the French company “Cie Par Terre”, the festival is once again focusing on the direct encounter between dance and urban society. A spectacular highlight is planned for 19 September: at the Karl Marx Monument, Chemnitz will attempt to break the world record for the world’s largest ballet class. The current record was set in Queensland; at least 1,800 participants are needed to make it into the Guinness Book of Records. Last year, a record was also set for the “longest ballet class in the world”.
The extensive programme of workshops also remains a central feature of TANZ | MODERNE | TANZ. Professional dancers from all over the world will share their diverse artistic styles, techniques and experiences with interested participants. The programme is expressly not aimed solely at professional dancers, but invites people with a wide variety of prior experience to take part.