CONNECT Contemporary Dance Festival returns for its fifth edition, bringing performances, exhibitions, workshops, dance films and participatory events to Bucharest between September 5 and 8, 2026.
This year’s theme, Common Ground, explores how movement can create shared spaces and new connections between people, communities and the cities they inhabit.
CONNECT Festival Bucharest Programme
Saturday, September 5
- 10:00–22:00 – Places Between, urban photography exhibition at Veranda Mall. The exhibition remains open until September 7.
- 11:00–13:00 – Workshop with Solène Weinachter at the National Centre for Dance Bucharest (CNDB).
- 19:30–21:00 – TESERACT and on the poetics of touch, at the National Centre for Dance Bucharest.
- 20:00–22:00 – Soft Geographies opening, at Cărturești Carusel. The exhibition remains open until September 20.
Sunday, September 6
- 09:00–11:00 – Slow Walk, a performative tour through Circului Park.
- 18:00–18:30 – Point & Spin, an outdoor dance and live-music performance at the Veranda Mall Amphitheatre.
- 18:00–19:00 – Stand-up comedy at Cafeneaua Veche 9.
- 19:30–21:00 – ORFEO, at the National Centre for Dance Bucharest.
- 21:00–22:00 – Paths & Passages, a selection of international dance films at nJOY Garden & Club.
Monday, September 7
- 11:00–13:00 – Workshop with Sasha Amaya at the National Centre for Dance Bucharest.
- 12:00–15:00 – The Sun Is in My Garden, an alternative photography workshop in Circului Park.
- 16:00–16:30 – Point & Spin, outdoor performance.
- 19:30–20:30 – Patosfera, at the National Centre for Dance Bucharest.
Tuesday, September 8
- 19:30–20:30 – AFTER ALL, at the National Centre for Dance Bucharest.
- 21:00–22:00 – Paths & Passages, international dance-film screenings at Heavy Yard.
- From 22:00 – Musical performance and closing party at Manasia Hub.
Contemporary Dance, Film and Visual Art
The Bucharest programme combines Romanian productions with performances by international artists.
ORFEO, created by Sasha Amaya, reimagines Monteverdi’s opera and the myth of Orpheus by shifting the story’s perspective towards Eurydice. AFTER ALL, created and performed by Solène Weinachter, approaches mortality through dance, theatre, storytelling and comedy.
Romanian productions include Patosfera, directed by choreographer Mădălina Dan, and Point & Spin, a playful outdoor performance inspired by the movement and atmosphere of amusement parks.
The programme also includes Soft Geographies, a visual-art exhibition at Cărturești Carusel, and Places Between, an urban-photography exhibition hosted by Veranda Mall.
CONNECT takes place in three Romanian cities between September 1 and 13, with programmes organised in Constanța, Bucharest and Craiova.
The complete programme and any access or registration updates are available on the official CONNECT Festival website.
