Dance Takes Over the City
In 2026, Hamburg becomes the birthplace of a brand-new international dance festival. The Tanztriennale brings together professional dance artists, the wider public, and international delegations for a week-long celebration of dance in all its forms — on stage, in public spaces, as discourse, and as part of everyday life.
Conceived as a long-term, recurring event held every three years, the Tanztriennale has a clear ambition: to make dance visible, to strengthen it as an art form, and to recognise it as a socially relevant practice. Dance belongs to everyone — every body, every background, every story.
Dance Across the City
Performances and events take place at venues across Hamburg throughout the week, both day and evening, turning the whole city into a stage. Alongside ticketed performances, many events in public spaces are free to attend.
Venues include Kampnagel Internationale Kulturfabrik, Wiese e.G., Hamburgische Staatsoper, MARKK, Hamburger Kunsthalle, PLAY Studios Hamburg, and I-PUNKT SKATELAND.
Tickets are available via the Tanztriennale online shop and at the Kampnagel box office.
More Than a Festival
The Tanztriennale extends beyond performances into a broader conversation about dance. A multi-day professional forum brings together dance artists, international delegations, and representatives of cultural and political networks from across Germany and the world to discuss how dance as an art form can be strengthened and its diversity made more visible.
Alongside the main festival programme, two recurring monthly formats keep the Tanztriennale connected to Hamburg's dance community throughout the year. All Moves invites all Hamburg residents — with or without dance experience — to discover new forms of movement together. Moving Meetings bring together dance artists from all genres, dance cultures, and backgrounds for regular exchange.
Background
The Tanztriennale is an initiative of the Kulturstiftung des Bundes (German Federal Cultural Foundation), led by Artistic Director Katarzyna Wielga-Skolimowska. The concept was developed in 2023 following extensive consultation with representatives of the dance world, and builds on the legacy of the Tanzkongresse, which took place at various locations across Germany between 2006 and 2022. Hamburg was selected as the host city through a nationwide open call by the Kulturstiftung des Bundes, and the festival is run by the newly established Tanztriennale Hamburg e. V.
Artistic directors Gwen Hsin-Yi Chang and Monica Gillette were appointed in October 2024. Their vision is to bring together different artistic practices, perspectives, and contexts, to make them visible, to explore their role in society, and to create a space for encounter. Their guiding motto: Brave Moves. Courageous Joy.
For more information and tickets, visit tanztriennale.de.
2026 Highlights
The 2026 edition is the very first Tanztriennale, and opens with a City Parade dedicated to dance and the people of Hamburg. Dance and music groups are invited to join the parade and bring the festival motto Brave Moves. Courageous Joy. to life through choreography, rhythm, and movement. The deadline for submissions is 15 May 2026.
Leading up to the main festival, the residency programme Counter Balance has seen four artistic tandems working at various locations across Germany between March and June 2026.
The Tanztriennale also takes to the streets of Hamburg with artistic interventions and the City Parade, and will be present at the Längste Tafel der Demokratie on 20 June 2026, transforming the Rathausmarkt into a dance floor open to all.
Date:
14-21 June 2026
Location:
Various venues across Hamburg
