The team of Migros Culture Percentage Dance Festival Steps is treading new ground. Valeria Felder is taking over as the festival's overall director. Valeria already played a decisive role in determining the success of the 2022 event, as codirector and as the person responsible for the organisation and the tour planning.

The Steps 2024 programme will be developed by an artistic direction team. This will comprise Selina Beghetto, Marine Besnard and Frank Fannar Pedersen, three up-and-coming representatives of the Swiss dance scene. Together, they will bring different perspectives from both Switzerland and abroad, from the institutional as well as the independent dance scene. They have experience with all aspects of dance and are well acquainted with socially important issues such as diversity and sustainability.

The artistic direction members already have links to the biennial event: Selina Beghetto in her role as dramaturge of the 2022 edition; and Marine Besnard as the person responsible for the fringe workshops for professional dancers in 2020 and 2022.

Isabella Spirig, the festival's artistic director from 2000 to 2022, will maintain her links with Steps, acting as an advisor to the artistic direction team until December 2022.

One festival ends, and work on the next one begins. The 19th edition of Steps is scheduled to take place from 25 April to 19 May 2024. In the meantime, you can follow us on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date with exciting developments.

We would like to thank all the artists for their great performances and our 60 partners for their valuable support. Last but not least, we would also like to express our deepest gratitude to you, dear visitors, for remaining loyal to us despite a four-year break.

No worries! Some of the festival’s co-productions are still running: Annie Hanauer’s "A space for all our tomorrows" will be shown on 28 May 2022 as part of the Lugano Dance Project. You can see "Wonderful World" by Kinsun Chan and Martin Zimmermann from 28 May to 2 June 2022 at the Lokremise St.Gallen.

On 9 May 2022, the open-space event Steps Seismograph in Fribourg offered players from all over Switzerland the perfect setting to explore topics that matter to the Swiss dance scene today. The results can be found here.

Fancy a "HORAkel"? Actors from Theater HORA visited our performances. In short video messages, they tell us what they saw, what touched them - and surprise us with new perspectives on what happens on stage.

There will be dancing beyond just the stage: dance workshops with Steps artists will be held across the country during the festival. On days when shows are not being performed, they will give interested dance artists an insight into their work via master classes and training sessions. Several workshops are inclusive – by and for able-bodied and disabled artists. You can find the full programme and booking information here.

In addition to stage performances for the public, Steps is organising an event to bring together the Swiss dance world on 9 May 2022. The open space event "Steps Seismograph" is set to take place at Théâtre Equilibre in Fribourg. It will provide the ideal setting for dancers to delve together into topics which are affecting the Swiss dance scenes today. Information on how to register can be found on our website. Please note that the event is open to a limited number of participants.

Isabella Spirig, Artistic Director of the festival, sheds light on the guiding theme of "New Perspectives" at Steps 2022 on Instagram. Follow us on social media and gain a new perspective of our festival: We introduce the companies, provide behind-the-scenes insights and are giving away exciting Steps prizes – from T-shirts to tickets.

Cie. La Ronde is set to embark on its Steps tour on 30 April in Pully before setting off through St. Gallen, Steckborn, Lucerne, Langenthal, Bern, Aarau and Chiasso. On 7 April, however, you can see the premiere of "8", the first production of the new company founded by Cathy Marston and Ihsan Rustem. Eager visitors can attend one of four performances at Theater Winterthur, giving them a little taster of our festival.

Steps is committed to the self-determined integration of individuals with disabilities into cultural life. This involves representing artists on the stage as well as breaking down barriers for the public and content access aids. The festival has been offering short descriptions of the pieces performed in simple language since 2018.You can find these under the title “Simply stated” in the texts about the companies. You can find additional information about our efforts for inclusion here.

Have you got a minute to sneak a peek of our programme? Just 70 days until it all begins – the first few shows will soon be sold out: “Wonderful World”, the visually unparalleled production with the tilting stage by Martin Zimmermann and Kinsun Chan for the Tanzkompanie Theater St. Gallen, “8”, the poetically sensuous creation by Cie. La Ronde with eight expertly performed duet dances, “Oüm”, the hypnotic piece by Compagnie Massala which melts music, poetry and improvisation into one another – we recommend an early glimpse into the programme for these highlights.

To mark the start of the advance sales period, we are giving away 10 pairs of tickets for a show of your choice. To enter the prize draw, send an e-mail with details of your preferred show to steps@mgb.ch with “Draw” in the subject line. Entries close on 31 January 2022.

2022 will mark the 18th Steps festival. This year’s event will focus on the theme of “New Perspectives” and take you to the epicentre of the Swiss dance scene. It will give you an in-depth insight into the diversity of the current national scene – and open up exciting new perspectives in cooperation with selected international names.

A total of nine productions will be touring Switzerland for Steps 2022. We will celebrate the festival’s opening night in St. Gallen on 28 April 2022 with the premiere of “Wonderful World”, the first collaboration between Kinsun Chan and Martin Zimmermann. New creations by Rafaële Giovanola, Mirjam Gurtner, Annie Hanauer and Mamu Tshi promise audiences a full spectrum of inspiring dance experiences. The festival will also present “8” by the newly created Cie. La Ronde, featuring works by Caroline Finn, Cathy Marston, Ihsan Rustem and Luca Signoretti.

Needcompany will be giving exclusive performances of their successful “Probabilities of Independent Events” in a new production with graduates from the Höhere Fachschule für Zeitgenössischen und Urbanen Bühnentanz, Zurich. “Room with a View” by (LA)HORDE avec le Ballet national de Marseille, promises a highly charged dance rebellion, while “Oüm” by the Compagnie Massala combines poetry and spectacle in an homage to the Arab world.

In the run-up to the festival we will keep you in the loop – here on our website, in our newsletter, on Facebook and on Instagram.