During the summer months, Vienna was brought to life by Impulstanz, one of the most important European festivals, offering an extensive, month-long programme. It featured a range of world-renowned names, among which Canadian choreographer, contemporary dance icon, and regular festival guest Marie Chouinard shone brightly.

What to do in a sunless summer? You warm up. Leading Austrian choreographer, director, and performance artist Florentina Holzinger does it in her usual — and perhaps more radical than ever — way: with an orgy, a surgical operation, female bodies dancing, crashing, and rising again.

As you might expect from one of the world’s busiest dance capitals, there is always lots to see in London. In this Letter from London, I bring you just a flavour of what has been happening here in the spring and early summer of 2025.

In their hometown of Estoril, Portuguese Companhia Paulo Ribeiro presented an adaptation of Maurice Accompagné—the first part of a period-inspired trilogy of contemporary dance designed to guide audiences through the early 20th century (with following parts focusing on the 1960s and the present day).

The last premiere of the 2024/2025 season at the National Theatre Ballet was the triple bill Sarcasms, named after Hans van Manen's central duet, which in turn was named after Sergei Prokofiev's accompanying composition.

During the three-day “Reflections & Reflections – On the Future of Debate Culture” programme at the Berliner Festspiele, Emanuel Gat unveiled Freedom Sonata (2024), a work that navigates, both literally and conceptually, the fragile boundary between order and the pursuit of freedom.

We met with world-renowned choreographer and versatile artist Jiří Kylián, whom I know personally, to talk about the upcoming unique event Kylián Festival: Wings of Time, which is being prepared in Oslo, Norway (May 29–June 14). We also discussed the perception of the passage of time, life, and death.

Dance Context Journal, a direct follow-up to the print publication the Special Issue of Taneční aktuality, is currently in the process of editing its second offering.