NaKnap. Festival of Short Dance Form 2026

Dance on Stage, on Screen and in Virtual Reality. Second Edition.

En–Knap presents the second edition of NaKnap, a festival dedicated to short dance forms that brings together three worlds of contemporary dance: stage, film and virtual reality. Once again, the festival explores what happens when these distinct media meet within a short, playful and intense format—when the power of cinematic art intersects with the experience of live dance and emerging technologies.

Film screenings, live performances and VR installations are woven into a single temporal flow, allowing audiences to experience movement as a continuous continuum—from the physical stage to digital space. This transmedial structure challenges established festival formats and redefines the ways audiences gather, experience dance and engage in dialogue about it.

Over three days, the 2026 programme brings together 8 stage performances, 23 dance films, and 6 VR experiences by artists from 25 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Every work will be presented in Slovenia for the first time.

For the second consecutive year, Ljubljana’s Španski Borci will become a meeting point for dance, film and new media. We invite audiences to experience dance from Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Estonia, France, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom,

from China and Taiwan, 
from Ukraine and Russia 
from Lebanon and Israel
from Iran and the United States,
besides Slovenia. 

Live performances programme includes Francesca Santamaria, Inka Romani and Nik Rajšek (Aerowaves Twenty26), Rebecca Margolick and Charles Brecard (from Canada), Heung Won Lee and Ching-Ying Chien (from South Korea and Taiwan) and latest work of Andrea Costanzo Martini (Italy). 

The 2026 edition further strengthens the festival's commitment to regional artistic mobility. In collaboration with Festival Krila (Rijeka), Platforma sodobnega plesa (Maribor) and Zagreb Dance Festival, selected artists—Ching-Ying Chien, Rebecca Margolick and Charles Brecard—will continue their presentations and workshops beyond Ljubljana through a regional tour.

In selecting VR and film programme, we were drawn to works that challenge conventional notions of dance and reveal movement as a choreographic force in unexpected places. As the third festival day draws to a close, we will introduce a new festival segment: Late Night Movies. Through a curated selection of bold, playful and provocative dance films, the programme explores intimacy and desire, presenting dance on screen in one of its most daring and seductive forms. This year’s selection highlights a remarkable artistic voice: Lithuanian filmmaker Greta Griniūtė.

This year’s edition will be hosted by a dance dramaturg Greta Pieropan who will invite audiences to engage with short experimental formats of artist talks, encounter diverse contemporary dance scenes, and explore broader questions surrounding short-form choreography and dance across media.

Through this unique hybrid festival format, we aim to nurture audiences’ curiosity, attention, and sensitivity towards the art of dance by presenting short works across different media.

Programme

DAY 1  ·  30 September  ·  19:00   ·  Festival opening

Amateur Smugglers 360 (SI)  ·  1'
Good Vibes Only (beta test) (IT)  ·  20′
In the Castle of my Skin (ZA)  ·  6′
YES! (EE)  ·  3′
Anasa (CH, BE, FR)  ·  4′
Speechless (KR)  ·  11′
West (NL)  ·  11′
Stage360 (SI, CZ, BG, US, UA)  ·  30′
Para Lucir hay Que Sufrir (IT)  ·  1′
Kink  ·  (SI, NL)  ·  30′

Short form talks with Greta Pieropan
Festival party

DAY 2  ·  1 October  ·  19:00 

Ode Naval (PT, FR)  ·  6′
The Tale of Threads and Needle (RU)  ·  1′
Sylphides 3.1 (BR)  ·  4′
Bunker (CA)  ·  20′
Gatha (CN)  ·  16′
Il pleut, il plaint, il rage (CA)  ·  15′
Stage360 (SI, CZ, BG, US, UA)  ·  30′
Space of Becoming (SI)  ·  15′
Madeleine (I am Not) (CA)  ·  1′
More than you think (IT)  ·  1′
Chase (CN)  ·  1′
Vulture (TW)  ·  15′

Short form talks with Greta Pieropan
Festival party

DAY 3  ·  1 October  ·  19:00 

Podium (IL)  ·  2′
Flatland (IR)  ·  15′
Ghostdance (GB)  ·  5′
Let's get back to dance (ES)  ·  30′
Stage360 (SI, CZ, BG, US, UA)  ·  30′
Pas de Cheval (IT)  ·  26′

Special section  ·  Late Night Movies

Tickle My Pickle (LT)  ·  8′ 
Dabbling Ducks (LT)  ·  2′
Put your clothes on! (LT)  ·  8′  
Not just a bowl fruit (LT)  ·  3′ 
Nachtkanon (NL)  ·  4′  
Shame (LB)  ·  5′ 
Folsom Street (US)  ·  6′  ·

Short form talks with Greta Pieropan
Festival party

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