“Dance is our bread and Bread is our festival. With joy, passion, and a fascination for the world we live in, we create productions that we want to share with others. Dance as a key to the present, which we strive to understand.”

An overview of major productions, discussions, artist presentations, idea-sharing, and workshops with leading choreographers. Stars and emerging talents.
International guests.
A festival co-founded and organized by the most prominent contemporary dance and physical theater companies in the Czech Republic.

Performances

A selection of current performances by the best Czech companies.

Main Program: Nine productions by nine leading Czech companies. Each company is unique, with its own vision, approach to contemporary dance, and artistic methods. What unites them all, however, is the grandeur of the theatrical form, collaboration with a wide spectrum of artists, and the high caliber of their performers. Another common thread is the international reputation they have built through years of artistic work. The productions presented at Bread & Dance have been selected by the companies themselves from their current repertoire. Many are presented as Czech premieres or shortly after.

Shortbreads: Five productions in a program making its debut this year. In a special site-specific format, you’ll see excerpts from the latest works by artists from the Czech Republic and Slovakia, selected by a 16-member academy through an open call. The program focuses primarily on shorter performance formats and projects with lower production demands.

All performances are open to the general public.

Farm in the Cave: Obsedancia

Monday 2. 11., 5.00 p.m., DOX+

BURKICOM: Keep laughing!

Monday 2. 11., 7.00 p.m., Jatka 78

Spitfire Company: Twentyone

Monday 2. 11., 9.00 p.m., Palác Akropolis

420PEOPLE: Smoke and Mirrors

Tuesday 3. 11., 11.00 a.m., Studio Maiselovka

POCKETART collective: Making Love

Tuesday 3. 11., 5.00 p.m., Jatka 78

Viktor Černický: PNEU

Tuesday 3. 11., 7.00 p.m., Jatka 78

Lenka Vagnerová & Company: Apartment 24

Tuesday 3. 11., 9.00 p.m., ARCHA+

Shortbreads

Wednesday 4. 11., 2.00–4.00 p.m., La Fabrika

Temporary Collective: One Gesture

Wednesday 4. 11., 5.30 p.m., Galaxie

DEKKADANCERS: Lies Men Tell

Wendesday 4. 11., 8.00 p.m., Jatka 78

Networking

Together, we’re exploring new paths.

A networking programme designed to open up opportunities for international collaboration and professional growth, bringing together creators and presenters from across Europe. Artist presentations, panel discussions, roundtables, and one-on-one meetings.
Aimed at dance professionals — producers, cultural managers, festival and theatre representatives, curators, journalists. If you are one of them, please register.
If you have any questions regarding professional accreditation or hospitality support, please contact ivona@burkicom.com.

Open to professionals in the field. Accreditation required.

1-on-1 Consultations, Sunday, November 1, and Thursday, November 5

One-on-one. Individual consultations between company managers and professional agents working across the world. Consultans: Katherina Vasiliadis (Germany), Julia Arbey (France), Wolfgang Hoffmann a Tzu-Yin Hsu (Aurora Nova, Germany).
The program is conducted in English.

Intended only for compannies performing at Bread & Dance Prague.

Opening Reception & Networking, Monday, November 2 / 3:00–5:00 p.m.

The festival’s opening and an international gathering of professionals in the performing arts, cultural managers, representatives of theaters, festivals, cultural institutions, agencies, promoters, journalists, and artists. Exchange of business cards and views, introduction to the program. Who we are, what we’re all about. And who are you? Would you like some bread? And coffee?
Venue: DOX+

Open to professionals in the field. Accreditation required.

Panel Discussion, Tuesday, November 3 / 1:30–3:30 p.m.

A moderated discussion with international guests: Christine Standfest (Impulstanz, Austria), Carmen Mehnert (Plan B – Creative Agency for Performing Arts, Germany), Zoltán Sándor (National Dance Theatre Budapest, Hungary).
The program will be conducted in English.
Moderator: Saša Michailidis
Venue: ARCHA+

Open to professionals in the field. Accreditation required.

Artist Presentations, Wednesday, November 4 / 10:00–11:00 a.m.

Who are we and what do we do? Personal presentations by the companies to international presenters. Words and images. No interruptions. Say what you want to say. Nine choreographers, 20 slides each, 15 seconds per slide. Not a second more. Followed by tspeed dates (presenters and international guests only). Presenting companies: 420PEOPLE, BURKICOM, DEKKADANCERS, Farm in the Cave, LENKA VAGNEROVÁ & COMPANY, POCKETART collective, Spitfire Company, TEMPORARY COLLECTIVE, VIKTOR ČERNICKÝ.
The program will be conducted in English.
Moderator: David Krátký
Venue: La Fabrika

Open to professionals in the field. Accreditation required.

Speed Dating, Wednesday, November 4 / 11:15 a.m.–12:45 p.m.

Meet at the table. Companies vs. presenters and international guests only. Ask anything. Face to face. Finding common ground and opportunities for collaboration.
The program will be held in English.
Venue: La Fabrika

Intended only for companies performing at Bread & Dance Prague.

Guest Presentations,Thursday, November 5 / 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Our guests introduce themselves. Promoters, bookers, and program directors of festivals and theaters. Who are they, what are they looking for, and where are they headed? An informal networking session follows.
The program is conducted in English.
Venue: La Fabrika

Open to professionals in the field. Accreditation required.

Round Table, Thursday, November 5 / 2:00–4:00 p.m.

The Czech Dance Scene: Direction, Funding, Challenges. In collaboration with Vize tance.
The program will be conducted in Czech.
Venue: La Fabrika

Intended only for companies performing at Bread & Dance Prague.

International Market of Dancers

A series of dance workshops with leading Czech choreographers. An opportunity to familiarize yourself with their movement material and creative processes. The chance to receive feedback and learn about how dance companies operate, including career opportunities, during a “breakfast with the choreographers” in an après-ski setting.

Intended only for professional dancers, graduates, or students of dance schools aged 16 and older, selected based on an online application.

Choreographers: Lenka Vagnerová (Lenka Vagnerová & Company), Tereza Ondrová (Temporary Collective), Jana Burkiewiczová (BURKICOM), Václav Kuneš (420PEOPLE)

Venue: Contemporary – Space for Dance

Maximum number of participants: 50
Further details and the registration form can be found HERE.

Programme

Saturday 31. 10.

9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
International Market of Dancers / registration
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
International Market of Dancers: Warm Up
11:15 a.m. – 2:15 p.m.
International Market of Dancers: Workshop by Lenka Vagnerová (Lenka Vagnerová & company)
3:15 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.
International Market of Dancers: Workshop by Tereza Ondrová (Temporary Collective)

Sunday 1. 11.

10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
International Market of Dancers: Warm Up
11:15 a.m. – 2:15 p.m.
International Market of Dancers: Workshop by Jana Burkiewiczová (BURKICOM)
3:15 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.
International Market of Dancers: Workshop by Václav Kuneš (420PEOPLE)

Monday 2. 11.

9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
International Market fo Dancers: Apres ski / ARCHA+ / only for participants
3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Opening Reception & Networking / DOX+ / accreditation
5:00 p.m.
Farm in the Cave: Obsedancia / DOX+ / tickets
7:00 p.m.
BURKICOM: Keep laughing! / Jatka 78 / tickets
9:00 p.m.
Spitfire Company: Twentyone / Palác Akropolis  / tickets
10:00 p.m.
Chitchat & drink / Palác Akropolis

Tuesday 3. 11.

11:00 a.m.
420PEOPLE:  Smoke and Mirrors / Studio Maiselovka / tickets
1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Panel discussion / ARCHA+ / accreditation

5:00 p.m.
POCKETART collective: Making Love / Jatka 78 / tickets

7:00 p.m.
Viktor Černický: PNEU / Jatka 78 / tickets
9:00 p.m.
Lenka Vagnerová & Company: Apartment 24 / ARCHA+ / tickets
10:00 p.m.
Chitchat & drink / ARCHA+

Wednesday 4. 11.

10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Artist presentations / La Fabrika / accreditation
11:15 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
Speed dating / La Fabrika / only for participants
2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Shortbreads / La Fabrika /
5:30 p.m.
Temporary Collective: One Gesture / Galaxie / tickets
8:00 p.m.
DEKKADANCERS: Lies Men Tell / Jatka 78 / tickets
10:00 p.m.
Closing Party: Čau Bread & drink / Jatka 78

Thursday 5. 11.

10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Guest Presentations / La Fabrika / accreditation
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Round table / La Fabrika / closed working group

NEWSLETTER

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About the Festival

The Bread & Dance Prague Festival was founded in 2023 by five leading Czech contemporary dance and physical theater companies to present their work collectively and explore the long-term status, sustainability, collaboration, and development of contemporary dance and physical theater in an international context. Through openness, education, current productions, workshops with choreographers, and discussions within the framework of international networking. The festival was established with the support of the National Recovery Plan, the European Union, and the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic. The festival is organized by the BURKICOM company in collaboration with the founding companies 420PEOPLE, DEKKADANCERS, FARMA V JESKYNI, and LENKA VAGNEROVÁ & COMPANY.

“We bring together the efforts of individual companies in the areas of international collaboration and booking, simplify access to new talent on the international scene, train them, and enhance dancers’ readiness to work in companies at the international level. We share experiences and seek ways to further develop international collaboration at all levels of contemporary dance and physical theater. Through mutual cooperation, we reduce the costs for individual companies in these areas.”

Producent: BURKICOM

Executive Director: Ivona Szantová
Artistic Director: Jana Burkiewiczová
Participating Companies 2026: 420PEOPLE, BURKICOM, DEKKADANCERS, Farma v jeskyni, Lenka Vagnerová & Company, POCKETART collective, Spitfire Company, Temporary Collective, Viktor Černický
Production: Bětka Gabrielová, Eliška Zamouřilová, Mája Macková, and the production teams of the individual companies
Production of the International Market of Dancers: Lenka Plottová
PR & Marketing: Janka Kellerová (BlueGekko)
Social Media: Kristýna Jurášková, David Krátký
Graphic Design: Martina Černá, Imagery
Venues: ARCHA+, DOX+, La Fabrika, Jatka 78, Palác Akropolis, and Galaxie Cultural Station
Special Thanks to: Master & Master, Antonínovo Bakery, Do žita

Partner Organizations: Vize tance, Czech Centers, Goethe-Institut, French Institute

The project was supported by grants from the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the State Cultural Fund of the Czech Republic, the City of Prague, and The Trust for Mutual Understanding

Partners

MKČR logo
NPO logo
Praha logo
ARCHA plus - logo

Main media partner

Česká televize - logo

Farm in the Cave: Obsedancia

Monday, November 2, 17:00
DOX+, Poupětova 1, Praha 7
Tickets

They keep returning. Each trapped in their own story. They forgot to leave. Something keeps them here. A woman. A table. A mask. A cinema. Suspicion. They keep returning. Each trapped in their own story. Strange beings and small obsessions inhabit an absurdly beautiful world. You've been here before. Welcome to Obsedancia.

Viliam Dočolomanský: “In 2025, we created the immersive performance All Is Good in Heaven exclusively for David Lynch's Up in Flames exhibition at DOX. The exhibition came to an end. But the characters of its living exhibits refused to stop existing, and audiences didn't want them to disappear. Obsedancia was born for one simple reason: the characters refused to die. I decided to follow them and carry their addictive playfulness, longing and nostalgia into a new stage work that insisted on its own existence. It is a strange world, yet one we all somehow recognize. We may have wandered into it against our will, but perhaps we no longer want to leave.”

farminthecave.com/
@farm_in_the_cave

 

BURKICOM: Keep laughing!

Monday, November 2, 19:00
Jatka 78, Holešovice Market, Halls 7, 8,
Bubenské nábřeží 306/13, Praha 7
Tickets

How much can we carry without throwing up? A crazy dance ride about potatoes and burnout.
A guide to a super successful life wrapped in a recipe for authentic Slovak halušky, presented as a multimedia solo for two dancers. A small yet big performance for everyone who is on fire—but doesn’t burn out.

Jana Burkiewiczová: "I wanted to create a small performance for two, but I can’t seem to make it happen. Instead, what’s taking shape in my hands is a performance that has opened up a much bigger question for me: how much can we take on and still be able to carry it? For Christmas I received a book called “Na chrbte” (On the Back), about Slovak mountain porters who never carry more than they are able to bear. It sounds simple enough, but how do you find the limit of what you can handle? I don’t know. Maybe I’ll go to the mountains... So here I am, trying to create a small performance and failing. And perhaps it will turn out big again, because a small performance is simply more than I can carry."

burkicom.com/
@burkicom

 

Spitfire Company: Twentyone

Monday, November 2, 21:00
Palác Akropolis, Kubelíkova 27, Praha 3
Tickets

Twenty female directors and choreographers. One performer. Twenty different perspectives on a single theme.
Concept and body: Miřenka Čechová

“Twenty-One presents Ibsen’s Nora of the 21st century, seen twenty different ways. It raises questions about the identity of a woman, a creator, and a mother who refuses to be trapped in a ‘dollhouse.’ Directors from Prague, Nairobi, and Ukraine infuse the character with their own realities and personal experiences. They explore how the ever-relevant theme of Ibsen’s drama resonates within their cultural contexts and artistic practices. The starting point is the constraints women often face in their creative work—a lack of time, space, and financial resources. Each artist was given two days of rehearsals to create a two-minute performative fragment with Miřenka Čechová. The performer’s body thus became a living document, a catalog of twenty distinct directorial approaches—in the spirit of Marina Abramović’s legendary performance *Rhythm 0*. *TWENTYONE* is a performative anthology of women’s voices. Voices that have long challenged the social sphere, offering new perspectives and bold ideas on the topic of womanhood today.”

spitfirecompany.cz/
@spitfire_company

 

420PEOPLE: Smoke and Mirrors

Tuesday, November 3,, 11:00 a.m.
Studio Maiselovka, Maiselova 4, Praha 1
Tickets

Václav Kuneš’s new choreography brings together a solo performance by dancer Francesca “Amy” Amante and a solo concert by flamenco guitarist Filip Zubák. They dance and sing, disappearing and reappearing among levitating glass objects.The stage design was inspired by the work of artist Vladimíra Klumparová, whose glass artworks became an integral part of the creative process. Solid yet fragile, striking and beautiful, seemingly abstract, the glass remained open to interpretation until a unique combination of circumstances gave it meaning and a story. Like an illusion created by smoke and mirrors, however, that story may itself be nothing more than an impression.
Choreografie: Václav Kuneš & Francesca Amy Amante

Václav Kuneš: “Smoke and Mirrors” carries a slightly negative connotation in the vocabulary of the 20th and 21st centuries. What inspired me, however, was the original 18th-century meaning of the phrase and, above all, its purpose. At the time, it referred to a relatively simple yet highly effective way of creating a ‘magical illusion’: a projector, or ‘magic lantern’, combined with a mirror and smoke. In our production, the mirror has been replaced by glass creations inspired by artist Vladimíra Klumparová. We wanted glass itself to become part of the creative process without losing any of its inherent qualities - remaining both solid and fragile, striking and beautiful, seemingly abstract until a convergence of circumstances gives it meaning and a story. The exquisite glass objects were reduced to semi-finished forms, the very material from which new glass works emerge, much in the same way that a performance comes into being.”

420people.org/
@420people_dance

 

POCKETART collective: Making Love

Tuesday, November 3, 5:00 p.m.
Jatka 78, Holešovice Market, Halls 7, 8
Bubenské nábřeží 306/13, Prague 7
Tickets

In the solo piece *Making Love* by choreographer and dancer Sabina Palán Bočková, the artist explores the theme of female sexuality in connection with spirituality. Inspired, among other things, by the tradition of Christian mystics, she creates a captivating world of raw dance, live music, and powerful visuals.
Concept, choreography, performance: Sabina Palán Bočková

Sabina Palán Bočková: “The production grows out of physical research into the body as it moves between apparent opposites: intimacy and exposure, gentleness and rawness, shyness and wildness, and between the archetypes of the saint and the sinner. Together with musician Lukáš Palán, who works with the guitar, live mixing of vocals, and bodily sounds, an intense dialogue of movement, music, and song emerges. Another indispensable element of the production is the unique set design by Slovak visual artist Simona Gottierová, who, through her work with liquids—their colors and densities—abstracts the materiality of the body and creates a fluid, visually captivating space. The closeness to the audience, the use of touch and words, and the sensitively guided interactions also open up the possibility of experiencing the theme not only through observation but also through one’s own physical experience.”

pocketart.cz/
@pocketart50

Viktor Černický: PNEU

Tuesday, November 3, 7:00 p.m.
Jatka 78, Holešovice Market, Halls 7, 8
Bubenské nábřeží 306/13, Praha 7
Tickets

Men wrestling with 500 kg of tires and somehow making it playful. PNEU turns a ridiculous amount of rubber into a surprising playground where strength, humor and imagination collide. Four performers lift, roll, balance and carry their unruly partners, discovering moments of trust, rivalry and joy inside the effort. In this work, Viktor Černický continues his exploration of encounters between bodies and objects, creating a world full of absurd logic, physical intensity and delicate humor.
Choreography: Viktor Černický

Viktor Černický: “Why do we always feel the worst after a few days of doing nothing? How many people work out every day just to maintain their condition? Our bodies are antifragile factories that must expose themselves to discomfort simply in order to survive. We constantly push beyond our own limits, and in doing so, we grow. Tires are among our closest partners — and our greatest enemies. It depends on whether we sit behind the wheel, or use them as obstacles for movement, as toys to lift, jump over, or push away. Sharing discomfort and effort — that’s what connects us and allows us to transcend our own being. We are a community of restlessness.”

zdruhestrany.com

 

 

Lenka Vagnerová & Company: Apartment 24

Tuesday, November 3, 9:00 p.m.
Archa+, Na Poříčí 1047/26, Praha 1
Tickets

Our lives move in spirals—from the double helix of our DNA to the rituals of our everyday existence—repeating, shifting; sometimes spiralling upwards, sometimes downwards, but never quite coming back to the same place. Combining elements of dance, theatre, mime, music, projection and design into a synchronised and ever evolving loops Apartment 24, investigates how tells the story of a relationship falling apart as the memories of the past grow into a kaleidoscopic visual language.
Concept, direction and choreography: Jos Baker

“Apartment 24 is a new take on dance theatre: a work of richly detailed and deeply nuanced physical storytelling, where movement becomes memory and repetition becomes revelation. Bringing virtuosic precision to everyday gestures, to reveal an intimate story of love, loss and anguish. Like a Swiss watch slowly tearing its own heart out.” 

lenka-vagnerova.cz/
@lenkavagnerovacompany

 

Shortbreads

Wednesday, November 4, 2.00 - 4.00 p.m.
La Fabrika, Komunardů 1001/30, Praha 7

In a unique site-specific format, we are presenting five chamber choreographies selected from 24 submissions by a 16-member academy. In a single performance block, you will see the following productions or excerpts from them:

Eliška Brtnická: Round Table
What does it mean to be a “recognized” artist? A performative statement intended for a roundtable discussion on the status of the artist, but which did not fit within the given format of communication.

Michal Heriban: I AM PLACEBO
A visual performance exploring the body as a living archive of memory, unconscious mechanisms, and deeply ingrained behavioral patterns.

ME-SA and Aldente Theater: (ID)ENTITY
Martina and Martina. A search for a shared entity and authentic identity through mutual encounters, dissonance, and consonance. Down syndrome as the ability to see the world differently.

Andrej Štepita: The Vanishing Man
A song about an endless search, about the desire to keep going even when there’s nowhere left to go.

Tactic: Slip Grip
A ride on the edge. Instead of certainty—a search for balance. Instead of performance—presence. And if you’re expecting instructions on how to get out of this, SLIP GRIP won’t provide any. Just the ride.

 

Temporary Collective: One Gesture

Wednesday, November 4, 5:30 p.m.
Galaxie, Arkalycká 833, Prague 4
Tickets

From Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and evening dreams straight onto the stage. What happens when the body scrolls before the mind can catch up?

TEMPORARY YOUNG brings the logic of the feed onto the stage. Viral moves, digital fragments, half-remembered gestures and tiny bodily impulses collide in a live dance collage where youth is not a matter of age, but of speed, intensity and transmission.
One Gesture develops choreography as a processual gesture, in which the body works with what already exists. It uses, displaces and recombines fragments circulating through the digital space. The world becomes an open archive, a feed we enter into dialogue with and wear like a costume. Gestures and movements appear, disappear and return in another quality — found, copied, imagined or forgotten. Between attention, overload, recognition, forgetting and slowing down, scrolling becomes more than a metaphor for the digital environment: it becomes a concrete way of organising movement, time and attention. The body becomes a medium that, in real time, slows down, loops and distorts images originally made for consumption. The digital archive is transformed into a live experience.
An eclectic dance scroll-telling on stage.
When the feed finally stops, one gesture remains.
Direction, choreography: Petra Tejnorová, Tereza Ondrová

temporarycollective.cz/
@temporary_collective

DEKKADANCERS: Lži, které muži říkají

Wednesday, November 4, 8:00 p.m.
Jatka 78, Holešovice Market, Halls 7, 8
Bubenské nábřeží 306/13, Praha 7
Tickets

Who do we most often paint a rosy picture for? Men, women, or, ultimately, ourselves? A programme featuring two choreographies, two worlds united not by love or hope, but by a plain old lie. In the first piece, Ondřej Vinklát shows how we lie to ourselves quite nicely under our breath, without wanting to admit it. In the second choreography, Štěpán Pechar then takes us to a film set that harbours a host of secrets, with no shortage of humorous situations. This time, it is not only the dancers’ bodies that will speak to you, but also the voices of well-known personalities. And we’re certainly not lying to you about that!
Choreography: Ondřej Vinklát, Štěpán Pechar

Ondřej Vinklát: “The inspiration for creating To Onself came from my fascination with the human mind, the ego, and its mechanisms of manipulation. The mind is a powerful tool that can serve noble purposes: it can connect, cultivate, and enrich. However, when it is driven solely by personal gain, it becomes a road to ruin.”
Štěpán Pechar: “The inspiration for the performance Lies Men Tell came from The Wedding Ring, a short story by Brazilian writer Luis Fernando Verissimo, which captures common misunderstandings between men and women with humor and lightness. I am interested in storytelling, building tension, and using movement-based exaggeration, but also in creating situations in which audiences can recognize themselves and relate to their own experiences.”

dekkadancers.net
@dekkadancers