Dance 360 degrees and for everyone
Let’s talk with Giulia Poltronieri about the ninth edition of Dansa Metropolitana, the festival that will put dance in twelve municipalities from March 5 to 22. The program unfolds in a total of 370 activities, of which 90 are shows and 177 functions by Catalan companies, from the rest of the State and international companies.
The inaugural show and the leitmotif of 2026
“We wanted to give space to the burden that women have throughout life and to emphasize when we get older”, explains the artistic coordinator of the festival, Giulia Poltronieri, about the task they gave to the stage director Hansel Cherry for the inauguration of this edition. titled themthe show, which challenges the stereotypes of old age, will take place in Hospitalet del Llobregat, one of the municipalities most involved in the festival and which also organizes Territori Dansa, an intense day on March 21. In fact, one of the most outstanding aspects of this edition is the female authorship, with more than half of the shows signed by women as creators or directors.
When Dansa Metropolitana was born, in 2018, it was said to respond to two needs: on the one hand, to give more opportunities to the professional sector – there is a significant lack of dance programming in public and private facilities -; on the other hand, to spread the dance through hall shows, street shows and various activities to reach as many audiences as possible.
“This year, the guiding thread of the festival is freedom: the freedom of bodies in space, of meeting and being able to celebrate as a collective”
“This year, the guiding thread of the festival – says Poltronieri – is freedom: the freedom of bodies in space, of meeting and being able to celebrate as a collective”. The 50th anniversary of the Grec and the Free festival have inspired this theme, which is reflected above all in Àgores, the festival’s audience creation program, with the participation of dance schools, professional shows and open classes in the street. “We want anyone who wants to be able to participate,” says Poltronieri. “That’s why it’s a project that we’re fine-tuning in each edition.”
Known names and to know
In the halls, the festival invites names known to the dance public. Choreographers such as the Brazilian return to the Mercat de les Flors Poliana Lima or the Valencian Marina Mascarell —now at the head of the Danish Dance Theater—, who will present large-format shows.
Rocío Molina will arrive with applause heating in the Free; Manuel Linánwith success dead of lovehas already sold out tickets in Granollers; Marina Otero i Ibrahim Ibnu Goush will present Ayoub at Artesà del Prat, an intimate piece.
Dansa Metropolitana also introduces less common creators, such as the Italian company Dewey Dell, with a strong proposal on the famous score of Stravinsky. Poltronieri describes this one Consecration of Spring: “It’s a proposal that can really appeal to young people and that mixes different dance styles with a hand-painted vintage scenography and performers dressed as insects.”
The French choreographer and musician of Rwandan origin also stands out Dorothée Munyanezawhich presents Umukoa piece inspired by an ancestral tree guardian of stories.
The Taiwanese company Hung Dance returns to the festival, of which Poltronieri highlights “the big bill”, with the show Birdiewhich can be seen in Sant Cugat. It will be presented at the Viladecans Atrium bitefrom the Portuguese creator Fabio (Krayze) Januárioa piece with four dancers that recovers the kuduro dance and celebrates the resilience of people who lived through the Angolan civil war in 1975. “It’s vibrant, and the dancers dance surrounded by the audience and end up inviting you to try kuduro.”
The program is extensive, but there are still more outstanding proposals: Fandango ReloadedofRoman Inkain the SAT!; the dancer’s monologue Irene Garcia / La Quebrá, Dancing and other ways to play with lifein Viladecans; Tony Mira with weather at the Principal of Sabadell; Lali Ayguade to the TNC with unstable; or fableof Roser López Espinosain Granollers.
Pearls on the street
The street programming is also rich in quantity and quality. Lorena Nogal will present PICASS at the Palau Mercader Museum in Cornellà. La Cerda will bring The left-handed dance —one of the great street hits— in a double program with FINof the Co. Marc Fernandezat Parc Catalunya in Sabadell.
Paloma Muñoz will present A moment in l’Hospitalet, and La Venidera, Catalan flamenco tandem, will premiere NO in a triple program in Badalona that they complete Angel Duran and the Co. strawberry. Urban dances will also be present with the help of Brodas Brosas well as immersive proposals such as the company’s iXa with 52-BLUEwhich asks how we can survive a shipwreck.
At Dansa Metropolitana there is something to choose from. As with La Mercè, you need to plan the route, but also allow yourself to be surprised.
More information, images and tickets:
Metropolitan Dance
From March 5, 2026 to March 22, 2026
The 9th edition of the Dansa Metropolitana festival begins, claiming the freedom of bodies to inhabit and transform public space. This 2026, Dansa Metropolitana revolves around freedom […]
See shows
The 9th edition of the Dansa Metropolitana festival begins, claiming the freedom of bodies to inhabit and transform public space. This 2026, Dansa Metropolitana revolves around freedom […]
See shows
