The Venice Biennale (La Biennale di Venezia) is a series of cultural events organized in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The main exhibition alternates between art and architecture, hence the name “biennale”, which means biennial. Other festivals are dedicated to music, theater, cinema, and dance.
The Venetian City Council officially established a biennial Italian art exhibition in 1893 to commemorate the silver wedding anniversary of King Umberto I and Margehrita of Savoy. The inaugural exhibition was scheduled for April 1894, but opened a year later. The exhibiton became international in the early 20th century, and three new events were established in the 1930s: the Biennale Musica in 1930, the Venice Film Festival in 1932, and the Biennale Teatro in 1934. The Biennale of Architecture joined the family in 1980.
Originally, dance performances were part of the International Festival of Contemporary Music (Biennale Musica). The Venice Dance Biennale was established as an autonomous section of the Venice Biennale in 1999. For the first four years, dance shows took place from May and October, and the word “festival” was not used yet. The Biennale Danza has been referred to as the International Festival of Contemporary Dance since 2003.
The first artistic director of the Biennale Danza was American-born and French-naturalized contemporary dance performer and choreographer Carolyn Carlson. She directed the first four editions from 1990 to 2002. As of 2024, subsequent artistic directors have included Frédéric Flamand (Belgium, 2003), Karole Armitage (United States, 2004), Ismael Ivo (Brazil, 2005–2012), Virgilio Sieni (Italy, 2013–2016), Marie Chouinard (Canada, 2016–2020), and Wayne McGregor (UK, from 2021 onward).
Since its inception, the Biennale Danza has become one of the world’s most important and prestigious contemporary dance festivals. Running for about two weeks in summer, it features daily performances and other events with international companies and soloists from around the globe, held in several venues across Venice.
The Biennale College Danza is an important part of the International Festival of Contemporary Dance. Biennale College is the Venice Biennale’s project that encourages young talents by giving young artists the unique opportunity to work side by side with accomplished masters in their artistic field. Every year, over a dozen dancers aged between 18 and 28 are selected along with two choreographs for a three-month intensive immersive residency program in Venice, with the opportunity to showcase the results of their internship during the Biennale Danza.
The program of the festival also includes an award ceremony, where two awards are presented to distinguished dancers and choreographers: the Silver Lion to an outstanding dancer, company or choreographer, and the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.
Photo: labiennale.org
