From November 6 to 29, 2026, the cultural hotspot of southwestern Germany marks a major milestone. TANZ KARLSRUHE returns for its landmark 30th-anniversary edition, transforming the city into a vibrant global stage for contemporary choreography, boundary-pushing media art, and community-driven performance.

What began in 1996 as a modest „Dance Theater Festival“ in the unrenovated halls of an old brewery has blossomed into a premier international showcase. Under the artistic leadership of Martin Holder and Hans Traut, this year’s festival spans eight venues across the city—including the Badisches Staatstheater, ZKM | Center for Art and Media, and Tollhaus—proving that Karlsruhe’s independent cultural roots run deep and wide.

A Star-Studded International Lineup

The three-week celebration kicks off with a bang on November 6 at Tollhaus, featuring French choreographic superstar Leïla Ka. Known for her raw, urban-rooted physical power and fierce feminist stance, Ka presents Maldonne, a visually striking exploration of women’s solidarity through a mountain of second-hand garments.

International heavyweights continue to anchor the program, most notably the legendary Batsheva Dance Company performing Sadeh21, choreographed by the iconic Ohad Naharin („Mr. Gaga“). Also bringing immense emotional and social weight to the stage is DEKAdance, a powerful critique of modern consumer culture created by former Pina Bausch dancers Luiza Braz Batista, Paul Hess, and Lucyna Zwolinska.

Groundbreaking World Premieres & AI Experiments

True to its reputation as a premier production festival, TANZ KARLSRUHE 2026 features two major world premieres:

#touch by KIESECKER | HOESS (Nov 12–15 at ZKM): An ambitious, intermedial XR experience questioning whether true artistic collaboration and physical empathy are possible between live dancers and an artificial intelligence assistant named ‚BUGGY‘.

The Cycle by ANA DANCE Company (Nov 21): Israeli artistic director Anat Oz pairs the raw mechanics of Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons with a raw, unapologetic look into the female biological cycle.

Nurturing New Generations and Regional Talent

The festival honors its grassroots origins through beloved staples like the Lange Nacht der kurzen Stücke (Long Night of Short Pieces), showcasing the best of the regional scene, alongside a special presentation of the winners from the 30th International Solo-Dance-Theater Festival Stuttgart.

Accessibility and future audiences are equally central. The program reaches out to younger demographics through Ich kann’s nicht lassen—a participatory Krump theater piece by Berlin’s TANZKOMPLIZEN introducing children six and older to urban street dance—and culminates grandly on November 29 with a fresh, poignant family-friendly staging of Cinderella by the Badisches Staatsballett and house choreographer Kristina Paulin.

With open stages, artist workshops, dance film screenings in cooperation with the local Kinemathek, and thought-provoking solos like Lisa Bless’s generational memory piece Ehrenpreis für Otto, the 30th anniversary of TANZ KARLSRUHE proves that after three decades, the region’s pulse for contemporary dance is beating stronger, bolder, and more boundaryless than ever.