Dansa Metropolitana concludes its most international edition, to great public acclaim

The final curtains came down in Badalona, Barcelona, Cornellà, El Prat, Esplugues, Granollers, Hospitalet, Sabadell, Sant Cugat, Santa Coloma, Terrassa and Viladecans on the sixth edition of the Dansa Metropolitana Festival, held from 9 to 26 March, with over 330 dance activities in different venues of these cities.

This year’s festival presented a total of 183 performances of 118 shows, 29 film screenings, 50 fringe activities and 58 educational activities, at a 100 different venues. A programme that stood out for having a bigger number of international activities (12), featuring well-known international ballets and focusing on Latin American creators, and also more co-productions (10), with the festival aiming to support the local fabric.

Activities in the theatres, community centres, streets, squares, public venues and iconic buildings of the dozen metropolitan-area cities, together with screenings in cinemas and on the Filmin platform, attracted over 66,200 spectators during the nearly three-week festival. Indoor activities were up by 26% and street activities by 38% on last year.

Public attendance at the shows and indoor activities was higher than in previous editions. Around 80 performances of school, national and international shows were offered as well as some 50 fringe activities, watched by 22,100 people. Tickets were sold out for most of the performances at big stage venues, such as Mercat de les Flors, Teatre Lliure and the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya, as were over 20 shows at other theatre halls in the metropolitan area, where overall average occupancy was 80%. The family shows, with maximum attendance at many performances, were equally well received.

This year’s Dansa was back with a vengeance in the city’s unique, public and outdoor spaces, where free activities attracted a total of 9,700 spectators in the 12 cities. This was made possible thanks to an extensive, diverse street programme and to the new Liminar project, which highlighted and reclaimed iconic spaces from the metropolitan area’s architectural heritage, with dance activities specially thought up for the location and occasion.

This year’s programme also saw a notable increase in the number of community projects involving city residents, twice as many as in the previous year; educational projects which, through the Liminar project in particular, helped to get more schools than ever taking part in the festival (53, with 1,756 students), and exhibitions of amateur projects, up from 4 in 2022, to 19 this year, with 722 participants.

As in previous editions, Dansa could be enjoyed at the cinema too, with screenings of big productions, and through the Filmin platform, run by Choreoscope, which attracted a total audience of 34,400. 

Dansa Metropolitana, a benchmark festival

Given these figures, Dansa Metropolitana is now the most important dance event in the metropolitan area and has found its niche among dance festivals in the Spanish State. It has become a benchmark in Europe, with a programme that features every style and is accessible to everyone, where the public can enjoy not just international but also local artists, both established names as well as upcoming talent.