Author: beirut physicallab

Categories
HAPPENING NOW

OPEN CALL FOR INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS

OPEN CALL FOR INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS
Beirut Choreography Encounters (BCE) 2026

I- Subject of the Call

Beirut Choreography Encounters (BCE), a two-week festival by Beirut Physical Lab, will take place in October 2026, showcasing Lebanese and Arab voices in contemporary dance through performances, workshops, discussions, and artistic exchanges.

This open call invites international artists to present their work, perform in front of an audience, and engage in a dynamic environment of exchange and networking, building meaningful relationships with the Lebanese contemporary dance and physical theatre scene from October 14 to October 25, 2026.

The festival aims to create an international platform connecting artists from different countries and backgrounds while strengthening artistic dialogue between local, regional, and international contemporary performance practices.

II- Eligibility Criteria

  • Open to international artists
  • Emerging and established choreographers and performers
  • Projects can be: performances, works-in-progress, or site-specific works
  • Open to multidisciplinary and hybrid formats
  • Work should be related to contemporary dance, physical theatre, and movement-based practices

III- Application

Applications are submitted through this form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScSS6GYKz34KrDvbrQyBpQcnxiWtlR5x4_Svv_-LaYIN0ByGQ/viewform?usp=publish-editor

Required materials:

  • Artistic description of the project
  • Video link (full work or excerpt)
  • Short bio of the artist(s)
  • Technical and administrative information

Duration:

  • 10–25 minutes (work-in-progress)
  • Performances

Deadline: June 20, 2026
Notification: July 15, 2026

IV- Festival Program

  • Performances: A blend of local and international performances showcasing diverse styles and perspectives.
  • Masterclasses & Workshops: Led by established artists to enhance skill development among participants.
  • Traditional Dance Workshops: Highlighting local dance forms and cultural heritage.
  • Round Tables & Conferences: Discussions featuring curators and professionals from different regions with a focus on local and regional artists, opportunities, and challenges in the contemporary dance scene.
  • Curator Engagement: Bringing together curators from various countries to focus on Arab artists, with a special segment dedicated to emerging artists.
  • Training & Mentorship: A program designed to offer residency, training, and artistic support for five companies from different countries, focusing on emerging Arab artists.

V- What the Festival Provides

  • Performance space (theatre, public space, or site-specific locations)
  • Technical support depending on the venue
  • Accommodation in Beirut during the festival
  • Access to workshops and all festival activities
  • Visibility within the local and regional dance scene

Additionally:

  • Beirut Physical Lab can provide official invitation and support letters for selected artists to help them apply for visas, mobility grants, or travel support through cultural institutes, embassies, and funding organizations.
  • The festival team may also support selected artists in identifying possible funding opportunities or mobility programs whenever possible.
  • BCE encourages international artistic exchange and aims to create long-term connections between international artists and the contemporary dance and physical theatre scene in Lebanon and the Arab region.
Categories
HAPPENING NOW

Beirut Choreography Encounters 2026

OPEN CALL For Arab Dance Platform

Open Call for Lebanese and Arab artists (BCE):

I-            Subject of the call:

Beirut Choreography Encounters (BCE), a two-week festival by Beirut Physical Lab, will take place in October 2026, showcasing Lebanese and Arab voices in contemporary dance through performances, workshops, and discussions.

This open call invites Lebanese and Arab artists to present their work, perform in front of an audience, and engage in a dynamic environment of exchange and networking, building meaningful relationships with the Lebanese contemporary dance and physical theater starting from October 14 to October 18.

  II. Eligibility Criteria

  • Open to Lebanese and Arab artists (based in the region or abroad)
  • Emerging and established choreographers and performers
  • Projects can be: performances, works-in-progress, or site-specific works
  • Open to multidisciplinary and hybrid formats
  • Work should be related to contemporary dance, physical theatre, and body-based practices 

III. Application

Applications are submitted through this From:  https://forms.gle/UbrXKujizCWvHZd19:

  • Artistic description of the project
  • Video link (full work or excerpt)
  • Short bio of the artist(s)
  • Technical and administrative information
  • Duration:
    • 10–15 minutes (work-in-progress)
    • performances

Deadline: June 15, 2026
Notification: July 15, 2026

IV-   Festival Program:

·   Performances: A blend of local and international performances showcasing diverse styles and perspectives.

·   Masterclasses/workshops: Led by established artists to enhance skill development among participants.

·   Traditional Dance Workshops: Highlighting local dance forms and cultural heritage.

·   Round Tables & Conferences: Discussions featuring curators and professionals from different regions with a focus on local-regional artists, opportunities, and challenges in the contemporary dance scene.

·   Curator Engagement: Bringing together curators from various countries to focus on Arab artists, with a special segment dedicated to emerging artists.

·      Training & Mentorship: A program designed to offer residency, training, and artistic support for five companies from different countries, focusing on emerging Arab artists.

 V. What the Festival Provides

  • Performance space (theatre, public space, or site-specific locations)
  • Technical support depending on the venue
  • Accommodation in Beirut during the festival
  • Access to workshops and all festival activities
  • Visibility within the local and regional dance scene

Additionally:

  • 4 selected artists/projects will receive performance fees, 
  • Mentorship support for 2 selected works-in-progress
  • Travel support for 2 selected Arab artists may be covered 

VI. Schedule & Locations

Selected projects will be presented between October 14–18, 2026, in various cultural spaces, theatres, and public locations across Beirut.
The schedule and location will be defined based on each project’s needs and format.

OPEN CALL FOR INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS
Beirut Choreography Encounters (BCE) 2026

I- Subject of the Call

Beirut Choreography Encounters (BCE), a two-week festival by Beirut Physical Lab, will take place in October 2026, showcasing Lebanese and Arab voices in contemporary dance through performances, workshops, discussions, and artistic exchanges.

This open call invites international artists to present their work, perform in front of an audience, and engage in a dynamic environment of exchange and networking, building meaningful relationships with the Lebanese contemporary dance and physical theatre scene from October 14 to October 25, 2026.

The festival aims to create an international platform connecting artists from different countries and backgrounds while strengthening artistic dialogue between local, regional, and international contemporary performance practices.

II- Eligibility Criteria

  • Open to international artists
  • Emerging and established choreographers and performers
  • Projects can be: performances, works-in-progress, or site-specific works
  • Open to multidisciplinary and hybrid formats
  • Work should be related to contemporary dance, physical theatre, and body-based practices

III- Application

Applications are submitted through this form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScSS6GYKz34KrDvbrQyBpQcnxiWtlR5x4_Svv_-LaYIN0ByGQ/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=105433120823815155232

Required materials:

  • Artistic description of the project
  • Video link (full work or excerpt)
  • Short bio of the artist(s)
  • Technical and administrative information

Duration:

  • 10–25 minutes (work-in-progress)
  • Performances

Deadline: June 20, 2026
Notification: July 15, 2026

IV- Festival Program

  • Performances: A blend of local and international performances showcasing diverse styles and perspectives.
  • Masterclasses & Workshops: Led by established artists to enhance skill development among participants.
  • Traditional Dance Workshops: Highlighting local dance forms and cultural heritage.
  • Round Tables & Conferences: Discussions featuring curators and professionals from different regions with a focus on local and regional artists, opportunities, and challenges in the contemporary dance scene.
  • Curator Engagement: Bringing together curators from various countries to focus on Arab artists, with a special segment dedicated to emerging artists.
  • Training & Mentorship: A program designed to offer residency, training, and artistic support for five companies from different countries, focusing on emerging Arab artists.

V- What the Festival Provides

  • Performance space (theatre, public space, or site-specific locations)
  • Technical support depending on the venue
  • Accommodation in Beirut during the festival
  • Access to workshops and all festival activities
  • Visibility within the local and regional dance scene

Additionally:

  • Beirut Physical Lab can provide official invitation and support letters for selected artists to help them apply for visas, mobility grants, or travel support through cultural institutes, embassies, and funding organizations.
  • The festival team may also support selected artists in identifying possible funding opportunities or mobility programs whenever possible.
  • BCE encourages international artistic exchange and aims to create long-term connections between international artists and the contemporary dance and physical theatre scene in Lebanon and the Arab region.

Categories
DANCE LABS

DANCELAB WITH SYLIVA GRIBAUDI

  • Sylvia Gribaudi’s works are characterized by light-heartedness, irony, and freedom. The workshop offers an exploration of the poetic dimension that Sylvia Gribaudi explores, emphasizing the vivacity and presence of the body. Participants will engage in a journey where humor and play are integrated into bodily expression and gesture. The workshop will delve into the concept of the vital body, encouraging participants to embrace the value of imperfection and mistakes as avenues for creative expression.

Key Themes:

  • Revitalizing physicality through self-irony and dance dynamics
  • Exploring how dance influences body perception within a playful environment

  • Morning Classes: Open to the public from 10 AM to 11:15 AM
  • Full Workshop: Dancers will be selected to participate in this comprehensive training program, enhancing their professional and technical performance skills. The workshop will run from 10 AM to 3 PM, starting from the 8th to the 12th of July.
  • Public Showing: Participants will present the outcomes of the dance intensive through a public performance on July 13th, with the specific timing to be announced later. Participants who will participate in the showing can be absent for up to one day.
  • Dates: 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th & 13th (Public showing) of July. Time: 10AM – 3PM (everyday except for tuesday the 9th/ 10am -12pm & 13th)

Categories
DANCE LABS HAPPENING NOW 
Graces by Silvia Gribaudi 
A Humorous Contemporary Dance Performance 
  • Tuesday 9th, 9:00PM
  • Al Madina Theater

  • The Italian Cultural Institute & Beirut Physical Lab in Collaboration with Zebra Production presents an award-winning humorous contemporary dance performance: “Graces”
  • Graces is a project inspired by The Three Graces, a sculpture created by Antonio Canova between 1812 and 1817. The work draws from mythology: Zeus’ three daughters – Euphrosyne, Aglaea, and Thalia – radiate splendor, joy and prosperity. Three male figures – Siro Guglielmi, Matteo Marchesi, and Andrea Rampazzo – take the stage in a space and time suspended between the human and the abstract: a place where male and female meet without roles and dance to the rhythm of nature itself. They perform together with the author Silvia Gribaudi, who likes to define herself as ‘author of the body’ because her poetics elevates imperfections to an art form with a direct, cruel, and empathetic comic style without any boundaries among dance, theater, and performing arts.
  • Over the past ten years, Silvia Gribaudi has been questioning gender stereotypes, female and male identities, and the concept of virtuosity in dance and daily life, expanding beyond clichés and appearances.
  • “With generous humor and radical empathy, the Italian choreographer Silvia Gribaudi elevates notions of human imperfections into an art form beyond clichés and appearances. Drawn from the sculpture The Three Graces (Antonio Canova 1812-1817) – representing Zeus’ daughters Euphrosyne, Aglaea, and Thalia – the three male performers together with Silvia search for new meanings of the word ‘grace’. With dance and text, but most of all with warmth and lightness, the performance reveals a core of our humanity.”