For more than 20 years, Vaison Danses has welcomed the biggest names in dance. Classical, jazz, contemporary, hip-hop dance and circus art shows. The stage of the majestic ancient theatre will once again resonate in July 2019 with prestigious international companies and famous choreographers. The ideal opportunity for Numeridanse to promote the discovery of this festival!

The Vaison Danses festival takes its name from the town hosting it: Vaison-la-Romaine, a small town located in Haut-Vaucluse (France), a few kilometres from the Mont Ventoux, the “Giant of Provence”. The town displays a rich palette of landscapes with hills, forests, stretches of renowned vineyards and lavender fields that provide the typical colours of Provence.

Since 1996, the festival has been held throughout July on the stage of the ancient theatre.  Dating back to the 1st century AD, the ancient theatre is tucked away in the greenery of the Puymin hill site.  

Since the 2018 edition, the festival has been directed by Pierre-François Heuclin.

In the course of its editions, the Vaison Danses festival has continued to focus on all dance forms. Open-minded, sensitive to the world’s transformations, and responsive to discoveries, the festival is one of the town’s and region’s main cultural events.

Right from the very beginning, this festival wished to embody this privileged moment of exchange and sharing between artists, spectators, passers-by, tourists, locals… where everyone can have access to a contemporary and living culture.  

Vaison Danses has welcomed the greatest choreographers from around the world: Maurice Béjart, Sylvie Guillem, Carolyn Carlson, William Forsythe, Merce Cunningham and, more recently, Angelin Preljocaj, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, to name but a few. While continuing to propose each year an eclectic programme, Vaison Danses has also evolved to open up to the multidisciplinary of today’s dance and to a wider and younger public. 

Vaison-la-Romaine once again celebrates dance from July 13th to 27th 2019 with five evening performances in the ancient theatre retracing three centuries of dance, from the pure classical dance of the 19th century to the contemporary creation of our 21st century. 

The festival will thus host Marius Petipa’s Don Quixote, interpreted by Le Ballet de Nice, as well as Jean-Claude Gallotta and his Lady’s rock, Akram Khan, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Alexander Ekman who present written pieces or pieces transmitted for the young dancers of IT Dansa, Emanuel Gat and his Sacre (Rite), and, last but not least, Mourad Merzouki who proposes a new Boxe Boxe, interpreted by 10 Brazilian dancers.

Completing this full programme of companies invited for the first time and a sign of the festival’s desire to open up more to the public, Vaison Danses proposes an “off” programme in various venues to offer yet more choices and allow an even fuller discovery of all the facets of the performing arts. A “mega-giga bar”, open to all, will be proposed during the festival, together with public classes, workshops, shows by regional companies in the ancient nymphaeum, after-show meetings with the artists, conferences, masterclasses, etc. Everyone will be invited!