Biennale Danza 2025: Myth Makers Brings Dance, Technology, and Feminism to Venice

The 2025 Venice Biennale International Festival of Contemporary Dance, titled Myth Makers and curated by British choreographer Wayne McGregor, runs until August 2. Highlights include works by Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement winner Twyla Tharp (84), Silver Lion winner Carolina Bianchi, Australian company Chunky Move, Canadian choreographer Virginie Brunelle, and Biennale College Danzatori participants. Tharp presented Diabelli (based on Beethoven's variations) and the European premiere of Slacktide with composer Philip Glass. Bianchi's Brotherhood, the second chapter of her Cadela Força trilogy, explores male brotherhood and sexual violence, referencing anthropologist Rita Laura Segato's studies on femicides in Ciudad Juárez. Chunky Move's U>N>I>T>E>D, directed by Antony Hamilton, features dancers in mechatronic exoskeletons, blending Aboriginal culture with futuristic prosthetics. Brunelle's Fables, with ten dancers and a pianist, deconstructs archetypal female figures. Biennale College Danzatori presented works by Sacha Waltz (In C to Terry Riley's composition) and Anthony & Kel Matsena (The Remaining Silence). An exhibition Ecstatic Release! by photographer Indigo Lewin (2021-24) and an immersive installation On the Other Earth by McGregor, designed by Jeffrey Shaw and Sarah Kenderdine, are also on view. The installation will be shown at Venice Immersive during the 82nd Venice International Film Festival (August 27–September 6).