Side Step Festival is an annual, international festival focusing on contemporary dance. Year 2023 witnesses the 20th edition of the festival.
Over the years, Side Step Festival has experienced changes in form, always in relation to the current era and the development of the contemporary dance field. Now Side Step is again on the doorstep of something new. With the stages of Dance House Helsinki, we can present the international diversity of contemporary dance in a more versatile way than before.
The festival introduces artists and creators from different backgrounds, whose works both carry the culture of their own generation and update the conceptual thinking of contemporary dance on both large and small stages. Through the 2023 edition’s artists' own histories, both the painful observations of the present and thought-expanding views of history and tacit knowledge will take center stage. Spaces are also created through the works to experience joy and togetherness - permeated by universal dance and bodily experience.
Side Step Festival is organized by Zodiak – Center for New Dance. The performance locations are Erkko Hall and Pannu Hall of Dance House Helsinki, as well as Zodiak’s own Zodiak Stage at the Cable Factory, and the Cable Factory’s Konttori café. Konttori will also function as a meeting place and the location for evening parties throughout the entire festival.
Welcome to experience the diversity and power of contemporary dance!
Harri Kuorelahti
artistic director
