17. International Festival of Young Dance Creators
OPUS 1 – Short Dance Piece 2026
Slovenian National Theatre Celje, 4th April 2026
The aim of the festival is to promote contemporary dance and discover fresh talents. Not to push for competitiveness, but rather to foster creativity of young dance creators.
The 17th International Festival of Young Dance Creators OPUS 1 – short dance piece 2026 (Slovenian National Theatre Celje, 4th April 2026) is open to dancers born between 2002 and 2010, who can apply with:
- A solo dance piece which is both conceived and choreographed by the performing dancer
- A duet, which is both conceived and choreographed by the performing dancers - shared authorship
Dancers who apply must reside outside of Slovenia. Dancers residing in Slovenia must reach the international OPUS 1 festival through national competition.
Age groups and lengths of short dance pieces:
- Group M (born between 2007 and 2010) – maximum 4 minutes
- Group L (born between 2002 and 2006) – maximum 7 minutes
THEME
(More about the theme on link):
- BODY INTUITION
Jury
The jury will be composed from three renowned international dance experts. In previous years, jury members included Susan Quinn (SEAD), Matej Kejžar, Martin Sonderkamp, Milan Tomášik (Les SlovaKs), Eduardo Torroja, Ryuzo Fukuhara, Roberto Olivan, Boštjan Antončič (Rosas), Aleksandra Janeva Imfeld, Ofra Idel (MASH), Davide Sportelli, Jurij Konjar, Magdalena Reiter, Jiana Qu, Adam Man, Sebastián García Ferro, Simon Wehrli, Dragana Alfirević …
This year’s jury will be announced as soon as it is confirmed!
Prizes
The prizes will be awarded for:
The Best short dance piece- dance performance and choreography (group M: EUR 400, group L: EUR 1.000)
- The Best idea (group M: EUR 200, group L: EUR 500)
- The Best dancer (group M: EUR 200, group L: EUR 500)
Apart from these awards, performers will also vie for the following:
- Dance studio Intakt and JSKD will select a young dance artist (only from group L), who will get a grant for producing a new dance project, which will be premiered at the OPUS 1 2027
- A young jury will select one short dance piece and award its performer with participation at dance classes and workshops at The International Summer Dance School 2026 in Ljubljana
- Matjaz Farič, artistic director of the International Contemporary Dance Festival Front@, will select dance pieces, which will be featured at the 21st edition of the Front@ festival, August 2026.
- Mojca Kasjak, artistic director of the international festival Platform of contemporary dance, will select dance pieces, which will be featured at the 19th edition of the Front@ festival, September 2026.
Application
The deadline for applications is February 11, 2026. The application must be submitted online until 11th February 2026, 12.00 PM CET and is only complete if it includes a link to the dance piece which shall be presented at the competition. Only complete applications, submitted before the deadline, shall be considered.
Application form:
https://forms.gle/1Fkr5WSrSnu5r2f57
There is no entrance fee. A curatorship will select young dance creators on the basis of the received videos to participate in the festival. The successful dance creators will receive an invitation by 16th February 2026 at the latest. They must confirm their appearance by 1st March 2026. If they do not confirm their participation in time, the invitation will become invalid.
Please make sure that you read the rules and instructions and follow them to the letter.
More information, photographs and videos of previous competitions can be found at:
https://www.jskd.si/ples/prireditve_ples/opus/opus_25/english_opus_25.htm
OPUS 1 - PLESNA MINIATURA 2024 / 15th International Competition of Young Dance Performers - Group L
OPUS INTERNATIONAL 2023 - Skupina / Group L
General information and contacts:
If you have any questions concerning your application, please send an e-mail to nina.mesko@jskd.si
Republic of Slovenia Public Fund for Cultural Activities (JSKD)
Štefanova 5, PO Box 1699, 1000 Ljubljana
