Equilibrio - New Dance Festival

A festival that transformed Rome's relationship with dance

Equilibrio - New Dance Festival is the annual event dedicated to contemporary choreography by the Fondazione Musica per Roma. Launched in 2007 at the Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone in Rome's Flaminio district, the festival has become one of the most anticipated events on the Italian cultural calendar in under twenty years. For two weeks, typically in February, the capital of the Lazio region welcomes companies and choreographers rarely seen elsewhere in Italy.

An international and inquisitive program

Equilibrio's artistic vision goes beyond ballet or traditional contemporary dance, exploring the boundaries between body, music, theater, and performance. Over the years, the Roman stages have hosted artists such as Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Trajal Harrell, Maud Le Pladec, Marcos Morau, Radouan Mriziga, Alessandro Sciarroni, Marco da Silva Ferreira, and Jesús Rubio Gamo. Alongside established masters, the festival consistently features the new Italian generation, serving as a production hub for co-productions and world premieres.

• Italian and European premieres of works showcased at major international festivals
• Live music on stage, a hallmark of recent editions
• Focus on new Italian dance, highlighting young authors and emerging companies
• Family-friendly shows with accessible evening schedules

Three theaters, three faces of Rome

What sets Equilibrio apart from other dance festivals is its urban geography. While the heart remains the Auditorium Parco della Musica, with the Sala Petrassi and Teatro Studio Borgna, the program extends to the Teatro Palladium in Garbatella—a historic space belonging to Roma Tre University—and the Teatro Biblioteca Quarticciolo, a cultural outpost in the eastern suburbs. This is a concrete way to take auteur dance out of the city center and build new audiences in diverse neighborhoods.

What to expect

First-time visitors to Equilibrio will find a demanding yet welcoming festival. The tone is pop, militant, and often ironic, with many performances built on strong, immediately readable concepts—rhythm, percussion, repetition, and the relationship between the dancer and the musician on stage. Artist talks and in-depth sessions round out the program, helping non-specialist audiences engage with the choreographic work.

Rome in February

Winter is arguably the best time to discover the capital without the peak-season crowds. The Auditorium is located in the Flaminio district, just minutes from the center and near the MAXXI, the national museum of 21st-century arts. Combining a day of sightseeing with an evening of dance is a natural choice for visitors. The complex, designed by Renzo Piano, houses bookshops, cafés, and restaurants, remaining vibrant even in the hours leading up to the shows.

A benchmark for the Lazio region

In the Lazio region, Equilibrio stands as the premier showcase for international contemporary dance and a reference point for local schools, academies, and companies. Its longevity—nearly two decades of editions—has made it a cultural asset for Rome, capable of engaging both the audiences of major theaters and those of local neighborhoods.