Salerno Dance Festival (Sala Consilina stage)

The Salerno Dance Festival stops in Sala Consilina

The Salerno Dance Festival is one of the most well-established contemporary dance festivals in Southern Italy. Born and raised in the province of Salerno, it is organized by the CDTM - Circuito Danza Teatro e Musica, and is supported by the Ministry of Culture and the Campania Region. In 2026, the festival expanded its itinerary to the Vallo di Diano, choosing Sala Consilina as a new stop on its journey.

For the municipality of Sala Consilina, in the province of Salerno, this is a significant milestone: two evenings bring companies to the Campanian hinterland that typically tour the theaters and festivals of Central and Northern Italy, showcasing a language—that of contemporary auteur dance—still rarely seen in inland villages. Campania thus confirms itself as one of the regions where contemporary dance moves out of major urban centers to reach new audiences.

Two evenings, two different venues

The Sala Consilina stage is divided between two distinct indoor spaces, which the festival uses in a complementary way:

• Mario Scarpetta Theatre: the town's theater, which hosts the opening night of the stage with a production of strong dramaturgical impact.
• Auditorium of the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie: a more intimate space, suitable for research-based works and the short creations that make up the second evening.

Both events begin at 9:30 PM, the standard time for all festival stops.

The 2026 program in Sala Consilina

• Saturday, July 11, 2026, at 9:30 PM - Mario Scarpetta Theatre: the Compagnia Abbondanza/Bertoni, one of the most authoritative ensembles on the Italian scene, presents Femina, choreographed by Antonella Bertoni, a finalist for the 2023 Ubu Prize in the dance category. Four performers explore identity, roles, and representation, delivering a plural, mutable, and never-definitive femininity, supported by rigorous rhythmic writing.
• Tuesday, July 21, 2026, at 9:30 PM - Auditorium of the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie: a double feature with Se Domani by TIR Danza, a creation by Elisa Sbaragli recognized at the 2025 Danza&Danza Awards, and Land_Scape_Osmosi by the collective SicilyMade/In Arte, choreographed by Simona Miraglia and dedicated to the relationship between body and landscape.

De Rerum Natura, the common thread

The 2026 edition is titled De Rerum Natura, taken from the poem by Titus Lucretius Carus, and continues the path started the previous year. At its core is the relationship between body, nature, and the memory of places: the choice of sites—archaeological museums, historic squares, olive groves, monumental complexes—is never neutral, but becomes part of the performance's dramaturgy. The project is also linked to the L'Oltre initiative, developed with the Regional Directorate of National Museums of Campania.

A widespread festival in the province of Salerno

From June 21 to July 26, 2026, the festival crosses six stages: the National Archaeological Museum of Pontecagnano, Piazza Andrea Maio in Gioi Cilento, the Olive Garden of Ascea, the two spaces in Sala Consilina, the Kamaraton Theatre in Camerota, and the Certosa di San Lorenzo in Padula, where the program concludes. Over twenty Italian and European companies—with participants from France, Spain, Switzerland, and Albania—alternate between national premieres, previews, and already award-winning works.

Sala Consilina, gateway to the Vallo di Diano

Sala Consilina is one of the main centers of the Vallo di Diano, a few kilometers from the Certosa di San Lorenzo in Padula, a UNESCO World Heritage site and home to the festival's closing night. The old village, spread out on the slope, and the modern part on the plain coexist in an agricultural landscape that is itself one of the themes of the festival. Those following more than one evening can easily combine the Sala Consilina stage with the one in Padula and a visit to the archaeological area of Velia on the Cilento coast.

Artistic direction and organization

The artistic direction is entrusted to Luigi Aruta, leading the festival for the 2025-2027 triennium after a period of working alongside the founder Mario Crasto De Stefano. The organization is by CDTM, with the recognition of the Ministry of Culture and the support of the Campania Region.