Sirene — Performing Arts Festival

A festival spread across the stones of Bisceglie

Sirene — Performing Arts Festival is the summer event for contemporary dance and performing arts that enlivens the historic center of Bisceglie, on the Adriatic coast of the Barletta-Andria-Trani province in Apulia, every July. The concept is simple yet powerful: to take dance out of the theaters and return it to the city, creating a dialogue between the performers' bodies and the stones, the sea, and the historic spaces of the old town. For a few days, Bisceglie becomes a permanent stage, as noted by the municipal administration, which has defined Sirene as a staple of the city's cultural programming.

Site-specific contemporary dance and performing arts

The festival is built around the dramaturgy of its locations: each show is designed in close relationship with the space that hosts it. The performances are largely site-specific and itinerant, spanning contemporary dance, dance-theater, and the hybrid languages of the latest performing arts scene. The program alternates national previews, regional premieres, and new creations, giving space to emerging companies and choreographers alongside established names of the Italian scene.

Sonenalé and the artistic direction of Agostino Riola

Sirene is a project by the Sonenalé company, under the artistic direction of Agostino Riola, realized with the support of the Municipality of Bisceglie and in collaboration with Puglia Culture, the regional live performance circuit. The curation of the artistic project is accompanied by constant work in the territory, with workshops and residencies involving citizens and young Apulian dancers.

The performance venues

The strength of Sirene lies in the choice of its spaces. Over the years, the shows have inhabited some of the most evocative places in the historic center and the coastline of Bisceglie:

• the Torrione Sant'Angelo, an ancient defensive tower overlooking the sea;
• the Cloister of Santa Croce;
• Palazzo Tupputi, in the heart of the old town;
• the Ripalta coastal path;
• the Teatro Mediterraneo and the Spazio Sonenalé.

Community, workshops, and international outreach

Alongside the evening shows, Sirene dedicates ample space to community engagement projects: free workshops, meetings with artists, and participatory paths aimed at the citizenry. With the 2025 edition, the festival also inaugurated its first international opening, expanding its gaze beyond regional borders and confirming Bisceglie as a benchmark for contemporary dance in Apulia.