SoloDuo Festival nrw + friends

Open Call 18. SoloDuo Festival nrw + friends

International Dance Festival Cologne    

May, 29th to 31st, 2026

 

For the 18th time Barnes Crossing – open space for dance | Performance | Art in Cologne organizes the annual SoloDuo Festival nrw + friends.

The festival supports internationally networked work and at the same time promotes professional exchange among the participating dance artists*.

In 2026, the KunstSalon Stiftung / Cologne will again kindly donate the prize money.

Thus, an independent international jury will award five prizes in the categories awarded Solo, awarded Duo, awarded Solo Newcomer, awarded Duo Newcomer und awarded Performer.

 

In cooperation with the dance residency at Quartier am Hafen, the winners will receive a three-week residency, including accommodation for up to two people. The KunstSalon Foundation awards the prize money directly to the winners to cover the costs of the residency, in particular travelling expenses.

 

CALL FOR APPLICATION

• We are looking for solo choreographies with a maximum length of 6 minutes and duo choreographies with a maximum length of 9 minutes
• There is no age limit
• There is no minimum length of the pieces
• Both renowned choreographers and newcomers to the independent dance scene are invited to participate in this international competition
• Mixed abled productions are very welcome
• A jury of the artistic directors and the independent dancer Diana Treder will invite a maximum of 22 productions to take part in the festival program, according to their preliminary intentions

 

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Thursday, January 15th, 2026

 

FRAMEWORK

• The festival covers accommodation in single and two-bed rooms, breakfast (in the festival accommodation or per diems) and one hot meal per day in the festival venue as well as travel expenses (see application form for details)
• The festival will offer each performance a 30-minute light rehearsal incl. general rehearsal, supervised by our festival lighting technician (basic light atmospheres + 1 special per production are available)
• The festival offers a professional photo and video documentation of the full-length performances to all participants for free
• The festival invites to participate free of charge in all workshops of the supporting program
• The festival especially invites to the dialogue session with the members of the international jury to discuss together the seen works (see application form for schedule)

 

REGISTRATION

Registration including the following document only by e-mail at soloduo@barnescrossing.de

 

The following documents are required:

• Completed and signed application form (in English)
• Video footage of the solo or duo piece applied for (links to vimeo or youtube, no downloads)
• A studio recording of work in progress is also possible
• 1 free press photo (with photo credits) of at least 2 MB
• The application form can be downloaded from the website