Here is the lineup for the 2025 Cannes Dance Festival, now an annual event

"Talent is not a question of distance," says Didier Deschamps, artistic director of the Cannes Dance Festival, like a manifesto.

The program for the next season of the festival, held from November 22 to December 7, cheerfully plays with borders, weaving an artistic web ranging from Madrid flamenco to South African rhythms, passing through Dutch rigor and local virtuosity.

This new edition marks a major turning point in the history of the event, moving from a biennial to an annual event.

The festival will kick off on Saturday, November 22, at the Louis Lumière Auditorium of the Palais des Festivals in Cannes. The Spanish National Ballet, under the direction of Rubén Olmo, will perform Afanador, a piece choreographed and created by Marcos Morau.

"It's remarkable and astonishing in its power," describes the festival's artistic director. Created as a tribute to the Colombian photographer of the same name, Afanador brings together 40 performers on stage, mixing contemporary dance and flamenco.

"Marcos Morau has this talent for inventing images and worlds that are his own. He has an instantly recognizable signature from one piece to the next, yet each piece is completely different. This is the sign of great artists."

At the other end of the spectrum, the Junior Ballet of the Paris Opera, under the direction of José Martinez, will present, on Saturday, November 29, a classical program ranging from George Balanchine to Maurice Béjart, demonstrating the vitality and talent of the next generation of French choreographers.

Living laboratory of creation

"Dance is a form of resistance," asserts Didier Deschamps, recalling the political dimension of this art of movement. This year, the festival is a fertile ground for new creations that push the boundaries of the body and the imagination.

Among these new shoots, Enso , choreographed by Mickaël Le Mer: " He is a choreographer from the world of hip-hop, but he has an incredibly gentle style," describes Didier Deschamps.

The show, presented at the Théâtre Palais Stéphanie in the JW Marriott Hotel in Cannes on November 30, weaves a dance meditation around Ravel's Boléro , where the roundness of the circle becomes a choreographic motif.

On the international side, the iconoclast Robyn Orlin will bring her scathing touch with … How in salts desert is it possible to blossom… , on Saturday November 29 at the Grasse theater.

"It's a piece that's as musical, sung and visual as it is choreographic. By saying that, we almost define Robyn Orlin's work. She's a unique character in the creation of live shows where categories don't interest her, but where there's always this physical presence that transcends the stage and reaches out to us. She always deals with profound subjects with an apparent lightness," analyzes the artistic director of the festival, emphasizing how the South African choreographer transforms the stage into a mirror of contemporary tensions.

Passing on the sacred fire

"The more we expose young people to dance, the more we give individuals the chance to develop their creative abilities," argues Didier Deschamps, recalling that the future of the discipline also lies in the minds and bodies of the youngest.

On Saturday, December 6th at the Théâtre de la Licorne in Cannes, Marion Muzac will present Le petit B , a play aimed at a very young audience from one year old.

Local roots remain a priority for the event, with the Hervé Koubi company, the Ridz Company and the Eugénie Andrin Company: "There are five or six companies based in the region, and it's fabulous. There's a desire to be attentive to what's happening around us, but above all for me, the conviction that talent is not a question of distance. Both the very near and the very far conceal nuggets."

Cannes Dance Festival from November 22 to December 7, 2025. Information and reservations at festivaldedanse-cannes.com