2025 – a year in review
17 December 2025Before jumping into 2026, we want to celebrate what we achieved together in 2025. Thank you to all the artists, partners, Springback writers, programmers and local audiences who made it possible. Thanks also to the EU for its continued support.
Spring Forward Festival
4 days
2 cities
5 venues
24 performances
1 moderated talk with artists
104 artists
11 writers
8 curators
5 podcasters
10 local artists
13 co-funders
243 professionals from 45 countries
400 spectators
Hosted by Artisti Associati, the 14th edition of Aerowaves’ festival took place from the 23rd to the 26th of April 2025. The Spring Forward Festival 2025 was part of the official programme of the European Capital of Culture 2025 Nova Gorica – Gorizia.
Dance across Europe
More than 163 performancesFrom Reykjavík to Limassol, from well-known international festivals and dance houses to rural curatorial projects, performance opportunities are offered by the platform’s partners and the Spring Forward Festival’s guests. Aerowaves’ emerging choreographers present their works across Europe and beyond in different cultural and social contexts, thus reaching a wide variety of audiences.
Startup Forum
8 curators
3 selected projects
Startup Forum is a programme for emerging dance presenters. A group up to 10 participants gather at the Spring Forward Festival addressing current programming issues. Awards are offered to three of them each year to plan and present projects involving Aerowaves artists.
Springback
1 redesigned website, giving visibility to the range of Springback activities
Academy
10 writers + 1 guest + 4 mentors
21 multi-author reviews
13 features
10 interviews
Magazine
59 articles and reviews by 31 writers
Assembly at Lyon Dance Biennale
23 participants
20 articles by 19 writers
Alliance
1 Writing workshop at Dance Festival Malta
4 texts of the Critical Distances series, co-published with Mobius theatre PR
Contributions to Aerowaves activities
On Record texts for Moving Balkans and Lyon Dance Biennale
Texts for Moving Borders and podcasts
Springback is a media-based project designed to connect and open up the dance culture that Aerowaves inhabits to audiences, readers, and spectators.
The Podcast Academy
5 podcasters
5 episodes
2 mentors
The Podcast Academy is Aerowaves’ new initiative designed to master a valuable tool for dance and performance promotion. Launched in 2025, the participants are mentored in the fundamentals of podcasting within the action-packed environment of the annual Spring Forward festival.
Artists Encounter
1 Encounter in Gorizia
10 local dance artists
2 mentors
Artists Encounter is a programme intended for artists and dance students alike, offering professional development, programming workshops and networking opportunities.
Are you a professional dance school interested in offering your students an international perspective and a window on the professional world? Learn more about this project and get in touch with us.
On Record
2 new albums
Browse the track list of this year’s albums:
Moving Balkans
Forum at the Lyon Dance Biennale
On Record is a growing collection of “albums” that registers themes, voices and reflections from dance festivals and platforms.
Are you a festival or a dance venue who wants to document your event? Get in touch with us…
Moving Borders - EU cooperation project
1 Publication + accessible versions
4 podcasts
9 dissemination events
3 online encounters
4 partners
3 associated artists
3 researchers
36 Ukrainian artists reached
Moving Borders explored how the female dance diaspora from Ukraine is informing the development of inclusive and cohesive dance practices across Europe. In 2025, we launched a publication of the project and shared the results of the research conducted over 2 years in Dublin, Prague, Arte Sella and Paris.
Moving Borders was a cooperation project co-funded by the European Union.
Annual Selection Meeting
52 partners and attendees
3 days
691 eligible video applications
Aerowaves partners and dance professionals gathered in Budapest from 19-22 October 2025 to select the next #Twenty26 Artists. Our partner Gergely Talló and the team at Workshop Foundation hosted our Annual Selection Meeting at their space.
Aerowaves' Podcasts
5 Spring Forecast episodes
8 On Record audios
4 Moving Borders podcasts
In May 2023 we launched our Podcast channel, in which we feature artists, their work, and what inspires them. We also discuss wider topics around art and life while demystifying the choreographic world. So far we have published 43 episodes!
Green Corner
In October 2025, we started the Webinar Series ‘Responsible Digital Practices in the Cultural Sector’. You can watch the video recording of the first session. Check our ongoing Green Actions.