Springback
Springback Alliance: expanding critical voices across continents in 2026
Read | 20 August 2026In 2026, Springback Alliance travelled through festivals, conferences and writing platforms across Europe and Asia, nurturing dialogue and strengthening its community of dance writers. From Brussels to Kolkata, each encounter opened new spaces for reflection, exchange and shared critical practice.
Featured image © Elisa von Brockdorff for Dance Festival Malta
The Springback universe encompasses four interconnected initiatives that support the development of dance writing in different ways.
You surely know about Springback Academy, the mentored programme for emerging writers at Aerowaves’ Spring Forward festival; and about Springback Magazine, authored by writers who have completed the Academy and continue to contribute.
Alongside these well‑established strands, two formats broaden Springback’s reach: Springback Assembly, a gathering hosted in collaboration with a dance festival or season, where writers meet artists, attend performances, exchange perspectives and write about it; and Springback Alliance, supporting peer‑to‑peer collaborations within the Springback community and with external partners, generating writing projects, workshops and critical initiatives throughout the year.
In the first half of 2026, Springback Alliance carried out a rich programme of international activities, contributing to festivals, conferences and collaborative writing initiatives across Europe and beyond.
The year opened in Brussels on 9–10 April with La Salve, a partnership with La Bellone and Batârd Festival, where Springbackers Yasen Vasilev, Marta Buggio and Zee Hartmann, with mentors Oonagh Duckworth and Sanjoy Roy, took part in a collective writing project exploring approaches “beyond criticism”.
Find out more on: salve.bellone.be/homepage.html
On 18–19 June, Springback mentor Sanjoy Roy and Springbacker Marie Pons contributed to Inventer de futurs avec la critique en danse(Inventing futures through dance criticism) in Lille, joining a round table on dance criticism within a conference organised by Les Démêlées.
And from 25–28 June, Springback returned to Montpellier Danse, with mentors Oonagh Duckworth and Sanjoy Roy, and Springbackers Dom Czapski, Gaia Clotilde Chernetich, Marie Pons, Callysta Croizer engaging with the festival’s programme including Aerowaves artists.
Find out more here.
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Later in June, Springback participated in CPH Stage in Copenhagen (27–29 June), with mentors Oonagh Duckworth, Sanjoy Roy, and Springbackers Ingeborg Zackariassen, Yasen Vasilev and Evgeny Borisenko attending.
Immediately afterwards, the team travelled to Göteborg for West Coast Stage (30 June–2 July), part of the DOKS EU project, involving Oonagh Duckworth, Sanjoy Roy and Ingeborg Zackariassen.
In July, Springback inspired the Writers’ Critic Platform at Dance Festival Malta (22–25 July) organised by Francesca Tranter. The initiative brought together a group of emerging writers to question perspectives, detect details and share skills — echoing the spirit of the ongoing Aerowaves programme Springback Academy.
In August, Springback’s international reach extends to India with Dance Bridges in Kolkata (19–25 August), for which Springbacker Dom Czapski and mentor Sanjoy Roy will lead digital writing workshops alongside the festival.
The season will continue in September with the Assembly in Warsaw, in collaboration with The Dance Pavilion Warsaw, further strengthening Springback’s commitment to critical dialogue, exchange and professional development across borders.
