Author: Dag Rosenqvist

Today we finally open the registration for the 2026 Step professional’s program. Welcome to three days filled with dance, talks and encounters! The professional’s program takes place Wednesday to Friday, March 4–6 in Vara, Mölnlycke and Gothenburg. We believe and hope that these days will bring about new thoughts and ideas.

Click here to get to the registration!

The professional’s program in its entirety is a bit too big to present here, but below are some of the things that we will present.

The Nordic map
Thursday March 5 we will present the structures for producing and presenting dance for young audiences in the Nordic countries. Here we have invited Gabrielle Haga from Scenekunstbruket in Norway, Pernille Møller Taasinge from Aaben Dans in Denmark, Taneli Törmä from Tanssiteatteri Minimi in Finland, Tinna Grétarsdóttir from Reykjavík Arts Festival in Iceland and ASSITEJ Sweden. The idea is to gain a common understanding on what it looks like in each respective country, followed by a shared discussion on how we can work for more collaborations and touring possibilities in the Nordic countries.

En dans för ett ord
In collaboration with Regionteater Väst, we have the great pleasure of presenting the performance En dans för ett ord as part of the day at Mölnlycke kulturhus on Thursday March 5. En dans för ett ord is an improvised and interactiove dance performance that starts from a word given from an audience member to the dancers. One dancer lets the word transform into gestures, movement and dance, the other chooses music and sound. The performance is free of charge, but you have to register for the professional’s program to attend.

Step Extended
As part of our initiative Step Extended, which aims at showcasing the local and regional dance community, we have invited dance artists Maja Fock and Anna Hallqvist as well as the company Värmdans to present their respective artistry at Folkteatern in Gothenburg on Friday March 6. We will also present a talk with Gothenburg based dancer and choreographer Tanja Andersson and clown and actor Stefan Ostojić about touring with bicycles with social circus. This presentation will be held at Vara Konserthus, Wednesday March 4.

Theme Scotland
It wasn’t really planned for, but we find ourselves having a bit of a Scottish theme during Step 2026. As we wrote previously, we have invited Scottish choreographer and dancer Hayley Earlam to give a workshop on creating dance performances for children with complex needs. And to continue with the Scottish theme, we have also invited Shetland based choreographer and dancer Kathryn Gordon to visit Step 2026 as part of our international delegate program. We met Kathryn when she presented her amazing performance A Journey of Flight during the Edinburgh Fringe in August 2025. Both Hayley’s and Kathryn’s participation has been made possible through funding from British Council. In addition to this we are very happy to also be able to invite representatives from Imaginate, and for those of you who doesn’t know it, choreographer and dancer Vince Virr, who has created and performs Pop! is also from Scotland.

The professional’s program is an opportunity to let yourself get inspired, experience performances, take part in talks and presentations and meet others who work with dance for young audiences, in Sweden and internationally. The 2026 professional’s program takes place at Vara Konserthus, at Mölnlycke kulturhus and at Folkteatern in Gothenburg. The program is free of charge, but you have to register.

Click here to register!

We are now releasing the professional’s program for Step 2026! The professional’s program takes place Wednesday to Friday, March 4–6 at Vara Konserthus, Mölnlycke kulturhus, Folkteatern in Gothenburg, with the option of seeing additional performances in Mölndal and in Gothenburg.

It will be three days filled with artist presentations, international guests and participants, mingling, performances, workshops, talks, travels and encounters. As always, the program is almost entirely free of charge and is for anyone working with or for dance, performing arts or culture for young audiences in general. Read more about the professional’s program 2026 here. Please note that registration opens on January 15, and that some items in the program have strictly limited capacity. Read more about the 2026 professional’s program here!

The time has also finally come to release the final two performances for Step 2026! From Malmö, we welcome Memory Wax and the performance Papperssvalan, that is about vulnerability and rustling paper. From Gothenburg we welcome dancer and choreographer Tanja Andersson with the performance Tillie the Terrible that she has created together with the clown Stefan Ostojić. A warm, non-verbal and funny family performance about biking freely.

We also have the great pleasure of inviting Glasgow based dancer and choreographer Hayley Earlam who creates inclusive performing arts for children with complex needs and who is also working with choreographer Marc Brew. Hayley will present the process with her own performance Brrr, and will also host the workshop Sensing Movement: Creating Sensory Performance giving an insight into the creation of the performance. We met Hayley when we were in Edinburgh earlier this Autum as part of the Nordic Momentum 2025 delegation, and we are very happy to now be able to invite her to Step 2026.

As if all of this isn’t enough, we have now also started releasing the program with dates and locations. There are still some things remaining, among other things additional performances and ticket links, that will be added to the website on the other side of Christmas!

The time has come to release an additional two performance for next year’s edition of Step! And by chance, both of these are Norwegian. Two very different performances when it comes to aesthetics, but with the same core of everybody’s right to be who they are and who they want to be. An important message in a world like this.

Rock me Baby could best be described as a glam rock dance theatre concert that playfully challenges gender norms. One half rock concert inspired by the rock aesthetics of the 70s and 80s, and one half explosive dance performance. It’s glam and glitter and a musical celebration about being who you want to be. It’s also very funny, even if you happen to be a grown up.

In choreographer and dancer Tony Tran’s new performance Love Tenderly we meet a completely different expression as he tackles the question – can we inherit trauma over generations? The performance is a voyage of discovery through his family history from his fathers’ experiences of prison camp and refugee life to his own upbringing as a homosexual boy in Norway, in a catholic family hailing from Vietnam. And gradually, a universal story about emancipation emerges. The performance is presented in collaboration between Teater Halland and Rum för Dans.

Hello Hanko Zell, project manager for Step – international dance festival for young audiences, which is being held in West Sweden for the fourth time in March 2026.

What will happen during the next festival?
– A lot! There will be origami and circus-inspired performances, a cycling theme and outdoor dance. We’ll also have a pop-up performance in a shopping mall and a glam rock dance concert for babies. Hopefully, there’s something for everyone.

Why does Step exist?
– We saw a need — both to let dance meet the children, and to let practitioners within the field meet each other. But the question is bigger, perhaps rather why do we need culture? Because it’s the magic — the thing that brings color to life. The chance to experience something without any demands attached.

Why does the festival take place in so many locations? Isn’t Gothenburg enough?
– No, absolutely not! Culture shouldn’t be concentrated to big cities. Culture should exist where there are children. It’s a matter of democracy.

Do children need their own dance festival?
– Most certainly. We focus on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, especially since it’s now a law in Sweden. It clearly states that all children should have access to culture and the opportunity to express themselves. By offering many performances for preschools and school classes, it also becomes more equitable. Culture for everyone — not just for those who grow up with it at home.

What are you most looking forward to?
– All the encounters that bring a sparkle to the eyes, in both children and adults. And the opening ceremony — it’s going to be something special! I encourage everyone who can to come to Vara Konserthus on March 4.

The time has finally come to announce some of the performances that together will make up the next edition of Step that takes place in West Sweden om March 4-12 2026!

Bare Rør by Norwegian Panta Rei Danseteater is a humorous and ingenious outdoors performance where the pipes that the dancers are building with suddenly comes to life. DANCING WITH THE DEAD by Malmö based Bobbi Lo Produktion is a both vibrant and explosive performance, exploring themes like grief and death. Fritt fram by Norwegian KompaniTO is an acrobatic performance about the simple and the hard about playing together. Dancers Vince Virr and KJ Clarke-Davis from Scotland invites us to the high-energy and colorful pop-up performance Pop!, playfully dealing with the awkwardness of adolescence and thoughts on who you are and who you are allowed to be.

As always, it’s a mixed bag of performances both in terms of artistic expression and themes. And we are very proud and happy to present them as part of Step 2026!

Photo: Pop!/Ruth Armstrong

Danscentrum Väst, Producentbyrån and Mölnlycke kulturhus launches a brand new summer residency focusing on young audiences.

The residency takes place at Mölnlycke kulturhus during weeks 26-28, and gives you access to Lilla salen, which is an octagonal black box with a floor surface of at least 7×7 meters. There is some simple lighting and the possibility of playing music as well as a projector and screen. During the residency, you will also get the chance of a public showing or hosting an open workshop at the culture house, with support from the cultural coordinator. As part of the residency, you will also get some time with an artistic coach, and in addition to this you will get two free of charge counseling hours with Producentbyrån!

The residency is for anyone working as an independent dance artist, and you can apply as an individual choreographer, or as a group. As part of the residency, you will also get the opportunity to be a part of the 2026 Step festival, presenting your work from the residency. This could be in the form of a talk, process showing or something else that you mutually agree with Producentbyrån who run Step.

Application closes on Sunday May 18, and you apply by filling out this Google form. Please attach your CV and a short description of what you want to explore during your residency, maximum half a page long. When applying please be aware that you are expected to participate during the Step professional’s program March 4–6 2026.

Read more here!

The next edition of Step takes place from March 4–11 2026. We now have the great pleasure of announcing our three Artistic Curators that will make the selection for the upcoming edition of the festival!

Gabrielle Haga
Gabrielle Haga has since 2016 worked as a Senior Advisor at Scenekunstbruket, a national organization dedicated to providing professional performing arts for children and youth in Norway. Scenekunstbruket organizes the annual Showbox festival, Norway’s largest performing arts festival for young audiences. Gabrielle works with artistic development, cultural policy, and international projects aimed at strengthening the performing arts sector in Norway and abroad.

Annika Ostwald
Annika is Head of Operations and Artistic Director of Rum för Dans in Region Halland and has previously worked internationally as Project Manager and Dance Producer, for instance many years in Norway with Alan Lucien Øyen and his company winter guests. Since 2018, she is based in Sweden, also working as a Mentor, Senior Advisor and Producer, among other things with productions for young audiences.

Fiona Ferguson
This will be the third time around for Fiona who also worked as Curator for the 2022 and 2024 editions of the festival. Fiona works as Creative Development Director for Edinburgh International Children’s Festival, where her role includes initiating and leading projects and international initiatives.

In short, three amazing people that we know will make a selection that is inviting, inclusive, varied, surprising and challenging!

The selection will be presented to our regional partners at the end of January 2025, with a final and complete selection ready by the last of April. There are a lot of things that needs to fall into place until then, but it feels great to be at it again!

It may sound complacent, but this year’s edition of Step can’t be described as anything but a success in every way possible! All in all, 39 events at ten venues and locations in five municipalities in Regions Västra Götaland and Halland were presented. Children, youth, adults, and elderly from the municipalities Borås, Göteborg, Härryda, Kungsbacka and Lerum got the opportunity to experience performances from The United Kingdom, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden.

The selection for Step 2024 was done by our curators Fiona Ferguson – creative development director at Edinburgh International Children’s Festival, Adjjima Na Patalung – Festival Director of BICT Fest in Bangkok and Peter Sunesson – Producer at Helsingborgs stadsteater in Helsingborg. The staff at Producentbyrån were responsible for bringing in local, regional, and national performances and events to the program.

Our international professionals program gathered over 60 people from The United Kingdom, Thailand, Norway and Sweden. During three days – March 6-8 – industry professionals gathered at Kungsbacka Teater, House of Possibilitas and Folkteatern to network, mingle and listen to talks about collaboration between the independent dance sector and the institutions, the connection between performing arts and schools, work with international networks and festivals, artistic processes and much more. As part of Step Extended, we also presented five West Swedish dance artists and companies for the participating industry professionals.

New for Step 2024 was the collaboration with Rum för Dans and Kungsbacka Teater where we kicked of the professionals program and the entire festival on March 6. In addition to speeches by Step’s project manager Hanko Zell and Hanna Schölander, chair of Driftnämnden Kultur och skola in Region Halland, the grand opening also featured a dance performance by students from the Angered culture school.

We would like to thank the participating companies, our partners, presenters, and funders for believing in what we do and for doing this together with us. And finally – a massive thanks to everyone who attended the performances and talks during Step 2024!

Now the time has also come to present the professionals’ program for Step 2024 that takes place in Kungsbacka and Gothenburg on March 6–8.

The first day of the professionals’ program – Wednesday March 6 – takes place at Kungsbacka Teater in collaboration with Rum för Dans and Kungsbacka Teater. There will be talks with Rum för Dans, Kungsbacka Teater, Bobbi Lo Production and Sara Lindström Lindhe and Helena Lambert and the performances Träda Trassla Tråda… by Lambert & Lindström and UNTZ BABY UNTZ by MYKA. Here we’re also hosting the official grand opening of Step 2024 in the foyer of Kungsbacka Teater. There will be toasts, speeches and dancing! Thursday March 7 we will spend at House of Possibilitas in Gothenburg. We will present the performances Stor prick, liten prick by Memory Wax and Svansen by Danskompaniet Spinn. As part of Step Extended we have invited the dance artists and companies Minna Elif Wendin, Anna-Greta Himmer, PAx, Kompani Catapult and Cecee Rowland-Huss to present their artistry. There will also be a presntation by ASSITEJ Sweden on the connection between performing arts and schools. In the evening we’re heading into town to see the performance Stuntman at Folkteatern. On Friday March 8 we return to Folkteatern. Once again we have a presentation by ASSITEJ Sweden on work opportunities, festivals, networks and how Swedish groups can tour abroad. There will be presentations of Step’s Dance Club and Swedish Inheritance Fund project Community Art Lab Sweden, which is a digital stage for young artistry. We end the Friday with a relaxed mingle at FOLK!

All talks during the professional’s program are moderated by Sandra Grehn. The professionals’ program is free of charge, apart from the performance of UNTZ BABY UNTZ at 17:00 on March 6 and the performance of Stuntman at Folkteatern at 18:30 on March 7. Please note though that you have to register to attend the professionals’ program. Registration for the 2024 professionals’ program can be found here.

The professionals’ program in its entirety can be found here!

The time has finally come to present the performances that make up Step 2024! This year we have the great joy of presenting a total of seven performances from Belgium, Scotland, Denmark and Sweden. There are performances about masculinity norms and entertainment violence, infant techno and balancing acts that challenges the boundaries. There are also performances inspired by classical children’s games, that contemplate the big picture in the small things, that takes us on a journey into space and that more resembles a dance installation.

All in all, we are presenting seven performances for all ages between Wednesday to Saturday March 6-9. There is the Scottish mini performance Peekaboo Poncho. Inspired by the game of peekaboo and hide and seek, it is a fun, immersive, dance piece for babies and toddlers. Shall we together by Belgian company tout petit, a performance in which two dancers challenge each other to push boundaries. Malmö based Memory Wax’ new performance Stor prick, liten prick is a performance about the small things in the big picture and the big picture in the small things. Yet another performance from Scotland comes in the form of Stuntman, which is an intensely physical, funny, and tender duet by two men wrestling with their relationship to violence – both onscreen and off. Danskompaniet Spinn’s latest performance Svansen is about friendship and curiosity, but also about consideration and how we together take care of that which surrounds us. Träda Trassla Tråda… by choreographers Lambert & Lindström is an interactive performance in the borderlands between dance and art installation welcoming audiences of all kinds. Last but not least, Danish company MYKa’s UNTZ BABY UNTZ which is an interactive dance performance where bass and techno meets children’s parties.

In other words, and just as it should be, the festival program is a sprawling and altogether wonderful palette of performances for anyone interested in dance!

Read more about the Step performances here.