The British Council is a proud partner of the DanceAble Symposium. The 6th edition of the biennial at Holland Dance Festival will be held on Thursday 10 February in The Hague. Join us for a day full of connection, exchange and co-creation.
The symposium has become a fixture in the cultural landscape, both nationally and internationally, attracting an increasing number of visitors and professionals from home and abroad. This edition, designed by Kimberley Harvey (UK) and Irene van Zeeland (NL), will take place in the beautiful Amare, whose inspiring surroundings provide the ideal setting for encounters and inspiration.
This year's programme will be moderated by Humberto Tan and brings together international, intergenerational and interdisciplinary voices to explore how we can shape an inclusive future for dance.
In recent years, dancers with disabilities have become more visible in the mainstream dance sector. But does this also mean real inclusion? Can the mainstream become a place where difference is celebrated and valued artistically? How do we create conditions for equality, systemic change and artistic research that focus on the richness of diverse bodies, minds and perspectives.
DanceAble Symposium 2026 focuses on Inclusive by Design: a vision that goes beyond thinking in terms of target groups. The symposium outlines a field in which inclusivity is embedded in the fabric of dance from the outset. Through conversations, encounters and performances, artists, researchers and programmers from around the world share their practice, challenge systems and inspire us to look ahead together. Expect a day rich in dialogue and imagination, in which we dare to go beyond labels such as “inclusive dance” or “dance & disability” and ask bigger questions: what could inclusive dance become? And how can we work together to build a sector that not only welcomes diversity, but actually flourishes because of it?
Holland Dance Festival is one of eleven partners in Europe Beyond Access, the world's largest transnational project supporting dancers with disabilities and deaf artists in breaking through the glass ceilings of dance and theatre. The project helps artists develop their artistic practice internationally and breaks through the geographical and artistic isolation they often experience. It commissions new dance and theatre works, presents dozens of productions, and develops tools and knowledge that help the entire performing arts sector break down barriers.
Come to DanceAble Symposium 2026 and join us in thinking about the future of the field—together. Get your tickets.
In the evening there is the possibility to watch Starting with the Limbs by Annie Hanauer (UK) & L’Autre Maison (FR). Get your tickets