TEATRI
RIFLESSI 2026
legacy
Fostering Contemporary Performing Arts
legacy
ETNA, SICILY
THE PROGRAMMES
Teatri Riflessi brings the international contemporary scene to Mount Etna, turning it into a place of dialogue and exchange between a large audience and the performing arts.
Its actions include: contemporary dance and theatre performances in public and non-conventional spaces, artist residencies, and an international competition for 15-minute performances. Since its first edition in 2009, Teatri Riflessi has sought to reach a wide and diverse audience, helping to spread contemporary languages and to break down the sometimes intimidating sense of institutional formality associated with traditional theatre spaces.
16, 17, 18, 19 July
THE COMPETITION
Now in its eleventh edition, the International Short Performance Competition brings companies from all over the world to Zafferana Etnea, fostering dialogue with audiences, cultural professionals, journalists, and critics from both Italy and abroad.
Alongside the performances: artist and public talks, works in unconventional spaces, workshops, and audience engagement activities.
legacy
What remains of us?
What traces do we leave behind — in time, in bodies, in minds, in places?
Legacy is what we pass on, whether consciously or not. It is imprint, memory, vision. It is the gesture that repeats and transforms, the word that takes root and becomes seed, the choice that shapes a collective destiny.
With this theme, we wish to reflect on what we entrust to future generations: our creativity, the artistic languages that shape sensibilities; our actions, which affect the environment and the landscapes we inhabit; our policies, which structure justice, equity, freedom and culture.
Legacy is also ecology: a deep relationship with the Earth, with the shared home we inhabit. It is respect for natural cycles, for territories, and for every form of life. It is care — for ourselves and for others — an awareness of our impact, of our daily choices, and of the invisible bonds that connect us.
Looking inward becomes a political and poetic act: only by questioning our own responsibility can we act authentically, aiming towards a future of social and cultural inclusion, where differences are embraced as richness and fragility is seen as a resource.
Now more than ever, legacy is not a static concept, but a space of active responsibility. It is a chance for change — or a cycle of unconscious repetition. It is care — or abandonment.
What do we choose to pass on?
What cultural heritage, what forms of relationship, what visions of the world will we leave as a gift — or a burden — to those who follow?
Teatri Riflessi 2026 invites to explore legacy as a living space for dialogue: a mirror in which to look at the past, present and future with both critical and poetic eyes.
8-21 luglio
IL PROGRAMMA
Il festival si articola in un Concorso Internazionale di Corti Performativi alla 10a edizione, rassegne di danza contemporanea internazionale (Paesaggi Contemporanei) e emergente (Prime Luci sull’Etna), residenze artistiche (Innesti), opere di videodanza (Visioni Contemporanee), conversazioni e incontri letterari (TestiRiflessi) anche per i più piccoli (TestiRiflessi per giovani sguardi), percorsi di avvicinamento del pubblico (Comizi e Giuria Giovani) e attività aperte alla comunità e per la valorizzazione del territorio.
CALENDAR
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Illustrazioni di
Special thanks to the Intesa Sanpaolo Fund for Charitable, Social, and Cultural Activities for supporting this project.
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