TEATRI
RIFLESSI 2026

constellations

Fostering Contemporary Performing Arts

constellations

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.

15, 16, 18 July
THE COMPETITION

Now in its twelfth 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.

constellations

No star exists alone. Even when observed as a single point in the night sky, every star belongs to a system of relationships that precedes it, accompanies it, and links it to everything around it. Constellations arise from this very process: recognising connections, mapping bonds, and understanding oneself as part of a larger whole.

For Teatri Riflessi, constellations is an invitation to reflect on how we inhabit the world and the relationships we choose to build with the people we meet, the communities we belong to, the landscapes we traverse, the histories we inherit, and the stories we contribute to writing every day.

While conTact (2025) examined the quality of human connection and listening, and legacy (2026) addressed our responsibility towards the past and the future, Constellations brings these reflections together and pushes them further. It invites us to view ourselves as part of a complex ecosystem built on interconnectedness, mutual reliance, and shared responsibility.

In a time that often encourages division, isolation, and individualism, we feel the urge to reaffirm the value of human connection as a daily practice and a political choice. No transformation can happen alone. Every change stems from encounter, listening, and the ability to acknowledge the presence of others and their connection to our own lives. Performing arts have the power to make these invisible links tangible. They remind us that every gesture carries consequences, every presence alters the space it inhabits, and every community is a fragile construction requiring care, attention, and responsibility.

Constellations is an invitation to observe the present with awareness and imagine the future with creativity; to recognise the lines that already connect us and trace new ones; and to feel part of a shared, plural, and imperfect humanity that continues to seek possible forms of coexistence, justice, and hope.

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.

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Teatri Riflessi

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Special thanks to the Intesa Sanpaolo Fund for Charitable, Social, and Cultural Activities for supporting this project.

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