Folkå, Saaba

During the 32nd Bydgoszcz Opera Festival, one of the world’s most important contemporary dance companies - Nederlands Dans Theater 2 - will appear with two hypnotically compelling productions: Folkå by Marcos Morau, a creator with a distinctive, visionary movement language, and SAABA by Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar, presented in a version specially adapted for NDT 2.

Folkå is a dance ceremony of our times - a performance that delves deep into human memory to uncover ancient rituals, only to immerse them in the pulse of the contemporary world. Marcos Morau portrays a human being lost in the relentless pace of modern life, yet constantly searching for meaning, community, and a place capable of soothing inner unrest.

Inspired by folklore - understood as a collective narrative of life and death, of traditions and symbols passed down from generation to generation - the choreographer creates a work in which “a person emerging from a cave” and “a person stepping out of a 21st-century apartment” become one and the same protagonist: a being who constructs fictions in order to come to terms with finitude.

Folkå is a surge of pulsating energy, a night of rituals, a dance of both community and individual. It is a contemporary song of life, in which the dynamism of Nederlands Dans Theater 2 meets a poetics and spirituality deeply rooted in human history.

The appearance of Nederlands Dans Theater 2 at the Bydgoszcz Opera Festival will be an experience that unites the physicality of dance with metaphysical reflection on the nature of humanity.

In the 2025/2026 season, Nederlands Dans Theater 2 will present the hypnotic and exhilarating performance SAABA as part of the programme I Dreamt, it was. The work was first created in 2021 by Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar for the Gothenburg Opera Dance Company - and will now be seen in a version specially adapted for NDT 2.

“We are delighted to present this acclaimed work for the first time in a bold new NDT 2 interpretation. Radiating passion and sensitivity, the piece unfolds through hypnotic movement, evocative lighting, and the irresistible groove of composer Ori Lichtik. SAABA is yet another striking example of Eyal’s fearless choreographic voice, seamlessly transforming classical ballet and contemporary dance into something beyond imagination,” reads the official NDT website, which also announces the company’s spring 2026 tour in the Netherlands.

NDT 2’s new, original version of SAABA will also be presented on the stage of Opera Nova during the 32nd Bydgoszcz Opera Festival. This is an event not to be missed.

For two decades, choreographer Sharon Eyal and producer Gai Behar have formed one of the most innovative duos in contemporary dance, creating projects for leading companies such as Nederlands Dans Theater, Berlin State Ballet, and the Royal Swedish Ballet, among many others. The worlds they create on stage are singular - intoxicating and deeply immersive.