September 8 is Short Theatre’s DRIFT DAY: a day in which the festival presents a programme dedicated to dance, featuring two performances (one by the Italian artist Maya Oliva and one by the international artist François Chaignaud), the public opening of a creative residency by Miranda Secondari (DRIFTY artist), Vincent Giampino‘s creative residency, a workshop led by the Giuseppe Comuniello e Camilla Guarino duo, and a round table — also organised by the duo — focused on accessibility in the field of dance.
DRIFT – Dance & Research In The Future Time is a four-year European cooperation project (2026-2029), co-funded by the Creative Europe program of the European Union, coordinated by the Théâtre de Liège (Belgium) and 9 partner organisations spanning Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, Norway, Portugal, Tunisia, and Ukraine and three international associate partners in Japan, Brazil, and Mozambique. Over four years, DRIFT will support 20 mid-career choreographers through a complete, integrated framework: funded research labs and residencies, international showcases, co-production support, and touring guarantees. Not a prize. Not a competition. A sustained, collective journey.
DRIFT’s core conviction is simple: the process is as important as the finished work. Research deserves dedicated funding. Doubt, experimentation, and iteration are legitimate artistic work and should be recognised and compensated as such. Each choreographer receives dedicated support for their research phase and showcase, including an overall budget covering associated costs, as well as access to studios, mentors, and peer exchange across the network. The aim is not to deliver a finished piece on a deadline, but to explore, question, and take risks without pressure. At international showcases, artists present works in progress, inviting audiences and programmers into the creative process rather than only its final result.
DRIFT is not a centralised institution but a living network of festivals and cultural organisations that open their studios, audiences, and expertise. Partner venues host residencies, and partner festivals organise DRIFT Days : public events that bring local communities into contact with the creative process, and gradually become active laboratories rather than passive showcases. This model distributes both resources and responsibility. Each partner contributes to the whole, and the knowledge produced—methodologies, tools, and practices—is documented and shared as open-source materials designed to outlast the project itself.
DRIFT is also built with its environmental and social responsibilities in mind. Mobility is reasoned and clustered by geography. Digital labs reduce unnecessary travel. Diversity and gender parity are embedded in selection criteria. Support for artists from Ukraine reflects a specific commitment to solidarity in difficult times. These aren’t add-ons. They’re structural choices that shape how the project moves, who it includes, and what kind of model it leaves behind. 2026–2029: the time of DRIFT.
The programme of Short Theatre’s DRIFT DAY:
September 8
Miranda Secondari
Residency
Spazio Rossellini / ATCL Circuito Multidisciplinare del Lazio
residency
September 8
Vincent Giampino
Residency
Teatro India – Sala C
residency
September 8 | 11:00 am
Giuseppe Comuniello and Camilla Guarino
CLASSE
Teatro India – Sala B
seminar meeting closed to the CLASSE group
September 8 | 3:00–4:30 pm
Giuseppe Comuniello and Camilla Guarino
Meeting on accessibility in the live performing arts
Teatro India – Sala Oceano
round table on practices, knowledge and tools for artists, companies and professionals
September 8 | 7:00 pm
Maya Oliva
In perpetual blooming, despite the gods
La Pelanda – Studio
performance – dance
September 8 | 10:00 pm
Aymeric Hainaux & François Chaignaud
Mirlitons
La Pelanda – Teatro 2
performance
DRIFT DAY is realised with the support of DRIFT
DRIFT is co-funded by the European Union
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
ph. Romain Tissot