Salavisa European Dance Award

The Salavisa European Dance Award (SEDA) aims to pay tribute to Jorge Salavisa, artistic director of Ballet Gulbenkian between 1977 and 1996, and to recognize talented dancers from all around the world.

Created in 2023 by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation to honour the legacy of the Portuguese dancer, teacher and artistic director Jorge Salavisa (1939–2020), the Salavisa European Dance Award (SEDA) will be attributed to choreographers in contemporary dance, or in any art movement related to dance, including all possible new dance practices and inclusion initiatives.

This award, which provides a sum of €150,000 in prize money, hopes to establish itself as an incentive for artists with artistic maturity who do not fall within a strict age category and are still little known on the European circuit due to their artistic discourse or their social and cultural background. As part of the award, the laureate will also have the opportunity to showcase their work on the stages of cultural institutions within the partners’ network.

Since its creation in 1956, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation has played a central role in the development of culture and the arts in Portugal.

The Ballet Gulbenkian (1965–2005), a repertory company which staged the classics of modern and contemporary dance, was decisive in the development of this art form. The ACARTE Encounters (1987–2000), an international performing arts festival which hosted and co-produced emblematic works of so-called new European dance, also had a crucial impact in establishing independent dance in Portugal.  

However, Gulbenkian Foundation’s role in developing dance extends to other important areas such as the regular awarding of scolarships and the provision of grants for projects, research and the internationalisation of artists and their work.

The creation of a European dance award is therefore another Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation initiative that furthers its mission to promote dance in Portugal and the rest of the world.

Jorge Salavisa's bio

Jorge Salavisa (Lisbon, 13 November 1939 – 28 September 2020) began studying dance under Anna Mascolo before furthering his training and career in Paris and London. He worked with some of the greatest names in world ballet, such as Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn.

Before returning to Portugal in 1977, at the invitation of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Jorge Salavisa worked with the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas, Ballet National Populaire, Ballet de Paris and London Festival Ballet (where he was the first non-Briton to take up a position).

In addition to being artistic director of Ballet Gulbenkian (a position he occupied from 1977 to 1996), he also taught in various cities in the US, at the Portuguese National Conservatory School of Dance (EDCN) and at P.A.R.T.S. – Performing Arts Research and Training Studios in Belgium, of which he was also a founder.

One of the country’s most influential cultural programmers, Salavisa was responsible for the dance events during Lisbon’s period as European Capital of Culture in 1994. He was also Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Ballet of Portugal (CNB) and Director of the São Luiz Teatro Municipal.

Nominees of 2026

For the 2026 edition of SEDA, the nominees are:

Chiara Bersani (Italy)

Performing artist, activist and choreographer. She works on the accessibility of disabled artists in the performing arts scene, exploring the politics of the body and how the images we create interact with society’s narratives. Trabalha sobre o tema da acessibilidade de artistas com deficiência nas artes performativas, explorando a dimensão política do corpo e de que forma as imagens que criamos podem interagir com as narrativas da sociedade. She was one of the co-founders of Al.Di.Qua.Artists. Winner of several awards, she is co-curator of 2025/2026 season at Spazio Kor (Asti, Italy) and guest curator of the 2025 edition of the Bastards international performing arts festival (Trondheim, Norway). She is an associate artist of Triennale Milano Teatro 2025-2027. 

Dan Daw (Australia)

Artist and producer. He began working as a performer with Restless Dance Theatre (AUS) in 2002. Throughout his career, he has worked with several internacional choreographers and companies. He is an Associate Artist of Sadlers Wells, London. Curator and co-curator of several festivals, he is the founder of Dan Daw Creative Projects, uUK-based company disabled led company, leading the way in creating accessible international touring work that blurs the lines between theatre, dance and activism, alongside creating systemic change in institutions and the sector for d/Deaf and disabled artists and audiences through long-term partnerships and residencies.

Jefta van Dinther (Netherlands/Sweden)

Choreograoher, dancer and teacher. Central in his work is the question of what it means to be human, examined through its relation to society, community and environment but also to other forms of life. Equally central in his current work is a deepening commitment to accessibility and diversity within the field of contemporary dance. He teaches choreography internationally at various centers and educational programmes. He served as a Senior Lecturer and Artistic Director in the MA programme in Choreography at Uniarts Stockholm. Since 2024, Van Dinther has been a member of the Advisory Board of HZT, Berlin, where he has been running the workspace DIORAMA since 2022.

Lukas Avendaño (Mexico)

Performing artist, choreographer, anthropologist, and writer. Having trained in Dance and Anthropology, his practice fuses dance, ritual, ethnography, and activism. His work draws on muxeidad he Zapotec social and gender system that unsettles the colonial male/female binary and that has existed since before the arrival of Europeans in the Americas –, to stage charged explorations of sexuality, indigeneity, and power. He has presented work widely in Mexico and abroad. As an activist he addresses one of the most urgent crises in the Americas: the disappearance and murder of people, among whom his own brother.

Mamela Nyamza (South Africa)

Dancer, teacher, choreographer and activist. Rejected by her classical Ballet Teachers because of her natural body structure, she was inevitably drawn to the politics of the body. She graduated from the Tshwane University of Technology with a National Diploma in Ballet, and continued her training at the Alvin Ailey International School for Dance in New York. Winner of several awards, she created a non-profit company MAMELAS ARTISTIC MOVEMENT, which provides a creative home for those unemployed dance artists who have been marginalised due to body politics.  

Partners

For the organisation of the SEDA, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation has been building a solid European-based network, consisting of renowned theatres or dance festivals in the European landscape of contemporary dance. They all share responsibility in the organisation of the award, the selection and the presentation of the laureate.

The partner institutions collaborate around a shared commitment to the value of culture and dance, reflecting a broadly European framework. At the same time, the network does not apply any restrictions based on the geographical or ethnic background of artists. Dance artists from all countries are eligible to be selected as laureates of SEDA.

The partners for the second edition of SEDA are:

Dansehallerne (Copenhagen, Denmark)

Dansehallerne is a national centre for dance and choreography in Copenhagen. Co-producing and presenting a diverse range of national and international performances, while also facilitating professional training and industry events. Dansehallerne has a strong focus on cultivating an efficient and sustainable ecosystem for dance and choreography in Denmark nurtured by, and in dynamic valued exchange with, the organisation’s local and global associations.

Fabbrica Europa (Florence, Italy)

Fabbrica Europa was founded in Florence with the aim of promoting contemporary Italian and international artistic production through projects focused on the most innovative forms of expression in the performing arts, visual arts, and multimedia. Since 1994, it has organised the multidisciplinary Fabbrica Europa Festival, an internationally recognized event that each year welcomes both renowned artists and emerging talents from the contemporary arts scene. In addition to the Festival – which reached its 32nd edition in 2025 – Fabbrica Europa has developed numerous transnational initiatives over the years that explore innovative approaches to artistic creation and production support, with a special focus on emerging generations.

Joint Adventures (Munich, Germany)

Based in Munich, Joint Adventures is a nationally and internationally recognised organiser that has been active in the field of contemporary dance at the intersection of various art disciplines since 1990. Through close collaboration with national and international partners, Joint Adventures curates and organises festivals such as Tanzwerkstatt Europa, guest performance series like Access to Dance depARTures, residency programmes, workshops, and discursive formats. As a facilitator of the National Performance Network, Joint Adventures successfully promotes structural support and exchange between artists and organisers in order to strengthen the presence of dance creators based in Germany throughout the country and around the world.

KVS (Brussels, Belgium)

KVS is Brussels’ city theatre. It reinterprets repertoire in relation to the city, which has a growing global influence. The theatre fosters an open ensemble of creators, performers, choreographers, and authors who, collaboratively, develop both individual works and shared projects through cross-pollination. Based on an inclusive perspective of the potential of art, KVS aims to be an intercultural, inter-generational and open-gender city theatre with a resonance that reaches far beyond Brussels.

Maison de la Danse/Biennale de la Danse (Lyon, France)

Maison de la Danse is a distinctive hub for dance in Europe. For the past 44 years, it has consistently pursued a singular artistic policy of embracing dance in all its diverse forms and techniques, inviting both major choreographers and young creators, blending creation and repertoire, nurturing the interest of young people, and championing aesthetic diversity. Currently, a new additional location is being developed in Lyon – les Ateliers de la Danse. This new location, which will be dedicated to creating, producing, and presenting amateur works, should be completed by 2027.

The Biennale de la danse de Lyon is one of the world’s foremost dance festivals. For 40 years, the Biennale has been promoting dance through dedicated support for creation and performance and cultivating a rich dialogue between various strands of choreographic expression and other art forms. The Biennale attracts a large and diverse audience, as well as professionals from France and around the world. Its influence extends across nearly 40 towns and cities in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, in multiple locations ranging from theatres to disused industrial sites – and even the street with the Défilé, a grand parade celebrating diversity and community togetherness.

Mercat de les Flors (Barcelona, Spain)

Mercat de les Flors – Dance House is a public center for performing arts that hosts, disseminates and promotes projects involving dance, the body and movement in all their diverse forms in contemporary creation. Its mission is to bring dance to a wider public, ensuring its creation and transmission. Beyond the structure itself and the programming offered, Mercat de les Flors is a unique space that works to serve the art of dance, artists and the community. It plays an essential role as mediator and coordinator of projects at local, national and international level, networking to build synergies that allow artistic and cultural knowledge to be accessible to all.

Sadler's Wells (London, United Kingdom)

Sadler's Wells is a world-leading dance organisation. It strives to make and share dance that inspires. Its acclaimed year-round programme spans dance of every kind, from contemporary to flamenco, Bollywood to ballet, salsa to street dance and tango to tap.  Sadler's Wells commissions, produces and presents more dance than any other organisation in the world. Since 2005, it has helped to bring more than 200 new dance works to the stage, embracing both the popular and the unknown.

Tanzquartier Wien (Vienna, Austria)

Tanzquartier Wien – centrally located in MuseumsQuartier Wien – is one of Europe's leading centers for contemporary choreography and performance art. As a creative space, we create opportunities for artists and audiences to connect and exchange ideas, fostering new perspectives and actively shaping the future of these art forms. Since opening in 2001, TQW has been a lively meeting place where dance is not only performed but also conceived, explored, and experienced. With a wide range of performances, training, theory, and research, we welcome people of all ages and invite them to explore the fascinating world of contemporary dance in all its forms. We offer a space for experimentation, reflection, and shared experiences of contemporary art.

Gulbenkian Foundation's representants, European partners and collaborators at the launch of SEDA, in LIsbon, 13 November 2023.

Another partner is the Kees Eijrond Foundation. Kees Eijrond was a great friend of Jorge Salavisa and a driving force behind SEDA.

Candidate selection

Associated experts

Every two years, each partner institution associates with an organization or individual expert outside its own biotope, broadening the horizons of the SEDA network in terms of policy content, background and geography. Together with the partner institutions, the associated experts propose candidates from any continent.

For the second edition of SEDA , the associate experts are:

Anna Cheng – West Knowloon Cultural District (Hong Kong)
Cecilia Cuska (Argentina/Belgium)
Dean Moss (USA/Asia)
Ice Hot Network (Scandinavia)
Jayachandran Palashy – Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts (India)
Kris Nelson – Sydney Festival  (Australia)
National Theatre of Taiwan – (Taiwan)
Pablo Lopez Otero – Bienal Internacional de Dansa (Colombia)
Quito Tembe – Kinani Festival (Mozambique)
Talita Reizzi – SESC- Bienal de Dança de São Paulo (Brazil)
Teja Reba – Gibanica Festival/Moving Balkans platform (Slovenia)

Selection process for nominees

The selection process for nominees for the Salavisa European Dance Award occurs every two years and involves several key steps. For the initial longlist of 27 candidates, each partner institution together with its associated expert selects and proposes three artists. From that list a Nomination Committee is tasked with selecting five candidates for the award. This committee consists of nine voting members, each representing a partner institution, along with a non-voting chair.

During an initial meeting, committee members individually choose five artists, excluding those proposed by their own institution. The most highly voted artists progress to the second meeting. At this stage, committee members engage in extensive discussions about the candidates before once again selecting five artists. This time, they are permitted to include artists proposed by their own institution. The final shortlist comprises the five highest-ranked artists.

These five nominated artists are publicly announced and subsequently evaluated by an independent jury comprising three members of different nationalities. This jury holds the responsibility of selecting the award winner.

Nomination Committee

The Nomination Committee is constituted by nine voting members, one representative from each partner institution:

Cristina Planas Leitão (Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon)
Eva Steen Nordhagen (Dansehallerne, Copenhagen)
Kristien Decoster (KVS, Brussels)
María José Cifuentes (Mercat de les Flors, Barcelona)
Maurizia Settembri (Fabbrica Europa, Florence)
Rio Rutzinger (TanzQuartier, Vienna)
Robert Jones (Sadler’s Wells, London)
Tiago Guedes (Maison de la Danse/Biennale de la Danse, Lyon)
Walter Heun (Joint Adventures, Munich)

Jury

Three independent dance experts are invited to form the jury for each edition of SEDA. For the first edition in 2024 the members of the jury were:

Ilgaz Gurur Ertem (Turkey/Germany)

Interdisciplinary scholar, sociologist, curator, and somatic movement and dance educator. Curator of the iDANS Festival (2006–2014), she currently serves on the Hauptstadtkulturfonds jury and directs Bimeras Berlin, a nonprofit initiative fostering dialogue across the arts, social sciences, and humanities. Her publications address contemporary dance and performance, cultural policy, curatorial politics, European artistic networks, and the intersections of social theory and embodied practices. 

La Ribot (Spain/Switzerland)

Choreographer, dancer and artist. Her work hallenges the frameworks and formats of both the stage and the museum, freely borrowing from the vocabularies of theater, visual arts, performance, film, and video to shift the conceptual landscape of choreography. She has received several awards throughout her career, including the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 2020 Venice Dance Biennale. Her choreographic work has been presented in several international institutions, and is part of important collections, such as the Pompidou or the Reina Sofía.

River Lin (Taiwan/France)

Artist and curator working with live art, dance, and queer culture. His curatorial work centers on community engagement, intra-Asian knowledge production, building cultural infrastructures, and queering institutional agendas. He is curator at Taipei Performing Arts Center, co-curator of the Indonesian Dance Festival and guest curator of the 2025 Biennale de la Danse de Lyon. He has served as a juror for several organizations, including Creative Australia, Onassis AiR, the Live Art Prize, and Taipei Artist Village.  

Winners of the 2024 edition

Dorothée Munyaneza and Idio Chichava. Photo: Maria Abranches

From the list of five artists nominated for the SEDA Award, the jury selects the winner. The 2024 Salavisa European Dance Award was awarded to Dorothée Munyaneza (Rwanda/United Kingdom/France) and Idio Chichava (Mozambique).

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