The three-day festival brings together leading dance companies from Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Tickets are already on sale, so early booking is recommended for this international showcase.

Hungary will hold the Presidency of the Visegrád Group from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026, with cultural cooperation in the region as one of its priorities. The National Dance Theatre is contributing to this focus through the V4 Dance Weekend, using dance as a shared language to highlight artistic dialogue between the four countries.

Festival programme

Friday, 20 February 2026, 7 pm – Polish Dance Theatre: 45 / Prague Chamber Ballet: Fragment 24



The festival opens with 45 by the Polish Dance Theatre, choreographed by Jacek Przybyłowicz. The piece blends the intensity of contemporary Israeli dance with neoclassical elegance and the performers’ imaginative freedom.

Pastel colours, minimalist costumes, carefully designed lighting, and live music by a drum and saxophone duo create a distinctive atmosphere in this dynamic reflection on the company’s 45-year history.

This is followed by Fragment 24 from the Prague Chamber Ballet, choreographed by Petr Zuska. Inspired by Bedřich Smetana’s iconic cycle Má vlast (My Country), the work draws on motifs from Vyšehrad, Vltava, Tábor and Blaník, and also marks the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth.
 

Zuska combines personal and national memory in a lyrical yet powerful movement language, exploring themes of identity and the idea of returning to one’s roots.

Saturday, 21 February 2026, 7 pm – Slovak Dance Theatre: The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The second evening brings the internationally recognised Slovak Dance Theatre to Budapest for the first time. The company has performed in cities from New York to Tokyo, and its latest production — Ján Ďurovčík’s modern ballet adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame — has been a major success in Slovakia.

Inspired by the well-known story, the performance combines striking visual design with flowing, expressive choreography, brought to life by the company’s leading dancers in an emotionally charged stage world.
 

Sunday, 22 February 2026, 7 pm – V4 International Ballet Gala

The festival closes with a gala evening dedicated to classical ballet. Outstanding soloists from the Czech National Ballet, Polish National Ballet, Slovak National Ballet and Hungarian National Ballet will perform, joined by students of the Hungarian Dance University. The programme features a selection of celebrated solos and duets from the classical ballet repertoire.

The V4 Dance Weekend highlights how the arts can reflect the core ideas of Central European cooperation — shared cultural heritage, dialogue and diversity — bringing the dance traditions of the Visegrád countries together on one stage over three days.

Ticket sales began on 3 December 2025. Early booking is advised, as interest is expected to be high.

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