DRIFT PROJECT

DRIFT – Dance & Research in the Future Time (2026–2029) is a four-year European project that supports choreographers at a pivotal moment in their careers: when their work begins to consolidate and circulate internationally.

More than a support programme, DRIFT proposes a sustained working framework that combines laboratories, residencies, co-productions and international touring, with the aim of strengthening both the artistic development and the production and outreach capacities of participating artists.

Mercat de les Flors and Graner take part jointly as partners, forming part of an international network of leading contemporary dance institutions. Within this context, Mercat positions itself as an active node in the generation, support and international visibility of new choreographic practices across Europe.

The choreographer Paloma Muñoz participates in the first wave of the project with the support of Mercat de les Flors and el Graner. The second wave artist will be selected through an open call during 2026.

Vision & Stakes

Choreographic creation is a process. A winding path made of doubt, experimentation, failure, and discovery. A slow, precious, increasingly rare kind of time.

In a cultural sector where everything accelerates: schedules, expectations, production, … DRIFT makes it possible to slow down. We make a bet on the long game. The time of research.

The gap no one talks about

Mid-career is a pivotal moment for choreographers. After early recognition, before institutional consecration, many artists find themselves in a structural blind spot: national visibility without the resources to scale internationally, phases of research that go unfunded, mobility that fragments rather than builds. The systems designed to support emerging artists rarely follow them into this critical middle ground and the systems built for established names aren’tdesigned for risk-taking.

This is where too many choreographic careers stall or break. Not from a lack of talent, but from a lack of time and support to go deeper.

DRIFT was built to address this specific need.

A European answer

DRIFT – Dance & Research In The Future Time is a four-year European cooperation project (2026–2029), funded by Creative Europe, 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.

Process over product

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.

A network, not a platform

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.

Built to last

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 4 Pillars:

– Labs & Residencies

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.

– International Showcases

Twice per cycle, artists share works in progress with programmers and audiences from around the world. There’s no competition and no verdict: just an open window into the creative process.

– Co-production & Touring

Ten projects receive coproduction support and a guaranteed tour across the DRIFT network, taking them from research to the stage with the infrastructure needed to sustain their work.

– Festival Empowerment

Each partner venue organises “DRIFT Days”: festival-based events that open studio doors to local communities through talks, workshops, and open rehearsals. Over time, festivals become laboratories rather than just showcases.

Partners:

Théâtre de Liège (Belgium, project lead), Maison de la Danse (France), Onassis Stegi (Greece), Mercat de les Flors-Graner (Spain), BIT Teatergarasjen (Norway), HAU/Tanz im August (Germany), Short Theatre (Italy), Materiais Diversos (Portugal), Al Badil (Tunisia) and Ukrainian Dance Platform (Ukraine); as well as associated partners for international dissemination such as Red Brick House (Japan), Panorama Festival (Brazil) and Kinani Festival (Mozambique).