MASDANZA, The International Contemporary Dance Festival of the Canary Islands [Spain]
Founded in 1996 by dancer and choreographer Natalia Medina, received in January 2019, from the European Festivals Association, an initiative of the European Union, the EFFE Quality Label, and has been nominated for the Best European Dance Festival Award.One of MASDANZA’s main objectives is to bring Contemporary Dance closer to audiences in the Canary Islands and to continue to be a launching platform for local, national and international creators. MASDANZA contributes to the cultural heritage of the Canary Islands by exposing dance to all kinds of audiences, through projects that generate the participation of different collectives in the different activities of the Festival. MASDANZA conceives contemporary dance as a tool to obtain social objectives: participation, inclusion, integration, tolerance and diversity, enriching the coexistence in a season of encounters, discoveries and exchanges.
MASDANZA presents within its program the Solo and Choreography Contests in its Official Section, and also, different sections during the week: MASDANZA DUNES, MASDANZA CINEMA, CULTURAL BREAKS, DANCE IN OPEN SPACES and WORKSHOPS.
In addition to the above, MASDANZA organizes the Extensions Tour with stops in the different islands of the Canarian archipelago with a selection of the finalists who participated in the Official Section of the Festival, and closes its annual program with the show MASDANZA Xtra in the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
Through the national and international Collaboration Agreements signed by MASDANZA, the artists are provided with the opportunity to opt for artistic residencies, performances and collaborations.