Celebrate the Return of the International Dance Festival New Orleans

Launched in 2023 as an experiment bringing together artists from Chile and the Gulf South to share performances, processes, and perspectives, the festival hosted artists from six countries in 2025, with a full schedule of masterclasses and a new summer residency program to support local choreographers.

The fourth edition of the International Dance Festival New Orleans (IDFNOLA) will take place September 10–13, 2026 at the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) New Orleans, gathering artists from the Gulf South and around the world for performances, film screenings, workshops, and conversations.

Villa Albertine is proud to support the participation of choreographer Aina Alegre, co-director of the National Choreographic Center of Grenoble, as a laureate of the FUSED (French-US Dance Exchange) program. For her project At Dawn 1, she will collaborate with local brass bands and dancers, drawing inspiration from both Mediterranean “pasacalles” and the iconic New Orleans Second Line tradition, to explore “procession” as a site of community empowerment. Together, French and American artists will build a continuous flow of movement and sound, turning the act of marching into a vibrant, shared ritual. 

In the dance film selection, French artist Fu Le’s film Ode Maritima will explore the charged space between departure and arrival, self and other. Through a mysterious, suspended choreography, dancers drift like sails in the wind, embodying the swelling desire and nostalgia of a ship pulling away from shore. A lyrical screendance piece where flight, poetry, and emotional distance converge.

For more information & tickets, visit IDFNOLA’s website here.