The Biennale Danza 2025 catalogue opens with the introduction by the President of La Biennale di Venezia Pietrangelo Buttafuoco and the presentation by the Artistic Director Wayne McGregor. They are followed by an essay by poet Yasmine Seale, titled Sfidare l’abisso, which reflects upon the birth and evolution of myths and how “many fables are not so much attempts to escape the world as to distil it into pattern and symbol”. The volume proceeds with a series of interviews by Sarah Crompton and Uzma Hameed with some of the protagonists of the Festival: Twyla Tharp, Carolina Bianchi, Virginie Brunelle, Antony Hamilton, Philippe Kratz and Pablo Girolami, Aakash Odedra.

Following the motivations for the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement to Twyla Tharp and for the Silver Lion to Carolina Bianchi, the catalogue continues with an in-depth focus dedicated to each of the protagonists of the 19th International Festival of Contemporary Dance. The performances are illustrated and described with photographs, detailed credits, directors’ notes and the biographies of the artists. Each performer has furthermore been invited to answer two questions about the concept of Myth Making (mitopoiesis) and the power of the “unconscious” in their personal experience of dance.

The catalogue subsequently presents two sections dedicated to the Installations and the Collaborations that enrich the Festival.

The volume continues with the presentation of the programme dedicated to the Biennale College Danza project, in which the young dancers, winners of the Biennale College Danza – Dancers call out, will take on an original choreography created by Anthony & Kel Matsena in response to THE HERDS, a large-scale site-specific performance presented in Venice on June 17th, 2025 as a special preview to the Festival, with an adaptation by Sasha Waltz of Terry Riley’a pioneering minimalist composition IN C and with the two original works by the young winners of the Biennale College Danza – Choreographers call out. The catalogue furthermore presents the two original projects by the winners of the callouts for new choreographic works, the Nuovo Balletto di Toscana for the Italian call out and the duo BULLYACHE for the international call out.

One section of the catalogue is dedicated to the cycle of Workshops held by internationally renowned mentors.

The catalogue ends with the usual complete Calendar of events and general information for the 19th International Festival of Contemporary Dance.

The graphic design and layout are by Studio Headline, Rovereto.