The presentation was attended by Huesca Mayor Lorena Orduna; Vice President of the Government of Aragon Mar Vaquero; Huesca Provincial Council Culture Deputy Carlos Sampériz; and Hoya de Huesca Regional Council President Mónica Soler, accompanied by Huesca City Council Culture Officer Pilar Barrio.
The Fair’s 40th edition will take place from Sunday, September 27, to Thursday, October 1, preceded by three special circus performances on September 23, 24 and 26 at Luis López Allué Square. They will serve as a preview of an edition also conceived as a celebration of the event’s four decades of history.
The Fair reaches this anniversary as an established platform for showcasing, professional development and exchange in the performing arts. This edition received 1,877 proposals for inclusion in the program, a figure that reflects its drawing power within the sector.
A STRONG ARAGONESE PRESENCE
Aragonese participation will have a prominent role, with 37.5% of the companies coming from Aragon. They will be joined by 56% of companies from other autonomous communities, specifically Madrid, La Rioja, Extremadura, Catalonia, Navarre, the Basque Country, the Balearic Islands, Galicia, Valencia and Andalusia.
On the international front, the Fair is placing a particular focus on companies from southern France, as part of its work to strengthen the cross-border circulation of companies and projects on both sides of the Pyrenees. This effort is also reinforced through European cooperation projects such as EKO–Pirineos de Circo and Pyrenart II.
One of the main goals of this 40th anniversary will be to further strengthen the Fair’s relationship with local residents. In addition to the usual venues, the performing arts will take over spaces such as Luis López Allué Square, Inmaculada Square, the Porches de Galicia and the outdoor areas of the Conference Centre, with dance, circus, theatre and installation projects. The aim is to enable audiences to encounter contemporary creation outside conventional performance venues as well.
The Fair is also maintaining its commitment to improving accessibility in the performing arts, continuing the work carried out in previous editions in areas such as sensory hypersensitivity and collaboration with social inclusion organizations such as Valentia and Arcadia.
THREE SHOWS BEFORE THE FAIR
The celebrations will begin before the official opening with three circus performances at Luis López Allué Square. On Wednesday, September 23, Eunoia Kolektiva will present Tenet; on Thursday, September 24, it will be the turn of Attention à ta tête by Cie Le Polpesse; and on Saturday, September 26, Pifia by Cía Totapedra will be staged. The three performances are part of the European cross-border cooperation project EKO–Pirineos de Circo.
The official program will begin on Sunday, September 27, in Siétamo with the Sin Condiciones section, developed in collaboration with the Hoya de Huesca Regional Council. This Fair program focuses on the conditions for presenting performing arts in rural areas and brings together projects capable of adapting to diverse spaces and audiences. This edition will feature eight projects, including theatre, dance, circus and installations, which will occupy different locations across the town throughout the day.
From Monday, September 28, through Thursday, October 1, the program will move to Huesca. The Conference Centre, Teatro Olimpia, the Espacio de Arte Joven, Sala Genius and various public spaces will host a selection of theatre, dance, circus, object theatre, installation and new performing arts productions.
The opening ceremony will take place on Monday, September 28, at 6:15 p.m. in the Carlos Saura Auditorium at the Conference Centre, with Carpa’s Gala of Aragonese Circus. The Javier Brun Award 2026 will also be presented during the ceremony to the Coordinadora de Ferias de Artes Escénicas del Estado (Cofae).
The Javier Brun Award was created by Huesca City Council in 2020 following the death of the Fair’s former director and head of the municipal Culture Service. It recognizes the work of individuals and organizations involved in the development of the performing arts. COFAE, established in 2006, brings together the country’s leading professional performing arts fairs and works to promote cooperation, coordination and exchange among them.
A PROFESSIONAL MARKETPLACE AND SPACE FOR REFLECTION
Alongside its artistic program, the Fair will maintain one of its defining features: its role as a professional meeting point. Throughout the event, it will bring together programmers, companies, distributors and cultural professionals, and will organize meetings, seminars, workshops and project presentations.
The training and reflection program will focus especially on three areas: the physical and mental health of performing arts professionals, participation and the social impact of cultural projects, and the relationship between creativity, the rural world and the natural environment.
Planned activities include the seminar “Sustainable Bodies: Caring for the Mind and Body in the Performing Arts,” which will bring together Spanish and French specialists on Monday, September 28, to address the health and well-being of professionals from different perspectives.
The Fair will also strengthen cross-border exchange through the Pyrenart II project, with activities related to the distribution of performances on both sides of the Pyrenees and the presentation of projects selected as part of its artistic incubator. On Wednesday, September 30, the Espacio AragónPRO will also be held, giving Aragonese companies the opportunity to present their latest projects to industry programmers.
Another new feature of this edition will be enhanced tools to facilitate professional contact. The Festiverso app will feature the Fair’s program and activities, as well as a specific section for accredited professionals to facilitate contact and the organization of business meetings.
BRINGING THE ARTS CLOSER TO YOUNG PEOPLE
The 40th edition will also continue its work of bringing the performing arts closer to young people through the Escena 12-25 program. During the week before the Fair, more than 300 students from schools in the city will be able to engage with performance practices through workshops in acting, contemporary dance, forum theatre, improvisation, juggling and movement.
During the Fair, students from Zaragoza’s School of Theatre and Huesca’s School of Art will also meet professionals from the sector to learn more about different professions related to the performing arts and creative processes.
The Huesca International Theatre and Dance Fair receives institutional support from Huesca City Council, the Government of Aragon, Huesca Provincial Council, the Hoya de Huesca Regional Council and the Ministry of Culture, together with European projects developed במסגרת the Interreg-Poctefa program.
The budget for this 40th edition stands at around 277,000 euros, of which Huesca City Council contributes 76,600 euros, 20,000 euros more than in the previous edition.
