Dancing Neighbours | Performance at the Saxon Family Day

Location

entrance free

The Dancing Neighbours will be performing for 20 minutes at the Saxon Family Day, demonstrating that older people (aged 60 and over) can dance professionally. Afterwards, there will be a 10-minute session in front of the stage where the audience is invited to join in.

The Dancing Neighbours originated as a project of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 gGmbH in collaboration with the Japanese choreographer Yoko Ando – a globally acclaimed dancer and choreographer. Since 2019, she has been the artistic director of a similar dance programme for older people (‘Challenge of the Silver’) in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The dancers, aged 60 and over, have been training since May 2024. They performed alongside young dancers at the opening ceremony of the European Capital of Culture year on 18 January 2025, as well as at events including the KOSMOS Festival and in the Saxon State Parliament. Most recently, they have been preparing for two performances on 3 and 4 July 2026 alongside Japanese dancers at the Theater der Welt festival in Chemnitz.

‘Die Tanzenden Nachbarn’ develop intergenerational spaces for dance and movement, in which people of different generations and cultural backgrounds connect with one another non-verbally through shared movement. Based on accessible, open training formats, the project combines social participation, creative expression, physical training and artistic practice.