Sõltumatu Tantsu Festival / STF 2026 is a contemporary choreography festival in Estonia taking place from October 8–17 at Sõltumatu Tantsu Lava and other venues across Tallinn.  The festival creates a space and time where different bodies, practices and rhythms meet – where choreography does not fix the existing, but shifts it. Moving in the playgrounds of physical presence and collectivity, its aim is to spark impulses for reflection and shared experience. 

The STF program features the work of internationally recognized choreographers, united by the search for a sense of security that arises from physical togetherness. They explore how dance stimulates our ancient senses. They ask what happens when we do not just watch dance, but listen and feel it. They move in spaces where the body is not just an object, but interacts with other bodies, sounds and the environment.

In Unearth, Swedish-German choreographer Jefta van Dinther brings man back to his most basic relationship with the world – with the body, other life forms and mortality. His sensual introspective ritual focuses on the human urge to overcome adversity. In her performance Ghosts of Rosegarden, Finnish choreographer Elina Pirinen turns the logic of female sacrifice rituals upside down, placing on a pedestal women’s capacity to be reborn and to create life. In Shiraz, Iranian choreographer Armin Hokmi revives the spirit of the world-famous festival of the same name, creating a bridge between the present and the rhythms and feelings of the past. Movement becomes a form of remembrance – a vital resistance to forgetting. Greek dance artist Sofia Mavragani deconstructs the myth of heroism, highlighting vulnerability as a collective force instead of strength and the moments of shared beauty that occur within it. Swedish choreographers Joanna Holewa Chrona and Yared Tilahun Cederlund celebrate forms of togetherness by creating a resonance between space, sound and movement. In the work  /  by Japanese artist duo Ayano Yokoyama and 34423 (Miyoshifumi), choreography is a form of noise cancellation that does not synchronize, but rather collides with sound. Latvian-Estonian choreographers duo Rūta Ronja Pakalne and Laura Gorodko invite us to an informal rave based on the utopian idea of ​​a perfect society. In the performance Forget-me-not, a choreographic celebration by Icelandic dance artists Snædís Lilja and Sigríður Ásta unfolds before our eyes, emphasizing that a woman’s body is an ever-evolving matter that should never apologize for its existence. The festival also offers more experimental experiences – within the triple-bill evening of Choreography+, three Estonian choreographers will shift our current understanding of contemporary dance.

STF 2026 creates moments for being  and moving together. Day and night. You may find yourself dancing on the club floor at Paavli Kultuurivabrik, experiencing the sunset at Kai Art Center, swaying with the waves on the steps of Linnahall, or having fun by the pool of Meriton Spa. Dancing is a social activity that does not depend on time or location – it is a way of coexisting.

In addition to performances, STF creates a space for meetings and sharing. There will be artist talks, workshops and discussions at the Choreocafe. And finally — a party to pulse together until time dissolves.

STF is an international festival in Estonia focusing on contemporary choreography, first held in 2024. STF is curated by the Sõltumatu Tantsu Lava (STL) collective based on its international practice and experience. The goal of the festival is to bring the work of internationally recognized and notable choreographers to the Estonian audience and to introduce new aesthetics and formats in contemporary choreography.