The Want to Dance Festival is curated by Chung Po-Yuan, Artistic Director of Shinehouse Theatre, with Keng Yi-Wei, Dramaturg at the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts – Weiwuying, serving as Curation Consultant. The 2026 edition presents the theme “Sublimation.” This year marks not only a thematic shift but also a structural evolution, as the festival transitions from an annual event into a biennial international platform. “Sublimation” aims to bring together voices from diverse cultures, ethnicities, genders, and communities, encouraging participants to challenge themselves, transform, and cultivate resilience and vitality through artistic expression.

The 2026 festival includes the Open Call Program, featuring 26 creative teams from Taiwan and abroad, including artists from Japan, Singapore, Togo, Spain, the United States, and Taiwan. Highlights include CHANG Ko-Yang and Ihot Sinlay Cihek, who explore the notion of “domestication” through Indigenous histories;Lai Wei Chun and Liao Chien Yao, who investigate the body in the digital age; and CHANG Tzu-hsuan, whose work draws on the experiences of Afghan women living under authoritarian and religious constraints.

The Exchange Program continues to spotlight Taiwanese choreographers selected in 2025, including HUANG Chih-Chia (Nomadic ARTS Collective), KUO Chueh-Kai (Nonlybody), TSENG Ching-en, Tsai Hung-Yi (Uni Contemporary Circus), and HSU Wei-Ting. Their works will be presented to international curators during the festival, fostering touring opportunities and global collaborations.

The festival’s opening performance features former Cloud Gate Dance Theatre dancer Chou Chang-ning, presenting “Dawn Blossom”, a new sequel to “Night Willow”, which premiered as the opening work of the 2024 festival. The closing program invites dozens of non-professional women performers to participate in Chung Po-Yuan’s “The Rodin Project”, exploring womanhood, life experiences, and the expressive power of the body.

Over three days, exceptional artists from Taiwan and around the world converge in Wanhua, Taipei’s oldest district, rich in cultural and historical significance. Performances take place across diverse indoor and outdoor venues—including theatres, heritage sites, parks, cultural spaces, climbing gyms, markets, and urban landscapes—presenting over 70 performances from April 17 to 19, transforming the district into a living stage where dance unfolds throughout the city.