NEXT Arts Festival
Cross-border performing arts festival in the Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai Eurometropolis
2026
About NEXT Festival
NEXT Festival — edition 2026
The 2026 NEXT Arts Festival runs from November 13 to December 4 across cultural venues in the Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai Eurometropolis and Valenciennes, featuring an international lineup of theater, dance, and performance art. The edition opens at the Opéra de Lille with "Androgynous. Portrait of a naked dancer" by Lola Arias and concludes in Kortrijk with "Hi-Hats in Trees" by Lander Gyselinck.
NEXT Arts Festival 2026: Lille, Kortrijk, Tournai, and Valenciennes
The NEXT Arts Festival returns from November 13 to December 4, 2026, in cultural venues throughout the Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai Eurometropolis and Valenciennes. The program features around thirty contemporary theater, dance, and performance works by international artists, hosted across fifteen locations spanning France and Belgium.
Highlights NEXT Festival 2026
- Opening on November 13 at the Opéra de Lille with "Androgynous. Portrait of a naked dancer" by Lola Arias and the Maxim Gorki Theater
- Several French and Belgian premieres, including "Corvidae" by Marta Cuscunà and "Sleight of Hand" by Jo Bannon
- "Combat des lianes" by Zora Snake and "Hi-Hats in Trees" by Lander Gyselinck closing the festival on December 4 in Kortrijk
Programme NEXT Festival 2026
Friday, November 13, 2026
- Androgynous. Portrait of a naked dancer — Lola Arias (AR/DE) & Maxim Gorki Theater (DE) · Opéra de Lille, Lille (dance, theater, FR premiere, opening)
Saturday, November 14, 2026
- Androgynous. Portrait of a naked dancer — Lola Arias (AR/DE) & Maxim Gorki Theater (DE) · Opéra de Lille, Lille
- aCORdo — Alice Ripoll (BR) · Budatoren, Kortrijk (dance)
- Inhabiting my body — Nagham Salah Othman (EG) · Budascoop, Kortrijk (dance, premiere)
Sunday, November 15, 2026
- aCORdo — Alice Ripoll (BR) · Budatoren, Kortrijk (dance)
- Inhabiting my body — Nagham Salah Othman (EG) · Budascoop, Kortrijk (dance, premiere)
Tuesday, November 17, 2026
- Adorno — Alice Ripoll (BR) · Leietheater, Deinze (dance)
- Cabaret Téhéran — Gurshad Shaheman (FR/IR) · Le Bateau Feu, Dunkirk (theater, performance)
Wednesday, November 18, 2026
- Cabaret Téhéran — Gurshad Shaheman (FR/IR) · Le Bateau Feu, Dunkirk (theater, performance)
- Corvidae. Quand les espèces se regardent — Marta Cuscunà (IT) · La Rose des Vents, Villeneuve d'Ascq (theater, puppetry, BE premiere)
- Grit (for what it's worth) — Milla Koistinen (FI) · CC De Steiger, Menen (dance, BE premiere)
- SENSES — exhibition · Het Perron, Ypres
- KS6. Small Forward — Belarus Free Theatre (BY) · Théâtre du Nord, Lille (theater)
- Lick-Horn — Bryana Fritz (US) & Thibault Lac (FR) · Het Perron, Ypres (dance)
Thursday, November 19, 2026
- Corvidae. Quand les espèces se regardent — Marta Cuscunà (IT) · La Rose des Vents, Villeneuve d'Ascq (theater, puppetry, BE premiere)
- KS6. Small Forward — Belarus Free Theatre (BY) · Théâtre du Nord, Lille (theater)
Friday, November 20, 2026
- Corvidae. Quand les espèces se regardent — Marta Cuscunà (IT) · La Rose des Vents, Villeneuve d'Ascq (theater, puppetry, BE premiere)
- KS6. Small Forward — Belarus Free Theatre (BY) · Théâtre du Nord, Lille (theater)
- Baby-Horn — Bryana Fritz (US) & Thibault Lac (FR) · Espace Pasolini, Valenciennes (dance)
- Dear Luigi, I hate you — Collectif Dreams Come True (NL/CH) · La Rose des Vents, Villeneuve d'Ascq (theater, FR premiere)
- Haribo Kimchi — Jaha Koo (KR) · Le Phénix, Valenciennes (theater)
Saturday, November 21, 2026
- Corvidae. Quand les espèces se regardent — Marta Cuscunà (IT) · La Rose des Vents, Villeneuve d'Ascq (theater, puppetry, BE premiere)
- Baby-Horn — Bryana Fritz (US) & Thibault Lac (FR) · Espace Pasolini, Valenciennes (dance)
- Dear Luigi, I hate you — Collectif Dreams Come True (NL/CH) · La Rose des Vents, Villeneuve d'Ascq (theater, FR premiere)
- Haribo Kimchi — Jaha Koo (KR) · Le Phénix, Valenciennes (theater)
- Singulières — LaM (FR) · Musée LaM, Villeneuve d'Ascq (exhibition)
Sunday, November 22, 2026
- Still Life. The Curious Cosmos of Savery & Co — Abby Kortrijk (BE) · Abby Museum, Kortrijk (exhibition)
- Tsiah Thoo — Bare Feet Dance Theatre (TW) · Schouwburg Kortrijk, Kortrijk (dance, BE premiere)
- Une fois que tu sais — Emmanuel Cappellin (FR) · Cinéma le Méliès, Villeneuve d'Ascq (film)
Monday, November 23, 2026
- Tsiah Thoo — Bare Feet Dance Theatre (TW) · Schouwburg Kortrijk, Kortrijk (dance, BE premiere)
Tuesday, November 24, 2026
- Cabaret Téhéran — Gurshad Shaheman (FR/IR) · Le Phénix, Valenciennes (theater, performance)
- Corvidae. Quand les espèces se regardent — Marta Cuscunà (IT) · Theater Malpertuis, Tielt (theater, puppetry, BE premiere)
- Trailer Park — Moritz Ostruschnjak (DE) & tanzmainz (DE) · La Rose des Vents, Villeneuve d'Ascq (dance)
- PUFF — Alice Ripoll (BR) · Espace Pasolini, Valenciennes (dance)
Wednesday, November 25, 2026
- Cabaret Téhéran — Gurshad Shaheman (FR/IR) · Le Phénix, Valenciennes (theater, performance)
- PUFF — Alice Ripoll (BR) · Espace Pasolini, Valenciennes (dance)
- Sleight of Hand — Jo Bannon (GB) · Schouwburg Kortrijk, Kortrijk (theater, installation, BE premiere)
- An Eternity Before & After — Bare Feet Dance Theatre (TW) · L'Oiseau-Mouche, Roubaix (dance, FR premiere)
Thursday, November 26, 2026
- Still Life. The Curious Cosmos of Savery & Co — Abby Kortrijk (BE) · Abby Museum, Kortrijk (exhibition)
- Sleight of Hand — Jo Bannon (GB) · Schouwburg Kortrijk, Kortrijk (theater, installation, BE premiere)
- out of hands — fABULEUS (BE) & Michiel Vandevelde (BE) · Le Grand Bleu, Lille (dance, theater, music)
Friday, November 27, 2026
- Sleight of Hand — Jo Bannon (GB) · Schouwburg Kortrijk, Kortrijk (theater, installation, BE premiere)
- Lingering — Bare Feet Dance Theatre (TW) · CC De Schakel, Waregem (dance, BE premiere)
Saturday, November 28, 2026
- SENSES — exhibition · Het Perron, Ypres
- Still Life. The Curious Cosmos of Savery & Co — Abby Kortrijk (BE) · Abby Museum, Kortrijk (exhibition)
- Sleight of Hand — Jo Bannon (GB) · Schouwburg Kortrijk, Kortrijk (theater, installation, BE premiere)
- Rodéo — Léa Drouet (BE/FR) · Budascoop, Kortrijk (theater)
- Hypersenses — Laika (BE) & Zefiro Torna (BE) · Het Perron, Ypres (theater, installation)
Sunday, November 29, 2026
- SENSES — exhibition · Het Perron, Ypres
- Hypersenses — Laika (BE) & Zefiro Torna (BE) · Het Perron, Ypres (theater, installation)
- Mercury Rising — Jefta Van Dinther (NL/SE) · Schouwburg Kortrijk, Kortrijk (dance, BE premiere)
Monday, November 30, 2026
- Holobiontes — Florencia Demestri + Samuel Lefeuvre (BE/AR) · Le Phénix, Valenciennes (dance)
- Paisiblement — Mithkal Alzghair (SY) · Espace Pasolini, Valenciennes (dance)
Tuesday, December 1, 2026
- Holobiontes — Florencia Demestri + Samuel Lefeuvre (BE/AR) · Le Phénix, Valenciennes (dance)
- Paisiblement — Mithkal Alzghair (SY) · Espace Pasolini, Valenciennes (dance)
- The Dirty Work — Jo Bannon (GB) · Schouwburg Kortrijk, Kortrijk (theater, BE premiere)
- Combat des lianes — Zora Snake (CM) · Le Manège, Maubeuge (dance, closing)
Wednesday, December 2, 2026
- The Dirty Work — Jo Bannon (GB) · Schouwburg Kortrijk, Kortrijk (theater, BE premiere)
- Passing — Jo Bannon (GB) · Budascoop, Kortrijk (film)
- Figures of Speech — GRIP (BE), Femke Gyselinck (BE) & Lander Gyselinck (BE) · La Rose des Vents, Villeneuve d'Ascq (dance, music, FR premiere)
- Zemlja — Sanja Mitrović (BE/RS) · Antigone, Kortrijk (theater)
Thursday, December 3, 2026
- Passing — Jo Bannon (GB) · Budascoop, Kortrijk (film)
- Flaming Creatures — Latifa Laâbissi (FR) & Walid Ben Selim (MA) · Budascoop, Kortrijk (dance, performance)
Friday, December 4, 2026
- Combat des lianes — Zora Snake (CM) · Schouwburg Kortrijk, Kortrijk (dance, closing)
- Hi-Hats in Trees — Lander Gyselinck (BE) · Schouwburg Kortrijk, Kortrijk (music, closing)
Full program published by the organizer (source: nextfestival.eu/fr/programme). Around thirty shows spread across fifteen venues between France and Belgium; specific times and ticketing details for each performance are available on the individual show pages on the official website.
Prices NEXT Festival 2026
Practical information — NEXT Festival
Festival Venues
NEXT takes place in about fifteen venues spread across France and Belgium:
In France
- La Rose des Vents - Scène nationale, Villeneuve d'Ascq
- Espace Pasolini - Centre de création, Valenciennes
- Le Colisée - Théâtre de Roubaix
- Le Théâtre du Nord - Centre Dramatique National, Lille
- Cultural venues in Tourcoing, Maubeuge, Amiens, Béthune, and Oignies
In Belgium
- Kunstencentrum BUDA - Art center, Kortrijk
- Cultuurcentrum - Cultural center, Kortrijk
- Maison de la Culture - Tournai
- Venues in Ieper, Waregem, Deinze, Tielt, Menen, and Harelbeke
Access
French Side
The venues are accessible by metro, bus, and train via the Ilévia network (Lille metropolis) and TER Hauts-de-France. Lille Flandres and Lille Europe stations are the main entry points for the festival.
Belgian Side
The venues are accessible by SNCB train from Lille Flandres (Kortrijk 30 min, Tournai 25 min) and by De Lijn bus. Regular trains connect Lille to the Belgian festival cities.
Cross-border
The festival encourages cross-border travel by public transport. Detailed information for each show is available in the online program.
Prices and Ticketing
Prices vary depending on the shows and venues (from 5 to 25 euros). A festival pass is available, allowing access to several shows at a reduced price. Reduced prices for students and those under 26. Online ticketing on the festival's official website and at partner venues.
Languages
The shows are presented in French, Dutch, English, and other languages depending on the artists. Surtitles are sometimes offered.
Contact
Website: nextfestival.eu
Facebook: NEXT Arts Festival
NEXT Arts Festival: Performing Arts Without Borders
The NEXT Arts Festival is an annual artistic event dedicated to performing arts (theater, dance, performance) rooted in the territory of the Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai Eurometropolis and Valenciennes. Created in 2008 by five cultural organizations from three countries, the festival embodies the cross-border dimension of this unique region in Europe.
Five Founding Organizations
NEXT was born from the collaboration between five major cultural players: La Rose des vents (Villeneuve d'Ascq), the Espace Pasolini (Valenciennes), the Kunstencentrum BUDA (Kortrijk), the Cultuurcentrum (Kortrijk), and the Maison de la Culture de Tournai. This Franco-Belgian alliance allows the festival to produce and present about fifty shows in about fifteen venues in the cross-border region.
Three Weeks of Performing Arts
For three weeks in November, NEXT offers a dense and demanding program of contemporary theater, dance, and performance. Each year, the festival invites around 40 international artists to create and present their works in the cross-border region, offering a panorama of contemporary trends in performing arts in Europe and beyond.
Deconstructing Borders
Within the framework of the Eurometropolis, designed to enhance cross-border collaboration, NEXT serves as a cultural instrument to strengthen the common identity of this territory. The festival invites audiences to deconstruct inherited borders, linguistic barriers, and invisible walls, developing a program that abolishes divisions between artistic and aesthetic disciplines.
A Network of Partner Venues
The festival takes place in about fifteen venues spread across France and Belgium: Lille, Villeneuve d'Ascq, Roubaix, Tourcoing, Maubeuge, Valenciennes, Kortrijk, Tournai, Ieper, Waregem, and other towns in the area. This dispersed geography is at the heart of the festival's identity.
Where does it take place — NEXT Festival
NEXT Festival in brief
History of NEXT Festival
Edition 2025 Nov 2025Other festivals near Lille
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Published by Valentin Contard, festival listings writer. Reviewed, corrected and approved by Christophe Contard, editor-in-chief. .
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