FESTIVAL

EN Contenido en inglés — los talleres del festival se imparten en inglés y español

FESTIVAL · 4TH EDITION

The grand finale of the Cenizas residency

Fénix Festival

Mutation, evolution, change, transformation, movement. Inner and outer.

DATES
20–22 November 2026

VENUE
El Colladito · Cercedilla · Madrid

LANGUAGES
English + Spanish

FÉNIX FESTIVAL - WHAT IS IT?

Mutation, evolution, change, transformation, movement. Inner and outer.

Fénix festival is the culmination of Cenizas, our balfolk residency.

A weekend festival focused on education, a deep and immersive learning itinerary about Balfolk dances. It’s designed to refine technique, explore variations, enhance musicality, understand origins, the function of dances, navigate the dance floor, and much more! A weekend full of enjoyment, learning, and lots of high-quality dancing.

A unique opportunity to receive training from over 12 Balfolk teachers from different parts of Europe, who have spent a week working together to improve the dances and their transmission, offering top-quality training.

Fénix is a festival to dive, to learn, to have fun, and to dance with experienced dancers from diverse Balfolk communities across Europe.

Balfolk represents the contemporary aspect of traditional dances, the necessary change following the collapse of the pillars of ancient rural and urban societies. And it is still evolving, but how?

Cenizas is an international laboratory where dancers, teachers, and organizers gather to share, to learn, teach, confront each other, and essentially, grow. Fénix encapsulates the outcomes of these experiences in a condensation of workshops, concerts and basically A LOT of dancing.

The Festival

A weekend of intensive workshops and concerts, a beautiful gathering to have a great time and learn at full speed, immersed in a stunning natural environment.

This year we’ve created three training itineraries with different workshops, allowing you to choose based on your dance experience and curiosity:

THREE ITINERARIES

Beginners (1 star)

It’s my first time at Balfolk, or maybe my second. When I hear “Mazurka,” I think, “I’ve danced it but, I don’t remember the steps!” This is a space to strengthen the basics, to understand a dance from scratch. Even if you already know the basis, this might be the place for you 🙂

Intermediate (2 stars)

I’m comfortable with some dances and I know their basics, but beyond that, I feel a bit lost. Breton dances? Gascon dances? They’re not the same? Oh dear, there’s so much to learn. And after a very little while in a couple dance, I feel stuck in what I know and I feel I don’t advance.

Advanced (3 stars)

I’ve been dancing through festivals for years. I feel comfortable as a leader/follower and interpreting the music, but I want to take a step further.

From Cenizas, we want to rebuild, to be the Fénix that begins its journey over and over again in a continuous circle of learning that embraces us and takes us ever further.

THE PROGRAM

This is just the structure of the program: for the content of each workshop see the Wokshops Page.

Friday night

Saturday

9:00h - Breakfast
10:30 - 11:30h - Warm-up and Movement Rom (DE/UK)
11:45 - 13:15h - Dance workshop 1 (to choose from 3 options)
13:45h - Lunchtime
15:45h - 16:45h - BASIL/RIF presentation
17:00 - 18:30h - Dance Workshop 2 (to choose from 3 options)
19:30h - Dinner
21:00h - Bal with Groovin' CAT
23:00h - Bal with DOS

Sunday

* You can choose one of the workshops in each block, assistance will be confirmed in order of registration. Registering for a workshop does not guarantee your place, you will receive an email confirming availability before formalizing the payment.

*All the workshops will be in English AND Spanish

THE WORKSHOPS

DANCE WORKSHOPS 2 · Surprise workshops! (3 options)

«Surprise!» This spot will be filled during the residency, it will be something that we develop there, and, trust us, it will be amazing.

BLOCK 1 · BEGINNERS

SAUT BÉARNAIS VS MUTXIKOAK

Rafaela Calheiros (PT)

This workshop invites you to explore Saut Béarnais and Mutxikoak through a more traditional way of transmission. Both rely on recurring step patterns and collective structures, but each carries a distinct movement language, rhythm, and bodily intention. Working in a circle, through repetition, observation, and shared practice, you’ll learn the dances while refining their technical and stylistic nuances. We’ll focus on musical phrasing, speed, weight transfer, posture, and the specific movement of each style. You’ll also explore the grounded flow of Saut Béarnais versus the sharper precision and faster dynamic of Mutxikoak.

BLOCK 1 · INTERMEDIATE

CHOREOGRAPHIC BOURRÉES

Victor Delage (FR)

Everyone is doing the 6 players choregraphy in every bourrée nowadays. You know there exists many mores, right? This workshop invites you to discover that there are many more possibilities. Through a progressive, step-by-step approach, you’ll learn several bourrée choreographies by starting with simple movement patterns and gradually adding new rules and variations until the whole dance flows naturally. We’ll explore Double Jeu and Cassiopea. The focus is not on learning the basic bourrée step, although we may briefly revisit the fundamentals if needed before diving into the choreographies.

BLOCK 1 · ADVANCED

MUSICALITY IN COUPLE DANCES

Léo Proulx (FR)

How can a musical dialogue occur between musicians and dancers whilst dancing?

When there is a sudden change in the music, how can we incorporate this into our dancing? How can we play with melodies, grooves and rhythms in general?

We will discuss these and other musical ideas and explore them dance-wise. Welcome in a workshop for advanced dancers, about how to add more spices in our couple dances, here with a focus on waltzes and scottisches.

BLOCK 3 · BEGINNERS

NORTHERN CEILIDH NONSENSE

Lou Mather (UK)

In this workshop, you’ll explore ceilidh dances from a Celtic region in North West England, rooted in a strong tradition that focuses on fun, playful, and expressive movement. These dances are a great introduction to folk dance for any level, and a very enjoyable way to meet and dance with lots of new people. You’ll get a taster of some of the facilitator’s favourite ceilidh dances.

BLOCK 3 · INTERMEDIATE

BODY GROOVE

Dalia Pranauskaite (LT)

Body Groove – From Head to toes

In balfolk, you often focus on steps, figures, and connection with your partner. In this workshop, you’ll explore another layer of dance: groove and movement initiation through the whole body.

Inspired by house dance practices, you’ll discover how different body parts can create rhythm, direction, texture, and connection, working beyond steps to develop musical sensitivity and personal expression. Always staying rooted in balfolk vocabulary while shifting its quality through groove.

BLOCK 3 · ADVANCED

CONSERVATION OF MOMENTUM

Leo Visser (NL)

In this workshop, you’ll experiment with couple dance dynamics through ideas inspired by Aikido, exploring how to transform and reuse energy in movement. You’ll learn how rotational and lateral energy can shift, helping you move smoothly between turning (like in waltz) and travelling steps without losing flow.

You’ll explore simple biomechanical ideas such as shared center of gravity and how small adjustments between two connected bodies can completely change ease and fluidity.

CAN I COME?

Yes! Fill in the form

The festival

It is open to maximum 50 participants (plus the 40 participants of Cenizas) willing to enjoy this wonderful experience and learn a lot. The admission fee for the weekend is 160€, that include participation to all activities, food and accommodation in rooms of 6-8 people. You will have a bed, a pillow, sheets and one blanket, but we recommend to bring a sleeping bag as well, as nights can be very cold in these dates. If you can’t, please let us know. Bring also a towel and your most comfortable dance clothes.

Filling the APPLICATION FORM does NOT mean that you have reserved your spot: you need to buy your ticket here.

Cancellation policy:

While buying your ticket, you’ll see there’s a small fee added: that’s not the platform cost (we pay that), but a mandatory insurance for cancellation. It covers several possibilities, such as a surgery that was not scheduled when you bought the ticket, the cancellation of the train/flight etc.

I haven’t dance before, is this a festival for me?

Yes! We will have a specific itinerary so you can take your first steps in Balfolk. Come join us!

If you have any questions, write to us at folquemadrid@gmail.com

WHERE AND WHEN (AND HOW DO I GET THERE)

WHERE: The Festival will take place in the Albergue “El Colladito” in Cercedilla, a beautiful place in the mountains.

HOW DO I GET THERE?: The place is at 1:40h of local train from Madrid and from the airport, then 5 minutes walking (uphill) from the train station.

WHEN?: It will take place from November 20th to November 22nd 2026. This means autumn, so nights might get chilly (but not really cold). Arrival on Friday: around 19h.

Sleeping: As participants to the weekend, you’ll sleep at the cottages (8 people bedrooms). There will be bedsheets, a pillow and one blanket at the place. Please bring your dancing shoes, if you can a yoga mat to stretch, comfy clothes, party clothes. Remember that nights can be pretty cold in November, so please bring a sleeping bag if you can.

Food: you can choose an omnivore, vegetarian or vegan choice. Besides that, you’ll be asked to specify any intolerance or allergy you have and the kitchen staff will provide. If you have multiple stuff (vegetarian, lactose intolerant, with an allergy to hazelnuts) don’t worry: they will take everything in account and, if needed, they will prepare a special meal just for you.

Spoiler alert: in this kind of events if you choose «omnivore» there will be meat basically in each meal. So if you are vegiflexireductarian we suggest to choose Vegetarian and avoid some global warming.

Please don’t bring any drinks, we will sell beers, wine and non alcoholic drinks: our bar is necessary to sustain the economy of the festival.

If you like the idea of Fenix, spread the word and bring some friends with you!

CONTACT
Venue: Camino de los Campamentos, 1, 28470 Cercedilla, Madrid · www.cercedilla.elcolladito.com
Any question? Call us: María: +34 652 483 969 · Francesco: +34 617 123 144

WHAT IS THE RESIDENCY?

Cenizas · Balfolk Residency

You can find more info about the residency in this website: https://folquevivo.com/cenizas/

ARTISTIC COORDINATION

Aurora Cavazzin

She began dancing in Turin (Italy) at six, studying ballet, contemporary, hip hop, jazz and, since 2011, balfolk. After training with the Hallet Eghayan Company in Lyon and graduate in community dance and pedagogy in Turin, she now collaborates with dance companies and teaches balfolk across Europe. In 2021 she joined Collectif Matières Vivantes to promote gender-based violences free spaces in social dances. Her approach blends contemporary tools with folk dance, centering tradition and consent. We are not talking about numbers and formulas… we’ll work on body, movement and have fun while at it!

We will borrow Rudolph Von Laban’s theories from early 20th century to go deeper on the analysis of the dances we practice: a lot of traditional dances has similar steps, but they dont look the same at all. What changes is the whole way of moving the body, the «dynamic». Each day we will focus on one particular topic: weight, flux, time, space and rhythms to understand how to read, feel and use each one of them while learning and teaching dances. Because once you know the dynamic of movement it’s easier to recognize it in the dance, then repeat and vary it in order to enrich your array of expressions. Up to you then to stick as much as you can to tradition or use them for impovisation.

Rom Brook-Hart

Based in Berlin, Rom is a physiotherapist, balfolk teacher, and occasional event organiser. His teaching is focused on the physical mechanisms behind specific dances and styles, using simple principles as a jumping-off point to build complexity without losing clarity – in other words, his goal is to make dancing feel easy.

In this edition of Cenizas, he will explore how slowing things down leads to better, more enjoyable dancing. Working with couple dances from France and Sweden, you will learn to ground yourself in your own body and in space, improve the clarity of your movements, put value into every moment of a dance, and create more space for playfulness and stylistic flourishes.

Francesco and María

are balfolk teachers and producers. Located in Madrid, they organise loads of events, workshops and stuff.

Among other events they organise the Bailando Entre Montañas festival, the Neo-Trad: folk, feminism and dance, and several concerts in the Madrid area.

As folk dancers and teachers, they’ve specialised in couple dances, studying their most intimate features and exploring the possibilities from fusions with other dances. Their approach, based on creativity, active listening and roles switching, has been recognised in these years with workshops in many balfolk festivals in all Europe (they still miss some country, though).

They’ve also participated as teachers in other balfolk residencies such as Folktemporary, Resitrad or Sustainabal and they wish to bring the spirit of these encounters into this new gathering.

Who are we?

Folqué is a balfolk association based in Madrid. We promote balfolk locally and we teach in festivals of all Europe. We also have other nice and chill events: if you wish to know about them, check our website: www.folquemadrid.es or follow us through our social networks.

Oh, yeah, it’s in Spanish 😉

For more information, we leave you with some video of us.

Instagram · Facebook · YouTube

What is the residency?