Open Your Mind 2027

OPEN YOUR MIND (OYM) is an international experimental dance festival in Sofia, Bulgaria, started in 2026. Following its successful first edition, the festival is developing as an annual meeting point for dancers, performers and movement artists from Bulgaria and across Europe. OYM brings together diverse movement cultures, including street dance, breaking, contemporary dance, freestyle and interdisciplinary performance. Through workshops, creative laboratories, experimental dance battles, performances and collaborative explorations, the festival creates a space where artists can exchange knowledge, challenge artistic boundaries and discover new approaches to movement and improvisation. The festival is developed in partnership with the established Open Your Mind platform in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. This connection provides a foundation for building a lasting international network and strengthening artistic exchange between Bulgaria and the European experimental dance community. Each year, OYM Sofia aims to invite international artists to share their practices, lead workshops and collaborate with local dancers in creative processes. The festival encourages experimentation, individuality, diversity and collaboration, treating different artistic backgrounds and movement languages as sources of inspiration. Our long-term vision is to establish OYM Sofia as an annual international platform that connects local and international dance communities, supports emerging artists, develops new creative methodologies and generates opportunities for future collaborations and co-created performances. OYM is more than a dance festival  - it is a space for meeting, movement exploration, artistic freedom and the creation of new connections through dance.