Ruhrtriennale — Festival of Arts (Essen / Zollverein)

Ruhrtriennale 2025 Essen — First Full Van Hove Season

2025 marked the first full season under Intendant Ivo Van Hove. At the Essen venues — primarily PACT Zollverein as the NRW Choreographic Centre within the UNESCO World Heritage site — the festival presented a dense programme of contemporary dance, performance, discourse, and installation. PACT offered several dance and performance premieres; the Trafohaus served as an exhibition space for the Urban Arts Ruhr. The positive reception from audiences and critics formed the basis for the ambitious programming of the final 2026 season, in which Van Hove pushes his festival profile to its peak with Marina Abramović, Christopher Rüping, Joyce DiDonato, and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker.