Dance in the Metro: every Thursday the Metro C stations in Rome become urban stages

Rome’s Metro C stations are ready to become real open-air stages. He returns for the second edition of “Danza nel Metrò”, a contemporary dance festival that brings art to everyday places, where thousands of people pass through every day. The initiative animates public transport spaces with unexpected performances that invite citizens and travelers to stop, observe and get excited.

The festival takes place every Thursday in October 2025, from 5pm to 7pm. After the debut on October 9th at Malatesta station, the performances continue at Teano station and will continue until October 30th. Entrance is free and open to all, with a view to maximum cultural accessibility.

The project was born from the idea of ​​overcoming the conventional barriers between art and the public. The architecture of the underground stations becomes an integral part of the choreographic narrative, in order to create a dialogue between the urban space and the dancing bodies. The columns, corridors, stairs and tracks are transformed into scenographic elements that interact with the movements of the artists.

Among the protagonists of the first stage was Donatella Patino, who presented a choreography where breathing becomes language. His performance demonstrated how each step arises from a shared breath between artist and spectator, creating an unexpected intimacy in a place of passage like the subway. The public responded with attention and participation, demonstrating that art can find space even in the most unlikely contexts.

The initiative is promoted by Roma Capitale through the Department of Culture and is the winner of the Artes et Iubilaeum 2025 Public Notice. The festival receives funding from the European Union as part of the Next Generation EU programme, specifically on the M1C3 – Investment 4.3 measure of the PNRR dedicated to large tourist events of the Caput Mundi project. The realization takes place in collaboration with SIAE, the Municipality of Rome V, the Genera Cultural Association and Atac.

The choice of Metro C stations is not random, given that the line represents one of the most modern infrastructures in the capital and its large, bright spaces guarantee the ideal setting to host such artistic performances. The stations thus become meeting places where art leaves traditional theaters and reaches a heterogeneous audience, made up of commuters, students, tourists and residents.

The festival is part of a broader vision that sees culture as a tool for urban regeneration and social cohesion. Bringing dance into everyday places means democratizing access to art, eliminating the distances between artistic creation and popular enjoyment, making beauty part of people’s ordinary experience.

Those waiting for the metro will find themselves an involuntary spectator of a work of art, in an experience that breaks the routine and opens up spaces of wonder to fully realize the objective of the initiative, namely to demonstrate how culture can inhabit every space and how art has the strength to transform even the most functional places into areas of encounter and extraordinary beauty.