The annual Seoul International Dance Festival will raise its curtains this week, kick-starting 22 days of classical and contemporary dance performances from across the globe.

SIDance 2016 will be held from Sept. 24 to Oct. 15 at a number of venues, including the CJ Towol Theater of Seoul Arts Center, the Grand Theater and Small Theater of Sogang University Mary Hall and D-Cube Park in Sindorim D-Cube City.

The upcoming festivities will include invited performances from around the world -- Portugal, Argentina, Canada, the Netherlands, the US, Cabo Verde, Uruguay, Mexico and Chile. The three-week dance fest will also have local dancers and directors teaming up with performing artists from France, Madagascar, Bolivia, Peru and Switzerland.

Celebrating the Year of Korea-France, this year’s programs will feature special “France Focus” repertories that reflect the trends of the French contemporary dance movement. Performances from France include SIDance’s opening number by Ballet Preljocaj -- a company known for its sensual repertoires. The troupe is slated to perform excerpts from “Retour a Berratham,” “Spectral Evidence,” “Romeo and Juliet” and “Annonciation.”

Along with its French focus, the festival is also putting the spotlight on regional Spanish dances.

The “Spain Dances in ... Seoul” programs will feature diverse contemporary dance from five regions in Spain, including the Thomas Noone Dance company of Barcelona and its interpretation of “Medea,” an intense physical dance with its own envisioning of the tragedy of Euripides. 

Other performances will include a South American-Spanish production by Larumbe Danza, Pendulo Cero and SNEO Mestizaje Projects creating 3-D animation and contemporary dance piece “Ballenas, Historias de Gigantes.”

Some SIDance festival events are free, while ticketed events cost up to 70,000 won ($63). For more information, visit www.sidance.org.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)