Total improv fest
The Total Improv Festival, held in Lisbon from 17–19 June 2026, is one of the flagship public activities of the Erasmus+ project Performing Bridges: Improvisation for Inclusive Education and Social Change. Over three days, the festival brings together artists, educators and local communities to explore improvisation through music, movement, theatre, voice and interdisciplinary performance.
The programme combines evening performances, workshops, participatory activities and the open artistic programme Jardim Improvisado, creating opportunities for dialogue between professional artists, local communities and international creative networks. The festival welcomes artists representing creative communities from Portugal, Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Spain, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Japan and England, reflecting the project’s commitment to intercultural exchange, artistic collaboration and social inclusion.
17 June · Opening Night
· Fábrica Braço de Prata
The festival opens at Fábrica Braço de Prata, one of Lisbon’s most distinctive independent cultural venues, bringing together artists, educators and audiences for the first evening of artistic exchange. The opening programme introduces the central themes of Performing Bridges—improvisation, collaboration and intercultural dialogue—while creating opportunities for participants from different countries to meet and begin building new creative connections.
The evening features BESTA, a solo performance by Giovana Sanchez (Brazil). Through movement, physical theatre and improvisation, the performance explores instinct, vulnerability and transformation, inviting audiences to experience improvisation as a powerful artistic language. The opening night sets the tone for the festival, encouraging curiosity, dialogue and encounters between artists and audiences from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Day 2 · 18 June · Fábrica Braço de Prata
The second day continues the exploration of contemporary improvisation through music, sound and interdisciplinary performance. Building on the connections established during the opening evening, the programme creates further opportunities for audiences and artists to exchange ideas while experiencing different approaches to improvisation in performance.
The evening presents Ni!, an audiovisual performance by Leon Sukhodolskii, combining bass clarinet, saxophones, duduk, electronics and projected imagery into a live improvised composition. Blending acoustic instruments, digital technologies and visual art, the performance demonstrates how improvisation creates dialogue across artistic disciplines while encouraging experimentation, collaboration and shared creative discovery.
Day 3 · 19 June · Palácio do Grilo
The final day of the festival takes place at the historic Palácio do Grilo, where artistic presentation, education and community participation come together in a unique cultural setting. Moving beyond the traditional theatre stage, the programme invites participants to experience improvisation throughout the palace and its surrounding gardens, creating opportunities for learning, dialogue and creative exchange.
Throughout the day, participants join workshops and practical sessions led by international artists, exploring improvisation as a creative methodology for artistic practice, education and community engagement. Among the educational activities, Yael Karavan leads a workshop dedicated to improvisation, creativity and collaborative processes, offering practical tools for communication, active listening and collective creation. These activities reflect the wider objectives of the Performing Bridges project by demonstrating how improvisation can foster inclusion, participation and intercultural understanding.
The festival concludes with Glossário da Improvisação, an improvised performance by dancer Sara Paternesi and saxophonist José Lencastre (Portugal). Blending movement and live music, the performance celebrates improvisation as a shared artistic language while bringing together many of the themes explored throughout the festival: collaboration, presence, dialogue and creative freedom.
Jardim Improvisado –
An Open Platform for Artistic Experimentation
Jardim Improvisado is a special programme within the Total Improv Festival, created to extend the project’s commitment to participation, inclusion and artistic collaboration beyond the main stage. The idea grows from the desire to open the festival to the wider artistic community through an international open call welcoming new voices, site-specific projects and interdisciplinary experimentation.
The programme brings together performers, musicians, dancers, visual artists and interdisciplinary creators, transforming the historic gardens and interiors of Palácio do Grilo into a living space for artistic exploration. Rather than following a fixed stage programme, visitors are invited to move freely through the venue, discovering performances, installations and artistic interventions while creating their own journey through the festival.
Bringing together artists from Portugal, Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Spain, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Japan and England, Jardim Improvisado reflects the core values of the Performing Bridges project: intercultural dialogue, inclusion, artistic collaboration and creative exchange.
