Danish Dance Theatre’s much-loved summer highlight, Dansk Danseteaters Summer Dance, returns from 26–30 August 2026 – this year in a completely new and spectacular setting. The summer event moves to the front of the Opera House on Holmen, overlooking Amalienborg, with the water as a gently rippling backdrop. One of Copenhagen’s most beautiful locations will frame six open-air performances filled with dance under the open sky - and this year all performances are free of charge.

With Summer Dance in its new setting, Danish Dance Theatre presents the performance Le Scénario, by the internationally acclaimed choreographer Philip Berlin performed by the company’s 11 dancers. Philip Berlin is one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Scandinavian dance. He creates dance that crackles with energy: athletic, irreverent and unapologetically joyful. His work thrives on momentum, risk and the thrill of bodies pushed to their limits.

Summer Dance is a gesture to the city. It offers access to international dance at eye level, without ticket queues. The ambition is to create large-scale, sensory experiences that can be felt in the body, whether you are encountering dance for the first time or already have it under your skin – in a setting where the city, the audience, and the art come together.

Building on the strong experiences previously created at Ofelia Plads, Dansk Danseteater has, over time, sought to refine its outdoor format by reducing technical complexity and placing even greater emphasis on the artistic encounter and the audience experience. With the new location, both stage and audience can now be sheltered under the Opera House roof, while also making use of the venue’s café and restroom facilities.

Danish Dance Theatre’s Summer Dance also features workshops for children and adults, talks, and coffee and wine by the waterfront.

This year, Summer Dance is part of the yes - dance biennale, where Danish Dance Theatre joins forces with Dansehallerne, København Danser and Sydhavn Teater to celebrate contemporary dance in Copenhagen every other year from August to September.

This Year’s Performance

Le Scénario by Philip Berlin

Le Scénario is a dance performance that celebrates the finale. Swedish choreographer Philip Berlin fuses raw post-punk energy, soaring leaps with a playful sense of humour, drawing inspiration from the freedom of modern dance in the 1960s and 1970s. The costumes flirt with both Renaissance menswear and contemporary queer aesthetics, creating a visual language that is at once historical and insistently present.

Philip Berlin is an internationally acclaimed Swedish choreographer whose work has toured widely across Europe. He is known for crafting high-intensity performances that fuse virtuosic movement, strong musicality and bold visual worlds.

The performance unfolds as a sustained crescendo and plays with the idea of the finale as a format where energy, sound, light and movement build relentlessly and crash over the audience. It is intense, sensuous and physical – an experience felt throughout the body. The focus rests on the instant when the body leaves the ground. The dancers launch themselves through space in large, powerful jumps – like leaping deers at full speed, unpredictable and full of life.

The costumes, created by Daniel Åkerström Steen and Philip Berlin, combine historical silhouettes with latex and modern materials, reinforcing the performance’s playful exploration of identity, strength and extravagance.

Since its premiere at Dansens Hus in Stockholm in 2023, Le Scénario has toured widely across Scandinavia, including performances at the Oslo Opera House.

Artistic Team

Choreography: Philip Berlin
Dancers: 10 dancers from Danish Dance Theatre
Stage Design and costumes: Daniel Åkerström-Steen
Composition: Yoann Durant
Music: Molchat Doma, Dirty Beaches & Utro

Practical Information

Dates: 26–30 August 2026
Location: Under the open sky in front of the Opera House, Holmen, Ekvipagemestervej 10, Copenhagen
Price: Free admission (reservation fee DKK 25).