Iskara

Art & Dance Festival
16 – 18 June ₂₀₂₇ Želiv _(CZ)

About Iskara

Born from years of artistic creation, musical collaboration, light installations, rave culture, and audiovisual events, Iskara is a three-day immersive festival of art, live music, and free-form dance. Rooted in the ecstatic dance scene, it brings movement together with a distinctive visual world shaped by light, scenography, and hazy atmosphere.

It is a place to let go, explore new ways of moving, and step into an environment created not only by music, but also by art, light, and shared experience.

Art and Space

The entire festival site will become a living work of art. Light installations, projections, lasers, scenography, decorations, and artistic interventions will transform every corner of the space. Art will not simply accompany the programme—it will shape the atmosphere and become an integral part of the festival experience.

Dance and listen on a stage filled with light. Rest in welcoming indoor spaces or retreat to quiet temples designed as places of safety and calm. Discover hidden rooms and installations, share tea or ceremonial cacao, and take time to simply observe the world unfolding around you.

Dancers and performers will connect the visual world with movement through intimate performances and improvisations, inviting participants to experience dance in new and unexpected ways.

Music and Dance

Iskara’s musical journey will bring together live concerts and ecstatic dance DJ sets, moving freely across cultures and genres.

Musicians from Amsterdam’s African community will fill the festival with natural rhythms, drums, voices, and traditional instruments. Live performances inspired by Latin America will bring the vibrant energy of cumbia, salsa, and Afro-Brazilian music.

Two ecstatic dance journeys will form key moments of the weekend: the first on Saturday after sunset and the second on Sunday morning. Each set will travel through intensity and tenderness, inviting dancers to let go of expectations and move with greater freedom and authenticity.

Dance workshops will also be part of the festival programme. Throughout the weekend, participants will have the opportunity to join several sessions exploring different approaches to movement and dance. The workshops will offer space to learn, experiment, find new inspiration, and discover fresh ways of connecting with the body—whether you are an experienced dancer or simply curious to move.

Sacred Fire

The sacred fire will stand as the guardian of the festival—carrying our wishes, holding our shared energy, and connecting us through its flames. We will light it together on Friday night during an opening ritual accompanied by African drums and rhythms. It will burn throughout the entire festival, offering a place for prayer, silence, music, singing, and dancing until late Monday morning.
Shared Meals
Food has the power to bring people together. That is why shared breakfasts, lunches, and dinners will be an essential part of the ISKARA experience.

Meals will be included in the ticket price, allowing everyone to stay connected throughout the weekend and gather regularly around one table. These shared moments will offer space to slow down, meet new people, and deepen the sense of community.

Shared Meals

Food has the power to bring people together. That is why shared breakfasts, lunches, and dinners will be an essential part of the ISKARA experience.

Meals will be included in the ticket price, allowing everyone to stay connected throughout the weekend and gather regularly around one table. These shared moments will offer space to slow down, meet new people, and deepen the sense of community.

Rest and Wellness

Between dancing, performances, and workshops, the wellness zone will offer space to pause and recharge.

Set beside the venue’s pond, the area will feature saunas, cold-plunge pools, and hot tubs. It will be a place to cool down during warm days, care for the body, and restore energy throughout the weekend. Massage therapists will also be available at the festival.

Come for the music. Move through the art. Stay for the people—and leave with an experience that continues long after the final dance.

And one more inportant thing...

No alkohol and synthetic drugs allowed at this fetival.
Be inspired and high on emotions, music and light.

Program

Friday

14:00–18:00
Arrival and accommodation

18:00
Light dinner

19:00
Official festival opening by Alma Indira

20:30
Fire Ceremony
w/ Igqirha Nkosenathi Koela, Ibou & Friends
followed by dance performers and fire spinners

22:00
Festival Area Opening
by Sila

Step into the unforgettable and enchanting world of Iskara and let yourself be carried away by an audiovisual space filled with light, music and live performances.

00:00
Lights OUT

Saturday

8:00
Morning programme of your choice

Yoga w/ Anna Rybanská
Stretch your body w/ Radek Laci
Chi Kung practice w/ František Schneider

9:00–11:00
Breakfast

11:00
Dance and movement workshops

Mr. Kriss – dance workshop
Avalon – African dance by Sacred Fire

13:00–15:00
Lunch

15:00
Concert: Ctirad Macháně (Handpan)

16:00–18:00
Latin American band ??

18:00–20:00
Dinner

20:00–21:00
Concert: Igqirha Nkosenathi Koela

21:00
Ecstatic Dance w/Marko Buntu
Accompanied by live saxo, percussion and african drums

23:00
Anna Curanič Live Ambient

00:00
Lights OUT

Sunday

8:00
Morning programme of your choice

Yoga w/ Anna Rybanská
Stretch your body w/ Radek Laci
Chi Kung practice w/ František Schneider

9:00–11:00
Breakfast

11:00
Dance and movement workshops

Guided dance with Maisha Cobra
Djembe workshop & drum circle w/ Ibou Percu
František Schneider – Ecstatic Breakdance

13:00–15:00
Lunch

15:00–17:00
Ecstati Dance: Happy Healing
by Jobi Tao

17:00
Official end of the festivals and closing concert with Maringo Bérénos

Party After

Stay with us untill Monday morning. We are inviting some secret DJs to play at our Party After and other musicians to share music aroudn fire untill late night.

Musicians

Alma Indira