7 Feb-2 April. This festival of contemporary dance festival is organised by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, and is one of the most important events of the dance season in Rome

Not only is there a programme of top class dance performance but there is also a competition and prize for the best choroegraphy and solo performance. During the festival ten finalists are selected to present ten works to a jury. The winning project is awarded €12,500 for its development into a full-scale performance the following year. The winning soloist is awarded €7,500 to commission a choroegrapher to create a solo work, also for the following year.

The 2014 finalists who return this year with their work are Manfredi Perego for Grafiche and the soloist Irene Russolillo. Auditorium Parcodella Musica.

The annual festival is designed to discover new and talented international contemporary dancers and choreographers in a programme that spans the world of theatre and dance. It is now in its 11th edition.

Among the highlights of this year's event is South African company Via Katlehong Dance with Katlehong Cabaret (8-9 Feb), in which artists sing and dance about community pride.

On stage in Italy for the first time is John (13-14 Feb), the latest Verbatim dance-theatre piece by Australia's Lloyd Newson and his DV8 Physical Theatre collective. The piece, described by organisers as emotional and moving, is centred around those on the margins of society, such as drug addicts and criminals.

Luca Silvestrini and his company Protein dance present LOL (20-21 Feb), a wry look at the difficulty of relationships in the internet age. Winner of the British Dance Award 2011, the show combines black humour with physical energy and theatricality.

Also worth checking out is Yama (23 Feb), the new show by French-Belgian choreographer Damien Jalet, inspired by his encounter with mountain-worshipping monks during a recent visit to Tohoku in Japan.

This year the festival ends with a very special event on 2 April: Life in progress by French ballet dancer Sylvie Guillem, in her last performance. Guillem's swansong will unite the work of three major contemporary choreographers Akram Khan, Russel Maliphant and Mats Ek.