Emma Wheeler '22: Midsommar Dans Festival

Midsommardans, co-founded by Emma Wheeler, is a new outdoor dance festival in the Stockholm Archipelago dedicated to supporting dancers and emerging artists at the beginning of their professional careers while celebrating movement, music, nature, and cultural exchange during the Swedish midsummer season. The 2026 festival takes place on June 20.

Bringing together dancers, musicians, and creators from Sweden, the U.S., and beyond, including several Walnut Hill alumni artists, the project aims to create an accessible and inspiring performance environment where classical and contemporary dance can exist in dialogue with the natural landscape! Rooted in the spirit of collaboration and artistic curiosity fostered at Walnut Hill, Midsommardans hopes to build meaningful cultural connections while creating new opportunities for young artists to perform, collaborate, and create original work in a supportive artistic environment.

Emma writes: "As an independently produced nonprofit initiative, community support is deeply appreciated and genuinely makes a difference. Donations of any size help support artists, music, staging, and production costs. Truly no contribution is too small. The encouragement of the Walnut Hill community means so much as this first season comes to life." Learn more at midsommardans.org and on Instagram.