Ancient Future
Gathering
Remember · Envision · Embody
- Calling in the global tribe -
This is not just a festival.
It is a convergence point for culture, community, and the people actively shaping The future.
27. - 30. August 2026
Pápa, Hungary
(1hr to Bratislava - 2hrs to Vienna - 2hrs to Budapest)
What we are creating
This Gathering is a 4-day international meeting point, a space where we come together through music, dance, ceremony, and community to remember the beautiful future we already carry within us.
It’s a collaboration between the Ecstatic Dance crews of Vienna, Slovakia, and Budapest, weaving together our communities and opening a shared field that reaches beyond borders, rooted in connection rather than separation and in cooperation rather than competition.
What we are creating is a hybrid of festival, retreat, and ceremonial container, a time-out-of-time space where something deeper can emerge.
We are living through a time of transition. Old structures are shifting. New ones are not yet fully formed.
We are bridging ancient wisdom with a new paradigm vision, bringing together artists, dancers, elders, musicians, and healers, alongside entrepreneurs, builders, and visionaries, not to talk about a new world, but to live fragments of it, here and now.
Through dance, music, prayer, and shared presence, we remember what it feels like to be human, connected, and alive, reconnecting with ourselves, with each other, with nature, and with what truly matters.
We gather:
to connect,
to remember,
to envision,
to celebrate,
to embody.
And let ancient memories of beautiful distant futures come alive.
Location
We gather in an amazingly beautiful location in Hungary - 1 hr from bratislava, 2 hrs vienna & 2hrs budapest
a true oasis in the heart of Europe.
A lake for swimming and quiet reflection
An on-site spa with sauna, cold plunge and hot tub
Space to breathe and simply be
A small piece of tropical, island-like beauty - a natural sanctuary for rest, connection and celebration
It sits right between the capitals of Austria, Slovakia and Hungary, easy driving distance between each of them.
Line-up
We are calling in:
Elders & Wisdom Keepers
Indigenous Musicians & Lineage Keepers
Ecstatic Dance & Downtempo DJs & Producers
Folk Singers & Musicians of different cultures
Singing Circle Leaders
NGO Representatives & CEOs of regenerative companies
Thought Leaders
Activists, Environmentalists, Systems Thinkers
Dedicated Firekeepers
Workshop Facilitators
Nessi Gomes is a British-Portuguese songwriter. She writes with a quiet intensity, where beauty sits beside fear, where longing doesn’t ask to be solved, and where the darker corners are given air, not shame. Her debut album Diamonds & Demons opened a door. Since then, she has shared her work internationally, in rooms big and small, always choosing presence over polish, truth over pretence.
Txira Huni Kuin is from the indigenous Huni Kuin people of Acre, Brazil. She is an incredible song carrier and leader of the group of women for traditional songs and dances in her village. Txira is fierce and gentle bringing a beautiful force of the feminine from the Forest. She shares with great joy the culture of the Huni Kuin people.
Known for their highly accessible and deeply powerful Kirtan and Medicine Music offerings, The Hanuman Project will sweep you up into a whirlwind of chant ecstasy and then plunge in a lake of devotional nectar. They bring a cutting edge devotional music ensemble, ever evolving, dissolving boundaries and creating accessibility for devotional culture around the world for the past decade.
The Medicina is a Hungarian world music formation of four beautiful souls, who have found each other during sacred ceremonies and connected through music to perform healing and mantra songs from South-American and Indian traditions to their audience. They celebrate life and this wonderful, delighted journey as a human being.
Suduaya is one of the leading psychill artists of the past 10 years. His music is a fresh blend of sounds and styles. His sets are built like a story, with no track sounding like the other. One of the most profilic artist of his generation.
The music of Intiche is a deep fusion of natural organic sounds, traditional instruments and music inspired from various ancient cultures from around the world, emotional melodies, groovy rythyms and percussions. Always with an appreciation of the present of this life; this human experience; with of course some mysteries.
Singing has always brought Suyana to a place of deep connection and (self)healing. She is creating spaces for connection and transformation for others through her music, workshops and courses, to guide people to come home to their own hearts again.
Cuervo Cuervo is the meeting of the minds of Argentinian musician and charango player Agustin Ganem and American producer and multi instrumentalist Benjamin Hill. They create a unique fusion of psychedelic electronic music fused with Latin American folk and live improvisation.
EarthJam is a live electronic music project with a sound and vibe which is ancient, modern and timeless at the same time. Live electronic drums are intertwined with didgeridoo, space guitar and psychedelic atmospheres. This unique blend is calling the listener to dive deep into the inner realms, while their body moves to the rhythms.
His passion is to create spaces where people can move in ways they have never moved before, explore deep self-discovery and allow full, authentic and creative expression. He is also a meditation teacher and together with that and his trained eyes as a dancer, he reads and the dancers and feels to crowd like no other, to see where the journey wants to go.
Antara Dakini is a multidisciplinary artist, healer, and the visionary founder of Liberation Dance and the Moon Dance Austria Circle. Her work is the culmination of decades spent honoring the Red and White paths, traversing sacred lands from ashrams to indigenous ceremonies to bridge ancient wisdom with modern transformation.
Ataya Sacred Sound Collective Four musicians coming together for the love of Earth and music. This is the essence of the Ataya Sacred Sound Collective. Our sounds are a tribute to the connection between humanity, nature, and spirit. Together, we create musical spaces that inspire, heal, and touch the soul. A shared journey of sound, spirit, and deep connection.
Dj Colibri specializes in crafting unique mixes that blend world music, tribal rhythms, organic house, and shamanic journey music, creating a powerful container for self-discovery, emotional release, and profound connection. He guides transformative ecstatic dances designed to liberate your spirit and awaken your joy.
Lov Lenka is a devoted musician, singer, and sound healer with over two decades of experience exploring the transformative power of resonance. Through original songwriting and a diverse range of instruments, Lenka creates immersive sound experiences. She views the voice as a bridge, a sacred connection between body and spirit, earth and sky, and silence and sound.
Don Juan Mezcal carries rhythm as ceremony. His sound weaves ancestral chants, ritual songs, organic grooves and electronic textures into a journey where the ancient and the future meet. From soft meditative openings to ecstatic dance peaks, he invites the crowd into a living ritual of movement, connection and remembrance.
Festival Areas
Music
Main Stage & Sacred Fire
The musical heart of the gathering.
Our main stage stands in front of a continuously tended sacred fire, held by dedicated firekeepers throughout the festival.
The fire is connected with the dancefloor, amplifying our prayers and holding our processes.
We will have the peak of the festival on the full moon night of Saturday the 29th of August, the last full moon of summer.
Beach Stage
Here we will have DJs, Musicians and Workshop leaders performing in the daytime, it will be a place to hang out, swim, relax and to enjoy being alive.
Chillout Dome
We will set up a big dome for Downtempo Sets, Singing Circles, Slow Sensual Dancing, Concerts and of course also to just float and relax in the night time.
Healing & Ritual
Healing Areas
We’ll have two healing areas:
One of them will be more in the open and includes a Spa with Sauna, Cold Plunge and Hot Tub, a tent for Workshops, spaces for Massage, an Altar dedicated to the Water, Ice baths, teachings on conscious relating, Ayurveda, healthy eating and much more..
The other will be a bit more hidden and will be dedicated to deeper work:
Red Tent (Women’s Space)
A big Sweat Lodge
Kambo Ceremonies
A Tent for talking circles
Universal Temple
An area of prayer, an altar in nature.
Open at all times.
A space for silence, meditation and prayer - beyond any religion.
Vision & Creation
Emergent Future Village
Where ideas become tangible.
A curated space for regenerative projects, startups, NGOs and solution-builders to present their work.
Here you can:
Meet founders and innovators
Explore real-world solutions
Join conversations about implementation
Discover ways to contribute beyond the festival
Listen to talks and watch movie screenings
This is where vision meets structure.
A space where ideas become collaborations, and collaborations become real-world projects.
Wall of Honour
A participatory installation.
We will put up a big wooden board and pre-seed it with people who inspire us in our work, the builders and futurists, the activists and change-makers.
Each attendee may place the name of someone who inspires them - a public figure or an everyday human.
We honor those who walk paths of courage, peace and change.
A collective memory made visible.
Long-term vision
The Ancient Future Gathering is not a one-time event.
We are working toward establishing a permanent Hub in Slovakia and other strategic places around the globe.
In 2027 we will host the Emergent Future Conference, focused on regenerative systems and real-world implementation.
Addditionally, we’ll we launch a Startup Incubator to incubate projects that move society towards a sustainable, post-scarcity civilization in harmony with nature, incorporating the best of ancient wisdom and contemporary technology.
Co-create the timeline
With a limited number of participants, the ancient future gathering is intentionally intimate
allowing for real encounters, shared presence and meaningful connection.
Your ticket is your contribution to co-creating this gathering and the culture of care and community that emerges within it.
We invite you to come not only as a guest,
but as a co-creator of a lived experience.