An original cultural initiative is being launched this year by the cultural initiative kythniale – Bridges of Culture. This is Kythnos DuoFest, the 1st European Couple Folk Dance Festival.

The seven countries participating in this inaugural event are: Albania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Spain, Moldova, Ukraine, and Romania.
 The participation of the national delegations was secured through the respective embassies, which placed the festival under their auspices from the very beginning.

Dancers from the seven countries, dressed in their traditional costumes, will perform couple dances from their homelands—such as the Greek Balos dance, which is also a couple dance. The eighth country represented will, naturally, be Greece. Local dancers will present—accompanied by live music—the traditional Thermiotikos Balos, the dance that accompanies every social occasion on Kythnos and is gaining recognition among an ever-wider audience.

The Greek performance will be curated by the two Cultural Associations of Chora and Dryopida (villages of Kythnos), accompanied by local musicians Giorgis and Vangelis Bellis.

The main event will take place on Saturday, September 6, 2025, at the Dryopida Open-Air Theatre, starting at 21:00, with free admission for the public.

Given the inclusion of the Thermiotikos Balos in Greece’s National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage, kythniale has set its goal as the preservation and promotion of this integral part of Kythnos’ musical and dance tradition. Plans are also underway to create a cultural repository of documentation around this unique cultural element: the Balos of Kythnos.

At the same time, as cultural dialogue between the island and the rest of Europe is continually encouraged, a workshop on the Balos and other European couple dances will take place the following day, Sunday, September 7. The aim is to collect folklore material and foster further intercultural exchange.

In July 2025, Kythnos will host the photographic and video art works of Maria Bourbou, a Luxembourg-based artist.
 During her summer stay, the island, as she says, “sneaked” into her heart. She captured timeless moments and emotions, offering a personal narrative filled with love and her unique artistic touch.