On 11 June, in the Muziekgebouw, in the presence of His Majesty the King, the 78th edition of the Holland Festival was festively opened with the European premiere of Cyber Subin. The festival will continue until 29 June.
Thai choreographer Pichet Klunchun and MIT scientist Pat Pataranutaporn brought together cutting edge AI technology and traditional Thai dance in a new choreographic form. Four dancers performed alongside their avatars, responding in real time to AI-driven impulses and being challenged by the technology. The audience was also given the opportunity to give prompts, contributing to the performance.
In her opening remarks, festival director Emily Ansenk stressed the importance of art and connection in confusing and hard times: "The Holland Festival was founded in 1947, in the aftermath of a devastating war. At the time, there was a shared understanding that exchange, imagination and connection were the only workable answers to destruction and division. That belief has only grown more urgent over time. (...) In a world shaken by violence, from Gaza to so many other places, we feel sadness, helplessness, confusion. And yet we come together. Because it is precisely now that the arts matter most. In the moment when words fall short, art makes us feel. Reflect. To be vulnerable. And perhaps, as our associate artist Trajal Harrell says, experience a moment of togetherness".
Harrell said during the opening, "For every presence, there are so many more absences. If we are to dwell on presence, we must also be mindful and attuned to absence. Our friends and loved ones who are stuck at work, or at war, those who are sick, or unable to attend.
I still believe that the great power of art is that it can evoke a closeness that cannot be expressed in numbers. It is not measurable... It is an act of moving ever closer together, in ways we cannot yet name, nor can we pretend to have language for it."
The opening also commemorated the recent death of former artistic director Pierre Audi, who led the festival from 2005 to 2014. Five trumpeters paid a musical tribute with an excerpt from aus LIGHT (2019), a production by De Nationale Opera, Holland Festival and the Royal Conservatoire The Hague. During his directorship, Audi broadened the festival's international outlook, brought many great artists to Amsterdam and regularly packed in large-scale work.
(Vulnerable) bodies
A central role in the festival is played by associate artist Trajal Harrell. His project Welcome to Asbestos Hall can be experienced from 12 to 29 June at Likeminds, where Harrell not only presents his own work, but also offers space to other creators. To experience the breadth of his work, his Caen Amour (19-20 June) and Sister or He Buried the Body (25 June) on show at the Stedelijk Museum.
Inspired in part by the work Trajal Harrell, many performances focus on the (fragile and/or imperfect) body, for example in our relationship to technology in Cyber Subin. But also in unexpected ways: for instance, the musicians of Asko|Schönberg participate in the choreography of Study for Life; and the audience can move among the musicians - with and without disabilities - of the Paraorchestra during their concert in The Concertgebouw.
Vulnerability takes on a very different connotation in performance about trauma and violence. In Cadela Força Trilogy - Chapter II - The Brotherhood Carolina Bianchi examines the often violent fraternity codes that enable rape and femicide. Told by My Mother shows a very different kind of trauma, that of mothers who lose their sons in Syria. Choreographer Ali Chahrour wants to show his aunt's story, but also her resilience, and that of all mothers.
With the 78th edition, the Holland Festival explicitly wants to showcase artists who look at the here and now, sometimes with a sharp, sometimes with a poetic eye. Who show what impact the climate crisis is having on islanders. What havoc companies are wreaking in vulnerable areas. But which also offer room for unexpected encounters and discoveries.
Practical information
The opening performance Cyber Subin can still be seen live at the Muziekgebouw until 13 June, and will be streamed worldwide from 15 to 17 June.
The Holland Festival runs from 11-29 June at 16 venues in Amsterdam and one in The Hague. The full programme is available at: www.hollandfestival.nl
