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Maarten Baanders

Free-lance arts journalist Leidsch Dagblad. Until June 2012 employee Marketing and PR at the LAKtheater in Leiden.

Why couldn't shocking art also be endearing?

Vlindertje Smit and the service of what is dead It is an orderly, clean space, not unsociable, despite the pieces of horse bone that dominate the studio in their showcases. Visual artist Butterfly Smit prepares animals and parts of animals. Thinking back to the publicity storm that British artist Damien Hirst stirred up with his preserved-animal artworks, you might expect Butterfly Smit to... 

Gertrud Leistikow: So are the real roots of modern dance in the Netherlands after all?

In the first half of the 20th century, dance did not represent much in the Netherlands. There was some interest, but it exclusively concerned classical ballet. The successful dance performances all came from abroad.

It has all but disappeared from the history books that a remarkably creative and original dancer and choreographer settled in our country during those years: Gertrud Leistikow (1885 - 1948).

Doesn't 'The Returns' exclude you as much as the art snobs parodied by Forsythe?

Als iemand spreekt in zinnen met telkens woorden die rijmen op ‘art’ of waarin de lettergreep ‘art’ telkens opduikt, moet je je instellen op een andere logica dan die van de dagelijkse communicatie. Als het ook nog een vrouw in fel rood gekleed is die die woorden geëxalteerd en met veel maniertjes uitspreekt en daarbij suggereert dat ze hypergevoelig is voor alles wat met kunst te maken heeft, dan balanceren je gedachten tussen: ‘wat vreselijk’ en ‘wat grappig’.
'The Returns': Yoko Ando en Fabri...

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How it feels to single-handedly make a decision that turns the world upside down

That Serbian Gavrilo Princip assassinated the Austrian crown prince in 1914, thus triggering World War I, was until recently in the Netherlands no more than a dry historical fact. But now that it has been a century since this attack, this young freedom fighter is still getting a face in our country. But what De Warme Winkel is doing in the performance 'Gavrilo Princip' is much more than 'giving a face'.

7 ½ times: looking surprised at 'Playing Cards: Spades'

1. Gene-shifting theatre doesn't have to be difficult.

Breaking new ground in theatre is the aim of Canadian director Robert Lepage and his group Ex Machina. It seems like everything is unusual about 'Playing Cards: Spades': playing floor, lighting, seating around the stage, the stories, the acting and the surprising denouement.

Only submarine shed is big enough for 'Mirror Mirror'

It will be a total experience, as if you were briefly in another world. 'Mirror Mirror' by Conny Janssen Danst is set in a former submarine hangar of the Rotterdamse Droogdok Maatschappij (RDM). The audience is taken there by boat.
De imposante hal is een grote inspiratiebron voor de choreografe. Op het filmpje bij dit artikel vertelt Conny Janssen hierover. Ze voelt zich aangetrokken tot bijzondere locaties. Telkens zoekt ze naar de unieke mogelijkheden die de ruim...

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4 reasons why De Stijl is handicapped without Hendrik Valk

Rechte lijnen, eenkleurige vlakken. Rood, geel, blauw en wit. De essentie van de werkelijkheid weergeven. Dat was het streven van de schilders van De Stijl in de eerste helft van de vorige eeuw. In dezelfde tijd had ook Hendrik Valk dit ideaal. Hem werd dan ook in 1916 door Theo van Doesburg gevraagd tot De Stijl toe te treden. Dat deed hij niet. Toch zijn de raakvlakken tussen Valk en de Stijlkunstenaars groot. Het Mondriaanhuis in Amersfoort laat met de tentoonstelling ‘Hendrik Valk in de stij...

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New choreographer award from BNG Culture Fund

Nederland heeft er een nieuwe prijs voor jong choreografisch talent bij. Het BNG Cultuurfonds heeft, in samenwerking met Korzo in Den Haag, de BNG Bank Excellent Talent Dans Award ingesteld, voorlopig voor een periode van drie jaar. Dans in Nederland is een bloeiende sector, waarin veel mooie en verrassende dingen gebeuren. Door bezuinigingen dreigt hiervan veel verloren te gaan. Het ene productiehuis na het andere sneuvelt of wordt in zijn voortbestaan bedreigd. De nieuwe prijs, die productie e...

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'The Dutch themselves do not realise what has been built up in this country.'

De bezuinigingen op kunst zijn voor veel mensen aanleiding geweest te benadrukken dat kunst maatschappelijk en politiek relevant moet zijn. Voor Samuel Wuersten, artistiek directeur van het Holland Dance Festival, is maatschappelijke en politieke relevantie een breed begrip. Het hoeft niet te betekenen dat de kunst stelling neemt tegenover actuele vraagstukken. De wijze waarop dans in de samenleving is geworteld is voor Wuersten veel belangrijker. Dat weerspiegelt zich in Holland Dance Festival ...

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Boukje Schweigman's wordless philosophy

Even before she graduated from mime school, Boukje Schweigman swore off language. She worked out a wordless philosophy in her performances. She seeks the mystery of life. However vast and elusive her starting points may be, her performances give the audience the most direct, immediate, skin-tight sensation imaginable in a theatre.
Vanaf 12 november reist Boukje Schweigman met haar groep Schweigman& langs de Nederlandse theaters met een eigen festival: Het ...

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EAR at the Fringe Festival: its own little world of music, dance and needle & thread

"I have no theatre background, but I know what I like." These words from Cammy Mai Tran are typical of a trend among young theatre-makers. They find the walls between different art disciplines to be oppressive. Increasingly, we see them walking right through those walls. And when the blow is over, new inspiration swirls richly over them.
Cammy Mai Tran begon in de beeldende kunsten. Nu, enkele jaren later, werkt ze met drie muzikanten en twee danseressen/mim...

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Dutch Dance Days Prize nominations: Cecilia Moisio, Giulio d'Anna and Melissa Ellberger

Young choreographers Cecilia Moisio, Giulio d'Anna and Melissa Ellberger have been nominated for the Prize of the Nederlandse Dansdagen Maastricht 2013.
 
Cecilia Moisio - photo Jamain Brigitha
Cecilia Moisio kreeg bekendheid als danseres in werk van o.a. Ann van den Broek. Sinds enige jaren maakt ze ook eigen werk. Juxtapose, de choreografie waarmee ze is genomineerd, is een geestige, maar ook bijtende performance, waarin Moisio een stevig pleidooi houdt voor een gelijke plaats van de vrouw na...

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I Like To Watch Too is a must for keeping the performing arts in the Netherlands young and fresh

A man and a woman dance passionately in the hall of Paradiso. Such an experimental dance performance is unusual for the Amsterdam pop palace. Yet the festival I Like To Watch Too right here. Many people feel a barrier towards this kind of performance, but here there is just the right 'in and out' atmosphere to make avant-garde art something you can just look at and that always triggers something in you.

I Like To Watch Too throws open doors to experimental dance

Is avant garde dans niet te hoogdrempelig? Is het nog wel levensvatbaar in deze barre culturele tijd? I Like To Watch Too wil dit misverstand uit de weg ruimen. Het festival brengt experimentele dans dichter bij het publiek dan ooit.

Suzy Blok stelde I Like To Watch Too al voor de zevende keer samen. Het hele jaar heeft ze voorstellingen van jonge dansmakers gescout. ‘Behalve hoge dans-kwaliteit was mijn criterium dat het fysieke voorstellingen met een hoge performance-kwaliteit moeten zijn. Ik...

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Zimmermann & De Perrot give circus genre creative tap at @hollandfestival

Holland Festival Holland Festival

Circus, tricks, clownery, spectacle: it has been a party for centuries. But roughly the same party every time.

Zimmermann & De Perrot, originally clown and DJ respectively, found each other in the brilliant insight that circus could be turned into beautifully absurd modern theatre.

Abou Lagraa: gender separation frustrates Arab man

'That men and women in the Islamic world live apart from each other, that is a big frustration,' says choreographer Abou Lagraa. 'That is what El Djoudour is about.'
 
Door zijn achtergrond heeft Abou Lagraa een bijzondere, verhelderende kijk op deze problematiek. Hij werd in Frankrijk geboren, als zoon van Algerijnse ouders. Zijn familie is islamitisch. Abou Lagraa zelf ook, al doet hij daar in de praktijk niets aan. Maar hoe islamitisch zijn ouders ook waren, ze brachten hem volledige o...

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A chamber opera blown up to impressive proportions at @hollandfestival

Holland Festival Holland Festival

,,The special thing about Quartett is that an intimate story between two people is blown up to impressive proportions. The characters find themselves in a room, which seems to float. In this seclusion, an isolated game between a man and a woman plays out. Giant video projections

Minicourse Opening @HollandFestival, part 1: Total theatre on slippery communication

Holland Festival
Het Holland Festival opent dit jaar met een opvoering van de opera 'Quartett'. Het is een stuk met een verhaal, dat enige uitleg behoeft. Maarten Baanders geeft een korte cursus over deze voorstelling. Ook interessant voor wie toevallig geen kaartje heeft kunnen kopen.
De geschiedenis van ‘Quartett’ begon in 1782. In dat jaar schreef Pierre Choderlos de Laclos ‘Les liaisons dangereuses’. De manier waarop het thema van liefde en bedrog  in deze decadente intrigeroman wordt uitge...

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Dance group LeineRoebana breaks boundaries in Cello Biennale

Dance and music belong together. Yet there is always something new to discover in this combination. The Amsterdam Cello Biennale invited dance group LeineRoebana to create a dance and music performance with cellist Jakob Koranyi and CvA Percussion to music by composer Tan Dun: 'Snow in June'. In recent years, LeineRoebana has shown like no other group how enriching unconventional combinations between dance and music can be.
Natuurlijk is er vaker gedanst op cello- en sla...

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New impetus by young dance talent at PUNCH! Festival

PUNCH! is a fantastic festival. It shows how much beauty, news and surprise is created when the line between dance and performance is dissolved. PUNCH! promotes a refreshing view of the world and shakes loose entrenched interpretations. The young dance makers and performers show tremendous originality and creativity that you will not only enjoy watching, you will go... 

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