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Culture Press Tonapodcast (19): Willemijn Mooij had to cancel the Matthew Passion: 'Leading from a distance is hard for me'

'Last (Silent, ed.) Saturday we ventured out to dinner at friends', my husband and I once again. We were tired of just talking about Corona. Then we agreed to have a music night. We all work in classical music, but agreed to listen to precisely no classical music. It became a... 

'A lot of people are waiting for the moment when they can sing together again. Make sure that by the time Corona is over, they still have that opportunity.'

Maybe I am not looking closely but I miss in the various media, as I did years ago during the demolition policy, the role of amateur music practice on which many a musician depends. At the moment, the focus is partly on venues and theatres asking their visitors to accept vouchers or donate their tickets. Fine... 

Ministers, enable 'cultural ANBIs' to lend a helping hand to performing artists!

Earlier this week, Minister Van Engelshoven appealed to the public to start donating en masse "to your favourite (cultural) institution". She also hinted at her willingness to explore within the cabinet the extent to which donations to cultural institutions can be made extra attractive as an income tax deduction at this very moment. Meanwhile, however, within... 

Departing Lightfoot and Léon and Stacz Wilhelm, it's hard to be nice to each other in the dance world

Departing Lightfoot and Léon and Stacz Wilhelm, being nice to each other in the dance world remains difficult

'The world around us is changing, after this period we will speak about a period BC and AC'. Words from a wise dance maker from the Hofstad, referring to the period before and after the Coronavirus. However, you can also relate it to the news from the Hague dance world. What is the news? Sol Léon and Paul Lightfoot decided that... 

Comfort from a bygone era. A short film about the Gouda multi-media project 'Why are things going well in your life'?

In 2016, photographer and visual artist Jaap van den Berg initiated a special project in Gouda. In the historical centre on the Market Square, he asked various people from all walks of life the question: Why are things going well in your life? People who answered the question were then photographed by Van den Berg. 140 portraits were chosen 

LKCA: First estimate: corona damage cultural associations already at least 12 million 

The damage caused by the corona crisis for cultural associations, such as music societies and choirs, is already expected to be at least 12 million euros. This is according to an initial inventory conducted last week by KNMO, Koornetwerk Nederland, Raad van 12 and LKCA. In the cultural sector, the consequences are currently being mapped sector-wide and added to the... 

Dutch artists call for massive support for free theatre producers.

In a fire letter to Minister van Engelshoven, more than a thousand actors and directors ask to financially support the free theatre producers in the Corona crisis. Together, the free theatre producers annually provide 60% of the supply in Dutch theatres and theatres. They do so with their own investments and without subsidies. Through the measures taken in the fight against Corona 

Podcast in times of Corona (9): Cinedans goes online, but for the festival feel we have to wait until next year.

We spoke to Andreas Hannes about the cancellation of Cinedans 2020. As a programmer, how do you deal with cancelling a festival you've spent a whole year working on? How do you still retain some of the sense of community that is so important to a festival when you are only online? For now, the festival will not go into the existing... 

Cinedans 2020: the digital edition

Cinedans, the festival for dance and film, was supposed to open 25 March and be the hub for dance film, as well as workshops and discussions, until 29 March. Obviously, this cannot continue. The festival will not be postponed but cancelled this year. An alternative that should ease the pain a little for this year is a nice and varied offering of short and... 

PLATFORM COMMENCEMENT! LET'S BEGIN

On 2 March, Platform Aanvang! launched the petition Nederland maakt kunst / art makes the Netherlands at the Solidarity evening in ITA. An evening that opened the conversation for a solidarity sector, but most of all sounded the alarm for the planned downsizing of the arts sector. The petition was signed by more than 11,000 people in a week. When we saw the... 

That's how you give your city a real vision. (How Manchester became a leader in international arts in just a few years)

I have often resisted thinking of the Netherlands as a business. After all, a country cannot lay off people, or divest unprofitable sectors to make more profit. So anyone who speaks of the BV Nederland has not understood it. There are no competitors that you can fight out of the market while being entrepreneurial on those few square kilometres of polder land,... 

Eva's Klage at TivoliVredenburg: Lera Auerbach takes on the smothered female voice

Russian Lera Auerbach (1973) does not shy away from big challenges. And that is an understatement. Most recently, she made a big impression with her cycle Goetia 72: in umbra lucis. She composed this setting of the names of 72 demons for the Netherlands Chamber Choir and the string quartet Quatuor Danel. A CD of 72 Angels: in splendore lucis, in which... 

Bill T Jones is larger than life. Why Holland Festival 2020 will be a lot more topical than previous editions.

There are people who have a voice with which you can quiet a crowd in a whisper. Bill T Jones, choreographer and this year's associate artist of the Holland Festival, is one such person. Apart from that beautiful, heavy and full voice, he also has a presence with which he can quiet the cogs with a single hand movement. But all that would be nothing if... 

Frida, poignant images of a tormented soul. Or vice versa.

Full-length classical ballet Frida once again creates the Annabelle effect

How many female choreographers do you know who create a full-length ballet for a top classical ballet company? - I thought. Before going to Frida, I get word that a Latin American young woman has been hospitalised. Loss of a lot of blood, and unborn child. The cheerful girl I know weakly raises a thumb from the hospital bed on WhatsApp.... 

Opinion deputies Culture: 'For Culture, set the navigation a bit more often on Eastern Netherlands!'

The new year often starts with new insights and resolutions. A critical reflection can then help. We were therefore delighted to read the Volkskrant of 2 January, in which columnist and theatre critic Merlijn Kerkhof concludes that in 2020, he wants to enjoy all that the Netherlands has to offer in terms of culture a bit more often outside 020. And that is only right,... 

The new defence: don't talk but bring! (How a dinner argument leads to genius insights)

I am sitting at the dinner table at my parents' house. We are celebrating my mother's birthday with the whole family. I am there, but I am not quite there. In fact, I am so incredibly tired at the moment. As I jokingly tell my friends, "I can't say boo or boo anymore and am running on my gums". Suddenly, the conversation turns to... 

Boreal at the top: our best-read posts of 2019!

A week before the end of 2019, Culture Press' membership stands at nearly 150, up from 40 exactly a year ago. A growth of more than 300 per cent is quite extraordinary. So we have demonstrated that we matter to a rapidly growing group of decision-makers in the cultural sector. So good that they are happy to contribute to... 

Being engaged does not only mean presenting interesting work, it is also about those you show it to.

A man walks down the theatre corridor with his daughter in a wheelchair. Stops at an usher. Hesitates, then says: 'I don't want to nag, but she can't go on the disabled toilet. I'm looking for a place to change her.' So this usher, he helps search. Moments later, they are behind a rack in the pantry. Sugar sachets, coffee, speculoos, tins.... 

Open letter from theatre directors: 'Spectators want human contact'

Over the past year, we, Annemiek Lely and Susanne Visser, heard various noises about boring introductions and useless fringe programmes that would add nothing. Such comments pass the revue in the artist foyer, at the bar or find their way onto social media. 'I want after-shows led by a local presentation talent instead of a drawling dramaturge,' wrote an already established director 

New parents are born every year! (Why theatre programmers need to take much more risk)

With red cheeks, I hang up the phone a little bewildered. Just now I had a telephone appointment that took a completely different turn. I had a brief conversation with a theatre programmer who is still unknown to me. She unfortunately told me not to programme anything with our impresario, because there was really no need for artistic performances in her city. This lady stated that her... 

'The decision to underpay freelancers is incomprehensible and a blot on the record' - 'Leaders in Culture' call for fair payment of freelancers

'How many more talented creators do we have to lose to other sectors because they cannot reconcile the undervaluation with the quality of their product? People choose eggs for their money in the long run, when children need to be fed or mortgages paid. The sector is hollowing itself out if we don't take better care of our talent.' Thirty leaders in the cultural sector speak out 

OK Boomer. The Diversity & Inclusion Code is going to change the art world. Or had it changed long ago?

From 42 to 18 pages. Actually, that says it all about the new Diversity and Inclusion Code that saw the light of day on Friday 1 November. After all the wooliness and ifs and buts of the original Cultural Diversity Code, the new thing is a miracle of clarity. Is perhaps also necessary, in these times of identity wars, where on the left and... 

We are nowhere near crazy enough. Why theatre desperately needs a little more Crazy Wisdom.

'We will never be 'the same' enough, we fringe characters: bipolar, borderline, gay, lesbian, indeterminate, narcissistic, autistic, hysterical - and we are all fatally insecure and we all need a hug.' Permanent, seemingly inevitable insecurity is peculiar to the theatre industry. Ramsey Nasr hit that sharply in his speech on receiving his second Louis D'Or. The courage, or sometimes almost masochistic... 

We predicted it right: Swans for Conny Janssen Dances and Schuitemaker

Ruben Brugman predicted it on 22 June. So it was not a total surprise. On Friday 4 October, the VSCD Dance Awards, the Swans, were presented at The Dutch Dance Days Gala of Festival de Nederlandse Dansdagen 2019 at Theater aan het Vrijthof in Maastricht. Conny Janssen, artistic director of Conny Janssen Danst, received the Golden Swan from minister van Engelshoven.... 

Ivo van Hove directed a top-notch broadcast of Zomergasten, with a wonderful lead role for Janine Abbring.

Janine Abbring has managed to pull the somewhat ramshackle institution Zomergasten out of the doldrums. She has fun, is excellently prepared, is genuinely interested in her guests and has managed to push the eternal battle element into the background without making the broadcasts less exciting. That battle element was always: does the interviewer succeed in 'breaking' the guest? Because. 

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