Skip to content

DANS

Usually without lyrics, often with music, always with movement

DFF campaign image

Festival season Dutch performing arts 2024 kicks off with Delft Fringe Festival

From 28 May to 9 JuneDelft, Monday 15 April 2024 - From 28 May to 9 June, 28 creators will turn Delft on its cultural head for nine days and you can visit 31 locations throughout the city for cabaret, dance, family theatre, cabaret, music and everything in between. With this, Delft bites the dust of the cultural festival season... 

WINNERS CINEDANS FEST '24

At a festive ceremony on the closing night of Cinedans FEST '24 (Sunday evening 24 March) at Eye Filmmuseum Amsterdam, the following international prizes were awarded for best dance film 2024: Cinedans JURY AWARDS Best Short Dance Film up to 25' €5,000 Until Director & Choreographer |Tanin Torabi |Iran| 2023|13′ From the jury report: Until portrays dance as a form of resistance and shifts the... 

New editing & theatre studio in Amsterdam

Top of the Bill for new generation of makers: 'Theatre Studio Artist Space' On 21 March, ICK Dans Amsterdam opened the doors of its new, state-of-the-art editing studio on the WG grounds in the heart of Amsterdam. Thanks to new sponsor ETC (Electronic Theatre Controls), the studio is now equipped with high-quality, sustainable LED lighting, making it an ideal editing studio for new (dance) makers. With... 

Cinedans FEST '24: programme announced

Cinedans exists 20 years! The anniversary edition Cinedans FEST '24 will take place from 20 to 24 March at Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam as well as online from 20 to 31 March on Cinedans WEB.For five days, Eye will be all about the international dance film with special highlights and premieres, a special film programme with a post-colonial theme Breaking the Chainsen... 

Cinedans FEST '24

Cinedans exists 20 years! The anniversary edition Cinedans FEST '24 will take place from 20 to 24 March at Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam as well as online from 20 to 31 March on Cinedans WEB.For five days, Eye will be all about the international dance film with special highlights and premieres, including the arrival of special guest Celia Rowlson-Hall who will perform a... 

ICK: We, The Eyes, Maubeuge Alex Avgud

Dutch tour WE, the EYES

In the compelling performance WE, the EYES, dancers, together with virtuoso percussionists and experimental hip-hop/soul/jazz artist Pink Oculus, search for a new way of seeing. In a force field of mesmerising projections, seductive vocals, rousing beats and inspired dance, a new perspective is emerging. The performers start from the dark, forcing them to engage other senses.... 

scene photo the Silence, photo by Hans Gerristen

Back to the time when you explored the world with an open mind - The Silence

Blikvangers - performance for children aged 1 to 6 In the beginning, the world was uninhibited. Life was so pristine that curiosity did not suffer from fear or anger. Like the open gaze of one who looked at the world, so pristine was it.The sound of water, the flow of movement, nature was wordless.Discovery was a breeze. Every touch... 

WAKA - Shonen / Éric Minh Cuong Castaign

Company Shonen & Waka Starz present:WAKA

On 9 February, the groundbreaking performance WAKA comes to the Netherlands. WAKA offers a vivid portrait of the Ugandan youth of "Waka Starz" who are determined to be part of the march of the world. During the performance, you will be taken to Wakaliga, a poor neighbourhood in Uganda's capital, where the Waka Starz grew up. Racheal M, rising... 

image Headwinds

Premiere dance performance Tegenwind van de Stilte with Artvark saxophone quartet in Chassé theatre Breda

On Sunday 14 January at 3pm, the dance and music performance Tegenwind will premiere at the Chassé theatre in Breda, a family performance for everyone aged 7 and above. Tegenwind is the sequel to the successful collaboration of dance company de Stilte and Artvark saxophone quartet in the production Bosch in Bed. Anyone listening to Blowin' in the wind by Bob Dylan will hear a song... 

pr image Closed Eyes

With Closed Eyes, Alida Dors unleashes a revolution

I used the word 'revolutionary' when a camera crew from Theatre Rotterdam asked me what I thought of Closed Eyes. I don't know if my otherwise extraordinarily enthusiastic response will make it to the final edit, but a day later, that feeling is not gone. What Alida Dors, artistic director of Theatre Rotterdam, has shown is a revolution in the world of... 

The Artists Are Present: Rebellious bodies, empowering moves, fluid identities, collective movement: 13 to 15 December theatre Frascati

The Artists Are Present is ICK Dance Amsterdam's festival in which a new generation of artists present themselves to the public and share the floor with each other. From 13 to 15 December, young dance and performance makers take you on an exciting voyage of discovery in a dynamic programme of performances, unexpected pop-up presentations and conversations. .The short December days... 

In #Zomergasten 2023#6, Alida Dors asked the best questions. 

In #Zomergasten 2023#6 guest, Alida Dors, asked the best questions. 

The counter stood at 8 minutes and 45 seconds when it went wrong. Pretty fast for a three-hour interview programme like Zomergasten, but Theo Maassen grabbed the record with verve. His guest Alida Dors, the woman who, as a self-taught dancer, grew into a forewoman of Dutch hip-hop culture, and who is now tasked with managing the mismanaged... 

PR image by David van Delden

Faizah Grootens: Corpus Criolla enriches modern dance with essential Caribbean vibes on #TFBoulevard

"I select dancers very carefully. I don't do auditions. I don't believe in anyone having to prove themselves in front of the others. So that's why I take quite a long time to choose who I want to work with. If I choose that person, we go for it 100%. No matter what." Corpus Criolla is a fascinating dance performance in which Caribbean... 

It Takes A Child To Raise A Village, scene image by author.

Theatre festival #Boulevard pushes boundaries in an unexpected way

A festival is still the best way to get acquainted with new art. Yesterday, after six days of persistent drizzle and torrential rain, the sun finally broke through over Bossche Zuiderpark. Bartenders who had spent the first few days getting used to quietly serving those few customers who braved the rain for a white wine (because it was summer... 

scene photo by © Sukmu Yun

Colourful dragons conquer the stage - Eun-Me Ahn's Dragons in HF23

Whereas in the West dragons are mythical creatures to be defeated, in the East they are the embodiment of joy, unlimited possibilities and destiny. People born in the year of the dragon (every 12 years with 2000 being the most recent adult generation) are proud, irresistible, vibrant and extroverted, according to Chinese astrology. Put seven on and... 

Pankaj Tiwari, an artist from the poorest part of India, and Polish performer Maria Magdalena Kozłowska. Photo: Eva Roefs

Sustainability is a luxury issue in Jerome Bel's airplane-less autobiography (and the show turns out to be more fun than I first thought)

Input from members: that's what drives this club. Just watch. Yesterday I wrote this piece: Jerome Bel is quite something. The man who identifies himself as a choreographer has banned himself from flying for sustainability reasons, which is why he could not come to Amsterdam from Paris to read his own autobiography. However noble the non-flying... 

cover report Shadow Dancing

Border crossing in the dance world: excellent research leaves out elephant in the room

Dancing, from super amateur to world-class professional, involves boundary crossing, abuse of power, physical assaults and sexual misconduct perpetuated by a stubborn culture of silence. The long-awaited investigation by Marjan Olfers, 'Shadow Dancing', into boundary crossing in the dance world, had even more shocking results than anyone feared beforehand. The figures are now well enough known: a majority of dancers have shown transgressive behaviour to... 

image by Prophetiques by David Kadoule

Dancing into the night - Prophétique (on est déjà né-es) by Nadia Beugré splashes off the stage.

Sometimes the run-in to a performance is so pleasant that you hope everyone will continue to drone on for a bit. Make it last longer! It feels like you're at a rehearsal, or a private party, at a private event, where you can peek in. That is certainly the case with Prophétique (on est déjà né-es) by Nadia Beugré, which... 

Dox campaign image

National DOX Club auditions: we go for talent!

June 2023 marks the annual DOX auditions for young people aged 16 - 26 who want to further develop as a performer in the fields of dance, theatre, music, film and/or spoken word? At the DOX Club, you can spend a season exploring, creating and learning with various creators of the moment. Whether you have completed preliminary training or... 

Photo: Marc Haegeman

Tchaikovsky rules over Swan Lake at the National Ballet

You can see it right from the first portrait prominently displayed on the front screen during the prologue. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky looks towards the audience like a czar of ballet music, exactly as choreographer Rudi van Dantzig and master designer Toer van Schayk intended. Here is a man who struggled with his identity, his desires and the obligations that his... 

What Lies Beneath - photo Niels Knelis Meijer

The future is moving, the question is: how?

When the difference between the performer during the performance and afterwards is at least a thick metre, you know you are dealing with a great artist. Australian dancer Olympia Kotopoulos is a great artist, because on stage she fills the space, while in real life she barely counts one and a half metres. Art is, literally, larger than life.... 

Cinedans 2023: food for thought

Sometimes a festival only really begins after the halls have emptied. Red threads become visible, themes buzz after, research continues, archives are unlocked. What struck me about the nineteenth, somewhat smaller edition of Cinedans is that there was a lot of work on the vulnerability of the body. Not surprising after a pandemic, during a war and with an even more... 

Still from trailer Carmina Burana

A Ukrainian Carmina Burana with an Amersfoort touch, thanks to Gerard Mosterd.

'Carmina Burana is the first project in Ukraine where I had a free hand to really turn it into something completely different. I didn't have to adapt an existing production, but could create a whole new performance from scratch.' Gerard Mosterd (1964) has a long career behind him as a dancer and choreographer. Now he is also a producer of... 

Four Cinedans festival tips, in a packed weekend

With Kaboom!, Movies that matter, the Pink Film Days and Cinedans all four at the same time, it will be hard to choose next weekend. Cinedans, dance on screen, is a festival very dear to my heart, which is where I will be found next weekend. Cinema is, after all, movement, in montage, découpage, action, mise en place. And slowly the realisation that dance and film are a... 

Anna van Kooij photography

The Dancers at Theatre Kikker: An inspiring evening with special guests, good conversation and a folkdance party

The Utrecht company De Dansers received the Harm Lambers Bouwsteen for special art in Utrecht in 2022. The company received this award for their special contribution to the connection between art and the city of Utrecht. As part of the award, the company will be given the key to Theater Kikker in Utrecht for one day on Saturday 8 April and will present... 

Private Membership (month)
5 / Maand
For natural persons and self-employed persons.
No annoying banners
A special newsletter
Own mastodon account
Access to our archives
Small Membership (month)
18 / Maand
For cultural institutions with a turnover/subsidy of less than €250,000 per year
No annoying banners
A premium newsletter
All our podcasts
Your own Mastodon account
Access to archives
Posting press releases yourself
Extra attention in news coverage
Large Membership (month)
36 / Maand
For cultural institutions with a turnover/subsidy of more than €250,000 per year.
No annoying banners
A special newsletter
Your own Mastodon account
Access to archives
Share press releases with our audience
Extra attention in news coverage
Premium Newsletter (substack)
5 trial subscriptions
All our podcasts

Payments are made via iDeal, Paypal, Credit Card, Bancontact or Direct Debit. If you prefer to pay manually, based on an invoice in advance, we charge a 10€ administration fee

*Only for annual membership or after 12 monthly payments

en_GBEnglish (UK)