Usually without lyrics, often with music, always with movement
The theme of this final day of the Moving Futures festival sounds and somewhat theoretical: self-reflection and cultural identity. But in the abundant programme, it becomes clear how directly these words touch everyone. Macho Macho That is immediately clear in Macho Macho by Bosnian-Dutch theatre maker Igor Vrebac. In it, two performers seek their way in a world of male idealism....
Choreographer Arthur Rosenfeld bid farewell (for now) to a long dance career on 5 February 2017. One that relies mostly on his wife, dancer Ana Teixido. Such a farewell does not go without a fight with Rosenfeld. Leaving the field for another, who really wants that? Exit pursued by a bear, based on an eccentric directorial cue from Shakespeare, continues until the...
If there is one subject that has been endlessly elaborated on in dance, it is the many ways in which people form relationships with each other. Still, it is good that Moving Futures has put this theme firmly at the centre of the third day of the festival. It is inexhaustible, can always inspire in new ways and even in a...
Dance and technology. That is the theme on the second day of the Moving Futures festival. After seeing this broadly composed programme, I no longer doubt that there is such a thing as 'progress in art'. This is not just about the new means artists can use to shape their work. The...
The Amsterdam version of the Moving Futures festival 2017 has begun. For four days, young dance makers show all sides of their creativity. I experienced a cosmic journey with (SHIFT), was cheered by Third Culture Kid by Joseph Simons and saw the excitement slumped a little by a piano at the end of Your Mother at my Door by Timothy and...
Dance artist Amos Ben-Tal and songwriter Spinvis put together an intriguing talk show. And it does not go at all as you expect. Because what happens when you get a very Dutch songwriter and an Israeli choreographer with a ballet past to produce a joint performance? Right. The talk show The light in the room stays on. We the audience, are a talk show audience. Also on stage are...
'Many people find contemporary dance difficult. Especially performances by young makers who experiment and seek new ways. At the Moving Futures festival, everyone can discover how dance can touch you. We do this not only by showing good performances by young makers. We also offer activities around it, context programmes. By doing so, we give the audience tools to make a connection with...
In contemporary dance, artistic leaders are often in place for decades, at least in the Netherlands. This week, Leo Spreksel announced his departure from Korzo, as of September 2017. After 29 years, the director and programmer of dance at the theatre and production house in The Hague is calling it a day, because "in the Netherlands, commercialisation pushes away the voice of artists: procedures and formats are...
On 20 December, the general membership meeting of Coöperatief Cultureel Persbureau unanimously decided to accept a cooperation offer from The Co-operative/House of Journalism and Reporters Online. This is an important step in the development of independent cultural journalism. Culture Press, as the Cooperative Cultural Press Agency is known on the internet and social media, is growing significantly as a result. The...
Het Veem is a small but important theatre and unofficial production house overlooking the Houthavens in Amsterdam. The house has long been home to internationally operating contemporary performing arts. A place where the artist and his or her experimental work are still central. Since Anne Breure became director in 2014, it bears the addition House of Performance. With...
You instinctively flee from death, but in 'Have I been here before' choreographer Marie Goeminne actually brings death close. Not threatening, but close to your skin and hand in hand with life. She shows death and life in an intimate entanglement. Three dancers merge in a stream, concentrated and vulnerable, in which life arises,...
I tell you here why you should go to see Parsifal, and not even just because of the object by Anish Kapoor that plays a part in it. And you could also go to theatre one day, by the way. With The Girls. Fel theatre by our very best theatre company (according to Americans). The National Opera, Parsifal (opera) Four years ago, I attended Pierre Audi's...
'What is the relevance of dance?' Since the The Relevance of Dance conference in March 2016, this question has been haunting my mind. Above all, I want to know why more people should dance. Therefore, I decide to put the question to inspiring and progressive dance teachers. The second one I question is Andrew Greenwood, who six months ago...
Meg Stuart's two-hour heroic epic Until Our Hearts Stop, showing at the Rotterdam Schouwburg this week, does not engage in dramatic construction according to the rules of Aristotle's Poetics. We don't know who those people are there on stage. Nor do they seem to have been given any special assignment, although they are clearly being...
In turbulent times, an evening of dance works therapeutically. Especially when three former Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) dancers show new work in Here we live and now. Only, anyone expecting a sharp look at current affairs by the programme title will be disappointed. Here we live and now refers mainly to choreographers who live or work in The Hague and shows a snapshot of their...
'Not only work has disappeared, but also knowledge and craft - the whole perspective is disappearing. While the Netherlands as a dance country was renowned in the world precisely because it had the luxury to research, to build, to stimulate.' Ronald Wintjes, the brand-new director of De Nederlandse Dansdagen, worries. What about the future of dance?....
A wonderful performance full of hilarity, excitement and lightness, yet it sent me out into the world with a sad feeling. It seems as if the four women in D3US/X\M4CHIN4 by choreographer/director Fernando Belfiore are in the land of infinite possibilities. Anything they can do. Do they also want everything? Are they still themselves when they can do everything? How does it feel when the earth...
Nederlands Dans Theater 1 opens the season with Stage One. A triptych without resident choreographers Léon & Lightfoot, but with three mostly young, adventurous dance makers. Music is an important factor in all three ballets. The evening opens with Thin Skin, choreographer Marco Goecke's ode to punk icon Patti Smith. Culture Press reviewed the piece last year (€). The now flemish,...
Today, Amsterdam Dance City sent a fire letter to funds and policymakers. Because things are going hard in the wrong direction with talent development. Especially independent choreographers lose out in the new subsidy plans. While these artists are already struggling to survive. Their own economic situation is hopeless and there are no good independent facilities to stage performances.
While things are rumbling in the Amsterdam dance and performance world due to a total lack of solid support for development and experimentation (see Alarm Letter), choreographer Ola Maciejewska is showing the impressive Bombyx Mori at Veem House of Performance this weekend. Maciejewska is a fine example of a talented maker who has taken refuge elsewhere because of the crumbling art climate in the Netherlands. After...
'What is the relevance of dance?' Since the conference The Relevance of Dance in March 2016, this question has been haunting my mind. That weekend, the main topic of discussion was the relevance of dance as a performing art to watch. An approach that left me unsatisfied, because my main interest myself is to know what the relevance of dance as an activity...
The enthusiasm that characterised Toer van Schayk and his generation of choreographers is disappearing. With the programme Dutch Masters, the Dutch National Ballet is honouring an era. The success of Toer van Schayk and his generation If it is up to the public, the master ballets of the three great Van's (Rudi van Dantzig, Hans van Manen and Toer van Schayk) may stay for a while longer. As one man stood...
TING! is a pitch-black anniversary spectacle by Scapino Ballet Rotterdam. But the NITS give the evening luster. Large billboards along the entrance to the Ferro Dome in Rotterdam still hint at the colourful history of the 70-year-old Scapino Ballet. Once inside the round gas holder, however, choreographer Ed Wubbe cuts straight to the chase with a world dipped in sombre tones. A...
Vacancy: Advisors one-off grants - Amsterdam Fund for the Arts (AFK) From 1 March 2017 The Amsterdam Fund for the Arts (AFK) invests in art that enriches life in the city. The AFK provides grants to artists and cultural organisations, drives innovation and stimulates the quality, dynamism and pluriformity of Amsterdam art. The AFK supports both experiment...
Amsterdam Fund for the Arts (AFK) seeks a member for the Supervisory Board from 1-1-2017 The AFK invests in art that enriches life in the city. The AFK provides subsidies to artists and cultural organisations, drives innovation and stimulates the quality, dynamism and pluriformity of Amsterdam art. The AFK supports both experimentation and proven quality,...
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