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Dutch Academy For Film - for a good story about Dutch cinema

The Dutch film world has a new club. Dutch filmmakers can join the Dutch Academy For Film (DAFF). With the aim, in short, of raising the profile of Dutch cinema. The DAFF was founded on 24 June this year following the example of similar academies in, for example, England, Sweden, Denmark and Germany. A press conference at the Netherlands Film Festival

BPP Kaputt (6): All theatre awards and collective marketing discontinued

Not a cent more goes to the annual theatre awards and all other collective marketing activities, such as the performing arts congress, also go to 0 euros or very little. Says one chairman to another director, who is also chairman, and is actually the same. Because that's how it goes at the Association of Theatre and Concert Hall Directors:

Biodesign

Happy jerk or depressed bacteria? Biodesign is the future, according to William Myers

What idiot could come up with that, one of the attendees wondered: that you can make electrical circuits by combining the DNA of an algae with that of a hamster? Just a question that comes to mind when walking around the exhibition Biodesign, on show in Rotterdam from 27 September to 5 January (2014). And then there's... 

Tristan und Isolde at Reisopera, something special happens here

A Brünhilde who does not burst into flames but endures the Götterdämmerung with a baby in her arms, a Senta who does not jump off a cliff but is shot by Erik together with the Holländer. No one really looks surprised anymore. And Isoldes who do not die in the Liebestod are no exception, but Tristan who rises from the dead, as it were, by Isolde's notes reaching into heaven, stands diagonally behind her and sings along soundlessly?

Bookseller continues to discourage ebooks

Did we report here earlier how the patriotic booksellers are doing their best to bring you to haunt the gates of hell if you 'purchase' an ebook, the reading itself also turns out to be a minefield. One of our followers recently purchased an ebook from the largest online bookseller in the Netherlands (at least until That club from America entered). Her brand new Kobo reader however, proved to be no match for this book. Whereas with all other digital books the device effortlessly refreshed the epaper, turning a page in the book took ''Forgive us' by A.M. Homes well over half an hour, and that was a bit too much slow reading for this lady.

Subtle but dull Fokine fine lead to Van Manen's 'Corps' and promising premiere of EGPC at the Dutch National Ballet

The bodies of Fokine, Van Manen and EGPC in the Dutch National Ballet's new programme 'Corps' are vastly different, though they all dance a form of ballet. It is the differences in stakes (decorative or expressive, stylised control or individual surrender, full of symbolism or stripped of it) and the key role for the ensemble that make the programme extremely interesting. Besides the fact that EGPC seems to be on its way to an artistic breakthrough.

Les Nabis from Hermitage Petersburg on display in full glory on the Amstel

In the main hall of the Hermitage Amsterdam, the music room of businessman and art collector Ivan Morozov has been recreated. The hall, where normally the top pieces of the exhibitions hang on the Amstel, now shows what the music room of Morozov's Moscow city palace looked like. With grand piano and all. But above all: with wall decorations by Maurice Denis, who was specially commissioned for this purpose. For once, these paintings have left the Hermitage so that St Petersburg can also work on a similar reconstruction. There is little chance of them leaving St Petersburg after that. 
The Red Piece - photo by Maarten Vanden Abeele

Oppressive (audience) manipulation in The Red Piece

'Don't let anyone leave the room without having experienced or felt something.' That is surely and surely the mission with Flemish Ann Van den Broek's work. If the mood swings in The Red Piece don't do much to you, your retinas will burn out from the changes in lighting design. You might just think you are being manipulated as an audience. But you gladly allow it.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin turns Rotterdam Doelen into a swirling sea of sound

In a letter to Franz Liszt in 1852, Wagner stressed that in his Der fliegende Holländer should be shown as realistically as possible, full of violent waves. One hundred and sixty years later, Yannick Nézet-Séguin takes that advice very much to heart in port city Rotterdam. Nothing about this Holländer ripples, from the first notes it storms, culminating in a third act at hurricane force, with a leading role for the Netherlands Opera choir.

NRC doesn't count right: not 11, but at least 34 groups gone due to cuts

According to NRC Handelsblad Culture cuts became fatal for 'only' 11 theatre institutions. In doing so, they assume groups that actually dissolved themselves. In their overview, however, they overlook the companies that voluntarily dissolved themselves by merging with another company. In addition, there are a number of institutions that disbanded before the new round because it was already clear that they would not receive any money. If we do count those, we come to at least 34 companies. That is already 25% of what was on offer before the cuts.

Oudolf's sturdy sprites replace floating trestles in Rotterdam harbour

Piet Oudolf, the Dutch garden artist who changed the face of New York changed, is best known in the Netherlands as an ennobled plant book author. After many big cities worldwide, Rotterdam is the first city in the Netherlands to have a public garden designed by the now 69-year-old designer. And it immediately becomes clear what we have been missing in our 'public green space' for all these years. Quite right, then, that Oudolf received the Prince Bernhard Culture Fund Prize gets awarded.

Mondrian, Verhoeven and human rights in Netherlands-Russia year

With all the critical coverage of Russia that Putin and his supporters are provoking, we would almost forget that we are in the middle of the Netherlands-Russia year sitting. A screening of Paul Verhoeven's war film will take place tonight at the Pioner Gorky Park in Moscow Black Book, as a kick-off to

Armando Navarro (1930-2013): Scapino Ballet for more than just children

Armando Navarro (Argentina, 1930 - Amsterdam 2013), former artistic director of Scapino Ballet, passed away last Sunday. Together with his wife Marian Sarstädt formed Navarro one of the Netherlands' best-known dance couples, alongside Han Ebbelaar and Alexandra Radius (Het Nationale Ballet) and Jiří Kylián and Sabine Kupferberg (Nederlands Dans Theater).

Daan Roosegaarde for president? Alderman? Councillor?

Jet Bussemaker believes in Daan Roosegaarde. She confessed this on Sunday 1 September during the traditional Paradiso debate. She admired his courage to imagine the unthinkable and his drive to come up not with opinions but with proposals. Her message to the arts sector, again almost fully present in Paradiso, was clear: stop complaining, start doing something.

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

"I don't have a 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.

BPP Kaputt (4): 1.7 million available for international performing arts promotion: who has plans?

The Performing Arts Fund is taking over the international promotion of the performing arts from the Performing Arts Promotion Office, which will soon be disbanded for lack of funds due to mismanagement. The fund will continue to do so until 1 June 2014. In the meantime, they are looking for a new party there to take over. Also, the programme through which important visitors from abroad can be invited will be... 

'Barter with Robinson' art project in demand by hardcore bargain hunters

Pet van de Luijtgaarden has a thing for collections. So he collects them. But being an artist, he also wants to say something with those collections: 'I am mainly concerned with society. I think we are going down because of overproduction and to show that, I want to go right over the top.'

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