Once sold for a guilder: now everyone out of the Doelenzaal

The historic Doelenzaal in Amsterdam, home to Internationaal Danstheater, will have flats. Those currently sitting there will have to leave.

Doelenzaal sold

The users of the Doelenzaal can all leave: International Dance Theatre, Omscholingsfonds Dancers, Dancing on the Edge, Musicians without Borders and Windmill Film. Because the building's new owner wants flats.

The Doelenzaal, designed by architects Beirer and Bekkers who knew each other from their work at the Rijksmuseum, originally served as office space for the Maatschappij voor den Werkenden Stand. The latter commissioned its construction in 1883. It soon turned out that the charges were too high and the hall was rented out to various theatre and music societies. When the Maatschappij voor den Werkenden Stand sold the Doelenzaal in 1953, things went downhill. The building became squatted and at one point even housed a thousand homeless heroin addicts.

But in 1984, something wonderful came about. For the symbolic sum of 1 guilder, the Folkloristic Dance Theatre (now International Dance Theatre) to buy the Doelenzaal from the municipality. A counter condition was that the company would not apply for a subsidy from the City of Amsterdam. The high costs of the massive renovation were shared with Hoofdstad Operette. For years, the beautiful old building at Kloveniersburgwal 87-89 housed Internationaal Danstheater and numerous amateur and professional dance and theatre companies such as Paloina, Toetssteen, Amsterdam Musical, Musicaltheater De Brug, De Nieuw Amsterdam, as well as festivals such as the ITs Festival, IDFA and the Amsterdam Light Festival.

Until 15 June.

The property has now been sold and flats are coming up. The building's current users are looking for accommodation elsewhere. Dancing on the Edge happens to be celebrating a housewarming party today at its new location at 93 Lindengracht in Amsterdam, an annex of the Theaterschool. Retraining Dancers Netherlands, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, is moving to Bethaniëndwarsstraat. Once located in the beautiful Herengracht office building of Theatre Institute Netherlands, this fund has also moved several times.

Sunday 29 May next sees the last performance of International Dance Theatre at the Doelenzaal. Then you can look back with melancholy with the performance Danzón, a Cuban party with drinks and dancing afterwards.

Where International Dance Theatre is going has not yet been announced.