{"id":109878,"date":"2026-05-16T15:13:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T13:13:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/?p=109878"},"modified":"2026-05-16T15:13:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T13:13:42","slug":"kunst-als-tegenwicht-in-tijden-van-crisis-spring-festival-van-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2026\/05\/kunst-als-tegenwicht-in-tijden-van-crisis-spring-festival-van-start\/","title":{"rendered":"ART AS A COUNTERWEIGHT IN TIMES OF CRISIS: SPRING FESTIVAL LAUNCHES"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>On Thursday, SPRING Performing Arts Festival opened with a double bill by South Korean maker Sung Im Her. In the festival's opening statement, artistic director Grzegorz Reske, accompanied by Mayor Dijksma, stated how a world in crisis calls for artists who pause, analyse and critique. In a sold-out main hall of the Stadsschouwburg Utrecht, Sung Im Her did just that with two powerful choreographies about resilience and excess.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the break of the double bill, artistic director Reske expresses his hopes for SPRING 2026 in his opening remarks:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cI wish you and myself that this festival becomes a ritual of searching for disruptive frictions - a moment when we can look into the (often painful) past to imagine a better future, while anchoring us firmly in the present. Space for inspiration to find ourselves and each other in this time of uncertainty, fear and anger.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>MORE TO SEE AT THE FESTIVAL<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Sunday 17 May, Dutch Brussels-based creator <strong>Khadija El Kharraz Alami<\/strong>&nbsp;Back at SPRING festival with its first major production <em>SHRINE, <\/em>an immersive theatre performance in which grief, anger and resistance come together in a ritual space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Island Bar <\/em>from <strong>orangcosong &amp; guests<\/strong>&nbsp;is a storytelling performance in several Utrecht caf\u00e9s from 21 to 23 May. At the bar, migrants will serve you a personal cocktail mixed with their own history and identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Toshiki Okada<\/strong>, one of the most important playwrights and directors in contemporary Japan, is back in Utrecht on 21 May with a new collaboration. With <strong>Hana Sakai<\/strong>, former soloist with the National Ballet of Japan, he presents <em>Giselle: A Summary<\/em>, a fresh perspective on the ballet tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Friday 22 May, two leading Asian creators meet on the main stage of the Stadsschouwburg in <em>SoftMachine: The Return<\/em>. <strong>Surjit<\/strong>&nbsp;and <strong>Rianto<\/strong>&nbsp;explore in a mix of dance, documentary and monologue how their bodies and countries have evolved; from political resilience in India to the complexity of gender in Indonesia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The festival closes on 23 May with the Dutch premiere of <em>Everything Must Go<\/em>. The iconic British collective<strong>&nbsp;Forced Entertainment<\/strong>&nbsp;has been exploring how pop culture and digital technologies are affecting our society for more than 40 years. During SPRING 2026, they will present <em>Everything Must Go<\/em>: with AI voices and tight lip-sync, the show explores how technology and our society evoke desires in us, and how they relate to what we ourselves really want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The festival can still be visited until Saturday 23 May at various locations in Utrecht. For the full programme, visit springutrecht.nl<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Donderdag opende SPRING Performing Arts Festival met een double bill van Zuid-Koreaanse maker Sung Im Her. In de opening statement van het festival stelde artistiek directeur Grzegorz Reske, vergezeld door burgemeester Dijksma, hoe een wereld in crisis vraagt om kunstenaars die stilstaan, analyseren en bekritiseren. In een uitverkochte grote zaal van de Stadsschouwburg Utrecht deed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1292,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":3,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"federated","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6695,11917,8843],"tags":[16547,657],"class_list":["post-109878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dans","category-persberichten","category-podiumkunst","tag-spring","tag-utrecht"],"featured_image_url":[],"post_author":"Spring Performing Arts Festival","assigned_categories":"DANS, PERSBERICHTEN, PODIUMKUNST","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":109393,"url":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2026\/05\/schuilen-voor-de-wereld-bij-openingsavond-spring\/","url_meta":{"origin":109878,"position":0},"title":"Hiding from the world at opening night Spring","author":"Wijbrand Schaap","date":"15 May 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Like raindrops along a car window on a drizzling day, this is how you can move. Softly, hesitantly, but also inevitably moving in one direction, the dancers of HER project in Everything falls dramatic roll across the stage of Utrecht's Stadsschouwburg. As if they no longer have bones, but have turned into...","rel":"","context":"In &quot;DANS&quot;","block_context":{"text":"DANS","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/genre\/podiumkunst\/dans\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":100297,"url":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2026\/01\/johan-gijsen-nieuwe-voorzitter-van-de-raad-van-toezicht-van-festival-tweetakt\/","url_meta":{"origin":109878,"position":1},"title":"Johan Gijsen new chairman of Festival Tweetakt's Supervisory Board","author":"een van onze leden","date":"12 January 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Utrecht, 12 January 2026 - Festival Tweetakt is proud to announce the appointment of Johan Gijsen as the new chairman of its Supervisory Board. 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For eight decades, the festival has aimed to present large-scale and innovative performing arts by leading artists from around the world. Founded in 1947 out of a need for healing, understanding and connection, the festival has grown to become an established institution\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;PERSBERICHTEN&quot;","block_context":{"text":"PERSBERICHTEN","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/genre\/service\/persberichten\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":64756,"url":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2020\/05\/kunstenaars-hebben-een-speciale-gevoeligheid-voor-wat-er-kan-en-wat-er-in-de-toekomst-wacht-rainer-hofmann-bereid-zich-eenzaam-voor-op-de-toekomst-van-spring\/","url_meta":{"origin":109878,"position":3},"title":"'Artists have a special sensitivity to what is possible and what awaits in the future.' Rainer Hofmann prepares for SPRING's future in solitude.","author":"Wijbrand Schaap","date":"11 May 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"'In five weeks, I have only met one person for more than 3 minutes. I live alone, I see people at the groceries, I walk and take bike rides, but apart from that I don't see anyone live.' Rainer Hofmann, artistic director of Spring, experiences a very different spring than intended thanks to Corona....","rel":"","context":"In &quot;ACTUEEL&quot;","block_context":{"text":"ACTUEEL","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/genre\/nieuws\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Rainer-Hofmann_kleur-%C2%A9-Anna-van-Kooij-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Rainer-Hofmann_kleur-%C2%A9-Anna-van-Kooij-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Rainer-Hofmann_kleur-%C2%A9-Anna-van-Kooij-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Rainer-Hofmann_kleur-%C2%A9-Anna-van-Kooij-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Rainer-Hofmann_kleur-%C2%A9-Anna-van-Kooij-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Rainer-Hofmann_kleur-%C2%A9-Anna-van-Kooij-1.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":135738,"url":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/2026\/08\/tim-hoogesteger-nieuwe-zakelijk-directeur-november-music\/","url_meta":{"origin":109878,"position":4},"title":"Tim Hoogesteger appointed new commercial director of November Music","author":"November Music","date":"28 August 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"On 1 September 2026, Tim Hoogesteger will take up his post as the new business director of November Music, the annual ten-day festival in \u2019s-Hertogenbosch where contemporary music, jazz, electronic music and other adventurous genres come together. 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IN BRAND is an explosive and compelling performance by ZID Theater, in which music,...","rel":"","context":"In &quot;PERSBERICHTEN&quot;","block_context":{"text":"PERSBERICHTEN","link":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/genre\/service\/persberichten\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3yKke-sAe","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1292"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109878"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109878\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109882,"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109878\/revisions\/109882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cultureelpersbureau.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}