Month: June 2019

Rotterdam International Duet Choreography Competition

The XL Production Award of €100,000 went to Kwame Asafo-Adjei for Family Honour. Not a surprise, but then I don’t think any result would have been. The audience prize, which was money we pledged during the break after we had all voted on our phones, was awarded to Grayscale by Anastasia Belyaeva​. 

WALID RAAD at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam

Raad’s insights on war threatened to mirror yet another self-righteous revelation of the unnecessary damages caused by mankind in its quest for power, followed by a  warning to remain critical of the media, which, unlike the artist’s own archives, fails to do justice to a deception most real, yet unseen.

ERWIN OLAF at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam

3rd July – 22nd September.
The Rijksmuseum has been a major source of inspiration for Erwin Olaf since his early youth, with Rembrandt, Jan Steen, Breitner and other Dutch artists being hugely influential on his work. To mark the transfer of his core collection the Rijksmuseum

ELSEWHERE – CHOKI LINDBERG at the BART Gallery in Amsterdam

There is something alluring in the beholding of abandoned spaces that have once housed so much life. Places created with the comfort of man in mind, yet, in his neglect of its preservation, finds itself returned to its rightful owner, as nature occupies once again, central stage.

MIDSUMMER JAZZ IN DELFT

One of the biggest annual events in Delft is the free Jazz Festival which takes place in August each year in the town’s main square. By way of a small sample the festival’s organiser, Bram Stoeken, puts on a mini festival as a taster for the riches to come. This year the one-day festival fell on the longest day and so was called, rather cleverly, the Midsummer Jazz Festival.

SAND SCULPTURE RETURNS TO THE HAGUE

After last year’s amazing and highly successful Sand Sculpture World Championships in The Hague they have decided to bring back a mini event with just three artists. . . The giant works of art in sand are part of the The Hague’s annual Festival aan Zee. The three sculptures are therefore made in the themes of visual art, theater and dance.

UP AND COMING at the Korzo Theater, The Hague

UP AND COMING CHOREOGRAPHERS.

I am an unashamed and unapologetic fan of the Nederlands Dans Theater. I also spend a lot of time at the Korzo, an establishment whose aim is to promote and celebrate new and experimental work in contemporary dance. So, when the two institutions come together to present three world premieres you can be sure it is going to be something special.