Eleventh edition Holland Dance Festival closed with success
November 21st, 2007
The eleventh edition of the Holland Dance Festival, which took place from October 30 thru November 18 in The Hague, closed with great success with the performance of ‘fever’ by Nigel Charnock, founder of DV8 Physical Theatre. The festival drew 36.500 spectators, of which 1500 participated in workshops. The average attendance at the performances was 76%. An additional 7000 spectators are expected for the performances of Holland Dance on Tour and the postponed performance of Last Touch First.
As in previous years, the Holland Dance Festival again presented a wide variety of national and international dance performances; new discoveries this year were the Australian Raw Dance Company and Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet Company from the United States. The Dansparade on November 4, in which 1150 amateur dancers participated, and The Butterfly Project by Shusaku with 80 mothers and daughters from The Hague were two of the remarkable projects of the festival.
New dates Last Touch First & Holland Dance on Tour
Because of serious injuries, the performances of Last Touch First, an initiative of Michael Schumacher, Sabine Kupferberg and Jiøí Kylián were postponed. New play dates have been arranged for the performances: from February 12 thru 15, 2008 in Korzo theatre, performances starting at 20:30 hrs. Tickets are available through Korzo theatre, 070 – 3637540 and the Haags Uitburo: 0900 – 8282999 (40 ct pm).The performances of Regina van Berkel and the Bejing Modern Dance Company now come under the heading of Holland Dance on Tour, and will be appearing in theatres throughout the Netherlands. For playlists, see www.hollanddancefestival.com.
Coproduction Nutcracker in the Church of St. Jacob or “Grote Kerk”
After the success of the first edition, continuation was inevitable; the dance company from The Hague, De Dutch Don’t Dance Division lead by Thom Stuart and Rinus Sprong present for the second time a variation on the classic ballet The Nutcracker in coproduction with the Holland Dance Festival between Christmas and New Year’s. Leading professionals, children, students, amateurs, and dance students all together on one stage. Playdates are Wednesday December 26, 2007 thru Tuesday January 1, New Year’s Day 2008. For more information, see www.notenkraker.nu.Holland Dance Events: Sylvie Guillem
On January 26 at 20:15, the Lucent Danstheater will be the scene of the first Holland Dance Event of 2008. Sylvie Guillem returns to the Netherlands, together with the British choreographer Russel Maliphant she will perform a program consisting of solos, and a duet between these two giants of dance. This performance is exclusive for the Netherlands, and will only play in The Hague.Since last year, festival director Samual Wuersten has been programming international dance in the tradition of the Holland Dance Festival under the heading of “Holland Dance Events”. Wuersten: “To reinforce the reputation of Dance City, you have to show exceptional dance performances throughout the season; from home and abroad. And that is precisely what we do with Holland Dance Events.”