Since 1959, the Nederlands Dans Theater evolved into one of the worlds leading and innovative companies of modern dance. Therefore, fifty years of the Nederlands Dans Theater cannot easily be forgotten. The Nederlands Dans Theater and the Holland Dance Festival share a long history and find strength in this link to celebrate Dance as never before in Dancing capital of the Netherlands: The Hague.

For a period of nearly three weeks, The Holland Dance Festival invites dance companies and dance artists from all over the world onto the stage; from familiar faces to new initiatives, from undiscovered gems to the international top, new productions and established top performances, young talents and big-name artists. All flocking to The Hague from Israel, Australia, and the USA, from Spain to Sweden; all with their own link to the Nederlands Dans Theater. The festival will be opened by the Nederlands Dans Theater I en II at the Lucent Danstheater, the leading Dance theatre of The Hague. Also Jim Vincent, the new Artistic Director of the Nederlands Dans Theater, will be present with his (to be) former company the Hubbard Street Dance Company from Chicago. Hubbard Street Dance will present work by Vincent himself including new work of Alejandro Cerrudo, a world premiere by Jorma Elo and an early work of Duato, all ex-dancers and ex-choreographers of the Nederland Dans Theater.

In addition, old friends of the Holland Dance Festival like the Batsheva Dance Company from Israel and the Compania Nacional of Nacho Duato from Madrid, return to The Hague. The two grand masters of dance in the Netherlands, Jirí Kylián and Hans van Manen, will present own material executed by young dance talents of the Dance Academies of Rotterdam, Amsterdam and The Hague. Furthermore, an new duet will be presented by Sabine Kupferberg and Michael Schumacher. At the request of the Holland Dance Festival, Introdans will reprise two unique Works from the early days of the Nederlands Dans Theater. The two works that will be reconstructed are, ‘Rooms’ by Anna Sokolov (1960) and ‘De Anatomische Les’ by Glen Tetley (1964). Both works are a reflection of the wide range of works that the Nederlands Dans Theater represented in that period.