The Hague, April 19, 2007

11th edition Holland Dance Festival

From October 30  through November 18, 2007, the eleventh Holland Dance Festival, the international dance biennale of the Netherlands, takes place in The Hague. This festival –the largest dance festival in the Netherlands- puts all the diverse facets of the art of dance on display. For almost three weeks, more than forty dance companies and artists, from the Netherlands and around the world, will present some sixty performances in five theatres and at special locations. At the same time, an extensive variety of dance workshops is being offered. And, on the November 4th, a procession of more than a thousand amateur performers will dance through the centre of The Hague in the third edition of the Dansparade.

Performances
The Holland Dance Festival 2007 presents a series of extremely diverse yet consistently impressive choreographies. The festival opens with the highly acclaimed piece ‘Alas’ by Compania Nacional de Danza, lead by Artistic Director and choreographer Nacho Duato.

In addition to performances by other top Dutch companies, such as the Dutch National Ballet, the programme also features companies from around the world, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Israel, the United States, and China.

Workshops
The Holland Dance Festival 2007 programme also offers more than ninety workshops which are suitable for beginners as well as for more experienced dancers. Also especially noteworthy, the Holland Dance Specials: workshops wherein choreographers and dancers from the festival present their specific dance technique or method of working. This offers participants the opportunity to have a different kind of experience with the dance they have seen performed on stage.

Dansparade & cross-overs
On the first Sunday in November, the Dansparade will again be presented. Just as in 2003 and 2005, over a thousand of amateur performers will dance along a kilometer and a half long route through the centre of The Hague. As a celebratory finale, they will perform together at the Spuiplein, in a piece choreographed by Thom Stuart (The Dutch Don’t Dance Division).

The Holland Dance Festival is the place where amateur dancers and the audience meet professionals, and vice versa: three choreographers are asked to train and prepare a choreography with amateur dancers, and the pieces are shown during the ‘WisselWerk’ programme. The programme ‘the Hague Moves’ challenges young dancers to create their own choreography and present it on stage as well. Also lots of ‘meet and greets’, talks, dance parties and other ‘peaks behind the scenes’ are being organised during the festival.

History
The Holland Dance Festival was established in 1987 as an initiative of the city of The Hague. As a major dance biennale, the festival offers varied programming for a broad public and puts dance as an art form in the spotlight. Over the years, the festival has expanded significantly. In its first year, six productions were presented in one theatre. The last festival in 2005 drew an audience of nearly 45,000 dance enthusiasts.