Het Nederlandse Dansdagen Gala 2023

Celebrate the richness of Dutch dance together with dancers, choreographers, nominees and audience

The most important dance prizes in our country are awarded during the Nederlandse Dansdagen Gala. The Innovation Award Nederlandse Dansdagen Maastricht gives an impulse to Dutch dance by supporting emerging talent. And with the prestigious VSCD Swans we celebrate the top achievements in Dutch dance.

This festive opening evening will be accompanied by special performances by nominees, former award winners, leading makers, new talent and surprising guests.

Title
Choreographer | Company

Pink Portal
Cecilia Moisio

PINK PORTAL will be an informative, funny but also emotional performance about women's bodies - from their first menstruation to their menopause. An ode to where we all once started. Together with a cast of women of different ages, it reflects on centuries of control, criticism, pettiness, shaming and censorship. PINK PORTAL is the next step in the line of feminist women's performances by choreographer and playwright Cecilia Moisio

Free At Last
Danae & Dionysios | Scapino

For Free at Last, choreographers Danae Dimitriadi and Dionysios Alamanos drew inspiration from an extraordinary story about the Greek struggle for independence around 1800, The Last Dance of Zalongo. To avoid falling prey to the advancing Ottomans, a group of women decide to throw themselves off a cliff with their children. They choose freedom and dance their last dance in the mountains.

Beloved Faded Memories
Jurriën Schobben | Introdans

Last spring, Introdans dancer and choreographer Jurriën Schobben created Beloved Faded Memories especially for HubClub’23, a colorful and inclusive dance program from Introdans that celebrates human uniqueness. Schobben took the theme ‘the night’ as a starting point. “It’s about a specific feeling in the night, a moment when everything is right,” he says. ‘You are with the right people, the music is perfect and you are in an amazing location. All your worries disappear for a moment and you can let go completely.

Avatara
Shailesh Bahoran & Duda Paiva

In this immersive performance, in which dancers and foam sculptures become adventurous characters, master puppeteer Duda Paiva and the celebrated choreographer Shailesh Bahoran tell the story of the breath of life. Because what is the origin of this magic? Do gods give life to man or is it man who has made gods human?

Unbreakable
Lloyd Marengo & Soweto Skeleton Movers

Unbreakable is a collaboration between Rotterdam choreographer Lloyd Marengo, London theater director Jonzi D and the five explosively energetic dancers of Soweto Skeleton Movers from South Africa. Despite many setbacks and bad temptations that crossed their path, these dancers are ‘unbreakable’. In a combination of heartfelt play, traditional South-African street dance (pantsula), bone breaking, Afro house, Amapiano beats, humor and impressive visuals, the dancers will tell their personal stories that put their spirit to the test.

False Memories
Tu Hoang

False Memories is created around the concept of the psychological mind through the perspective of 2 individuals that have an unspeakable connection with each other.
In an abstract way, the feeling stays that they are one entity in their spiritual world, whether they are together or separated in physicality.

Our memory is a very fragile concept. Sometimes we remember things the way we want it to be. Our imagination helps us to escape our own reality in order to find comfort or peace.

VSCD Swan for most impressive Dance Production

WINNER
Avatāra by Shailesh Bahoran and Duda Paiva Company

NOMINEES
~~DARK~~MATTER by Cherish Menzo | Frascati Producties, GRIP i.s.m. De Coproducers
CONTROLE by 155 and Maas theater & dans

VSCD Swan for most impressive Dance Performance

WINNER
Giorgi Potskhishvili in De Groene Tafel by Het Nationale Ballet

NOMINEES
Patricia van Deutekom in La Despedida by LAVA Collective
Liam McCall in Dorian by ISH and Het Nationale Ballet

VSCD Young Swan for most impressive Dance Production

WINNER
Als het anders loopt by Het Houten Huis/plan d-/Club Guy & Roni

NOMINEES
Superslow by BonteHond
Nacht by Dadodans and Insomnio

VSCD Young Swan for most impressive Dance Performance

WINNER
Yeli Beurskens in Hold Your Horses by De Dansers

NOMINEES
Sellam El Achari in God is a DJ by SALLY Dansgezelschap Maastricht + 40
Laura Feliu Casas in Als het anders loopt by Het Houten Huis/plan d-/Club Guy & Roni