dansMuseum
Reading Room
Explore and be inspired
The Reading Room features a collection of books devoted to dance and choreography in the Netherlands. Beginning in 2024 with a small selection of curated titles, the collection aims to develop into an online resource for information about books, articles, and periodicals related to dance in the Netherlands.
Book of the Month
Each month the dansMuseum spotlights a book on dance worth reading. Check out our previous books of the month here
Dances of The Netherlands
E. van der Ven-Ten Bensel (2021)
Clogs and baggy trousers, wide checked skirts and white caps - is not this our picture when we think of Dutch folk dances? But this costume belongs only to one dance and one part of the country; even there the women are coming to prefer 'a pleated black skirt
which gives a slim and even elegant outline'. And who would suspect the sober Dutch of such a dance as the Cramignon, a chain dance that winds 'in and out of the houses and inns of the village' behind a brass band?
Dr. Elise van der Ven-ten Bensel devoted her life to the study and preservation of Dutch folk dances. Together with her husband, another noted folklorist, she filmed the traditional customs of the country and organised folk-dance schools. In this book, after a lively and amusing essay on Dutch folk life, the author describes four typical dances, with their step-notation and music, and four
charming colour plates show the traditional costumes for each dance.
Embodied Knowledge: Articulations
170 articulations originating from the discussion Why Embodied Knowledge Matters, organised by the ND in collaboration with ICK Amsterdam as part of the Dutch Dance Research program 2025
Dance research in the Netherlands
In this anthology, you will find a collection of articles published by the Dutch Society for Dance Research in nine volumes of Danswetenschap in Nederland between the years 2000 and 2017.
ND Publications
Throughout the years Nederlandse Dansdagen has published catalogues for some of its projects and exhibitions. Explore some of these publications below.
Act Your Age | 2013
The two-year dance project Act Your Age encouraged the European community to engage with the aging body through dance art.
Performing Gender | 2017
Performing Gender was a European dance project that used artistic and cultural tools to open a civil reflection on differences in gender and sexual orientation.
The Third Space | 2018
In support of the dansMuseum exhibition The Third Space, a publication was produced, providing insights into the performances selected for this exhibition and Krisztina de Châtel's working methods.
Extintus/Extantem | 2019
The dansMuseum's 3rd exhibition was presented in the form of a publication — a portable archive of articles, essays and interviews all centred on forgotten and lost movements in Dutch dance.
De Nieuwe Dansbibliotheek
De Nieuwe Toneelbibliotheek has invited Fransien van der Putt to start a sister company, De Nieuwe Dansbibliotheek (The New Dance Library). Within the same format, a new series is being built to support Dutch dance.
Gesprekken met Makers: Nita Liem
Fransien van der Putt (De Nieuwe Dansbibliotheek, 2024)
A long interview with artist Nita Liem about her work, including her working methods, artistic practice and development.
*Translated from Dutch
Read more?
Is there a book that you think is worth reading? Or do you have books that you want to donate to our collection? If so, please contact us at dansMuseum@nederlandsedansdagen.nl