Our Story

De Nederlandse Dansdagen is an organization dedicated to Dutch dance. culminating in an annual festival that takes place in and from Maastricht. In the first week of October, an array of dance performances and the best of Dutch dance is shown: from "classical" to "urban" from "avant garde" to "modern dance.

The program of de Nederlandse Dansdagen thus represents the diversity of Dutch dance and shows important developments in Dutch dance: from striking work by young choreographers to impressive performances by established dance companies.

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Mission

Nederlandse Dansdagen aims to make the voice of dance and the dance artist louder. In addition, de Nederlandse Dansdagen uses the power of dance to set society in motion around social issues; it challenges people to think, talk, discuss and act. 

Every year, de Nederlandse Dansdagen (Dutch Dance Days) focuses on heritage, current events and the future. Both in a national and international context. Audiences and dance professionals will get a diverse overview of the contribution dance has made, is making and will make in the future to culture and society in general, both during the festival and throughout the year.

De Nederlandse Dansdagen increases public appreciation and engagement for Dutch dance, drives innovation within dance and makes a lasting contribution to the diverse dance landscape in the Netherlands.

Vision

De Nederlandse Dansdagen has developed in recent years into a festival for boundary-crossing dance. Boundaries blur between disciplines and genres, between choreographer and dancer, between performer and audience, between stage and public space, and between countries. We make room for all this at our festival.

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Campaign Nederlandse Dansdagen 2023: Danseres Wennah Wilkers ambassadeur van de Nederlandse Dans 2023

Dance and
Identity

In the report Denkend aan Nederland (2019), the Sociaal Cultureel Planbureau stated: '[The Netherlands] is an imagined community, experienced by many as a country, a nation, a society with its own collective identity...With shared experiences, memories and imaginings about the future.' ND sees it as a core task to make manifest what role art and culture and specifically dance art plays in this imagined community. ND observes that precisely at a time of blurring boundaries, identity has become a central theme in society. Dance, as purely physical expression, goes straight to the heart and, through the imagination, tells the stories of the individual and the community in all their diversity.

Heritage, 
topicality 
and future

De Nederlandse Dansdagen increases public appreciation and engagement for Dutch dance, drives innovation within dance and makes a lasting contribution to the diverse dance landscape in the Netherlands.

In recent years, De Nederlandse Dansdagen has developed into a festival for dance that crosses borders. Boundaries blur between disciplines and genres, between choreographer and dancer, between performer and audience, between stage and public space, and between countries. We make room for all this at our festival.