Call for nominations for the Innovation Award Nederlandse Dansdagen Maastricht 2026 

Nomination round started

The Nederlandse Dansdagen provides a platform for voices that innovate and question through dance, enriching society and the dance landscape with different perspectives. At a time when global tensions, anti-democratic tendencies, identity issues, and polarizing perceptions are increasingly visible, there is a growing need for layered perspectives on who we are — and who we (can) be together. Within the Nederlandse Dansdagen 2026, Dance & Cultural Identity will therefore receive special attention.  

This focus will be given an important place in the festival program, but will also be reflected in the annual Innovation Award Nederlandse Dansdagen Maastricht, with which we stimulate current developments and exceptional talent. For the 2026 Innovation Award, we are looking for choreographers whose work explores the relationship between dance and cultural identity.

Some choreographers draw on their personal history, heritage, or environment, allowing these elements to influence their movement language, form, and expressiveness. Others use dance as a means to explore and shape the complexity and fluidity of cultural identity. In both cases, stories emerge in which personal roots, traditions, or experiences play a role — contributing to a richer and more multifaceted picture of what identity and dance can mean today.  

You can nominate choreographers who:  

• explore the relationship between dance and cultural identity in their work;  

• are working in the Netherlands;  

• have already realized several notable projects, but do not yet receive structural funding. 

Both independent creators and choreographers creating within companies are eligible. Makers who were submitted or nominated in previous years may apply again. Previous winners are excluded from nomination.  

The award 
From the submissions, a jury will ultimately nominate three makers who will pitch their idea for a new production. The choreographer with the best and most innovative idea will win the award and can begin creating new work. The winner will be announced during the Nederlandse Dansdagen 2026. The prize consists of a development budget of €25,000, made possible in part by the Municipality of Maastricht. The new work will premiere during the Nederlandse Dansdagen in 2027 and will tour the national editions of the Dansdagen.

Nominate

Nominations can be submitted via this link.
The deadline for nominations is February 15. 

More information about the Innovation Award

Winner Innovation Award 2025 / Marc Vlemmix.
Photography: Jona Harnischmacher.