Claudia Karapanou and Tatiana Koleva | Marne van Opstal | Rutkay Özpinar
Danskerk: Dancing across borders
The Flamenco Biënniale is celebrating its 20th anniversary and is dancing its way into this milestone. The tenth edition of the festival showcases the many faces of contemporary flamenco, featuring rebellious pioneers, living flamenco legends, and the newest musicians and dance makers. The festival takes place from October 8 to 26 in eight cities across the Netherlands. During the Nederlandse Dansdagen, you can experience some unique previews.
Dances are both rooted in countries and cultures and marked by displacement and uprooting. A striking example is the journey of a dance style that began in India and evolved into what we now know as flamenco. As a tribute to the anniversary of Flamenco Biënnale Nederland, the Nederlandse Dansdagen presents a preview of Wood Nymphs, performed by Claudia Karapanou (dance) and Tatiana Koleva (marimba/percussion). The program continues with a piece by Marne van Opstal created for the Ukrainian International Ballet. Finally, Rutkay Özpinar takes you on a journey through three of his works, each navigating different cultures and dance styles.
Program
Flamenco Biënnale Nederland | Claudia Karapanou and Tatiana Koleva:
Wood Nymphs
Marne van Opstal for Ukrainian International Ballet:
Present
Rutkay Özpinar:
Aphorisms
His
That One Thing (Premiere)
Danskerk
On Saturday, October 4, the iconic Sint Janskerk at the Vrijthof square will be transformed into the Danskerk for one day. In this tranquil location, we will create a concentrated, almost magical place where dance can be experienced in its purest form. Without illusion, decor, or theater lighting. As audience, you will be sitting close to the dance floor, right next to the dancers. So close that even the smallest details become visible and you can feel the dancers' humanity and vulnerability under your own skin.
- Saturday 4 October
- 17:00 - 18:00
- Location
- Sint Janskerk
- Accessibility
- Language no problem
- Wheelchair user
- Disabled
- Tickets
- Ticket €14,00
Flamenco Biënnale Nederland | Claudia Karapanou and Tatiana Koleva - Wood Nymphs
In Wood Nymphs, two fascinating musical cultures meet in their infinitely rich rhythmic variety: Flamenco and the world of Balkan rhythms. The hands of percussionist/marimba player Tatiana Koleva and the feet of flamenco dancer Claudia Karapanou engage in a resounding battle. A brand-new project of the Flamenco Biënnale under the artistic direction of the renowned Bulgarian-Dutch percussionist Tatiana Koleva.Claudia Karapanou’s choreography was created to Florian Magnus Maier’s musical composition Soleá, composed especially for phenomenon on the marimba Tatiana Koleva.
Marne van Opstal for Ukrainian International Ballet - Present
The second piece of the program is the duet Present, created earlier this year by internationally acclaimed choreographer Marne van Opstal, originally from Limburg, on invitation from the Netherlands-based Ukrainian International Ballet. This company stands as a beacon of cultural resilience and artistic resistance, offering a platform to Ukrainian dancers who have become scattered across the globe.
In Present, Van Opstal invites the audience into a world of the now—a profound exploration of reality embodied through an intense dialogue with the consciousness of two exceptional dancers. Their movements, emotions, and interactions weave a vivid tapestry of the present moment, urging the viewer to reflect on their own sense of presence.
Experience the beauty of this fleeting moment, the freedom of thought, and the deep connection between body, mind, and soul. Present is raw, unfiltered, and alive—a shared experience of the now.
The duet will be performed by Vladyslava Kovalenko and Vladyslav Detiuchenko. The latter already appeared on the stage of the Danskerk last year with his own duet.
Rutkay Özpinar - Aphorisms
In Aphorisms, Rutkay explores the swirling thoughts that constantly surface in his mind, a dialogue between his inner self and the world around him. His movement language, which blends modern dance, classical ballet, Turkish folk dance and hip-hop, is deeply rooted in his heritage. From the grounded strength of Turkish folk traditions to the fluidity of contemporary forms, he creates a new vocabulary of undulating motion, isolations, dynamics and expression.
Rutkay Özpinar - His
With His (meaning ‘feeling’ in Turkish), Rutkay draws directly from the rich tradition of Middle Eastern and Turkish folk dance, especially belly dance. He breaks through boundaries between masculinity and femininity and embraces his sensuality, celebrating his body as both dancer and storyteller. His precise articulations and flowing movements pay tribute to the detailed beauty of this heritage, offering a contemporary reflection on tradition, identity and transformation.
Rutkay Özpinar - That One Thing (premiere)
Barbara D'Agostino (Stichting GeneesKunst) was at the beginning of a great dance career when she was diagnosed with leukemia in 2014. She recovered, but the chemotherapy left its mark on her body. This was no reason for her to stop. The dancer in her lives on powerfully. In That One Thing, Barbara takes her position because dance bubbles up inside her and rushes through her body. The strength, limitations, courage, and pain are driven by the cadence in her body and come to life.
