Dancehouse Amsterdam

Amsterdam dance capital of the dancing Netherlands

The Netherlands has been a leading dance nation since the 1960s. Besides the big renowned companies like the Dutch National Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater and Scapino Ballet Rotterdam, our country has a whole range of medium-sized and smaller dance companies – from Noord Nederlandse Dans in Groningen to Gotra Ballet in Heerlen. The 1980s saw the rise of a large dance community of project choreographers and dancers, particularly in Amsterdam, which continues to seethe with activity. This is one of the reasons Amsterdam is regarded as the dance capital of the Netherlands.

Other big European dance cities, such as London, Vienna, Paris and Brussels, developed a strong infrastructure for fostering a similar artistic hotbed. Amsterdam, however, remained behind – both nationally and internationally – when it came to investing in dance, meaning that the infrastructure for contemporary dance has lagged seriously behind artistic developments in the city.

In order to give contemporary dance a firm foothold on Amsterdam soil and to initiate innovations in dance and openings to a new and wide-ranging audience, Dancehouse Amsterdam will be opening its doors in the autumn of 2012.