Dates
20 May - 20 Nov
Location
Dutch National Opera & Ballet, Online
Running time
Varying
Tickets
Free
Last December, Dutch National Ballet appointed three new Young Creative Associates: Wubkje Kuindersma, Milena Sidorova and Sedrig Verwoert. In recent years, these three young upcoming talents have already choreographed various works for the company and/or the Junior Company, standing out for their great creativity and unique, specific and inspiring style. They are now demonstrating these qualities in Young Creatives with Memento, Rose and I Feel It Too: three dance films for which they devised the concept as well as creating the choreography.
Wubkje Kuindersma - Memento
Milena Sidorova - Rose
Sedrig Verwoert - I Feel It Too
‘These three Young Creatives represent a new generation of choreographers, which is important to the future of our company and to the future of ballet in the Netherlands’
TED BRANDSEN, DIRECTOR OF DUTCH NATIONAL BALLET
Wubkje Kuindersma - Memento
Watch it now for free
Memento was made at a time when the world was put on hold, due to COVID-19. Choreographer Wubkje Kuindersma says, “It’s in our nature to move freely and to flow like a river, but free movement between people has suddenly become restricted as a consequence of lockdowns. It’s as if the earth has lost its natural flow”.
Wubkje Kuindersma - Memento
Memento
Kuindersma chose the title Memento because this creation will always remind her of these strange times. In addition, the word ‘Memento’ is reminiscent of the expression ‘memento mori’. It is precisely this connection with the inevitability of death that reminds us to live: ‘memento vivere’.
For her choreography, she chose the poignant third song from Henryk Górecki’s Symphony of Sorrowful Songs. While the song expresses deep sorrow and loss, the voice also makes us feel deep love. Memento does not tell a story, but is simply a shared moment in dance and time, and serves as a reminder of this period.
Meet Wubkje Kuindersma
Milena Sidorova - Rose
Watch it now for free
During the first lockdown in the spring of 2020, Milena Sidorova had a big hit with her dance video Hold On, set to the number of the same name by the band from The Hague, Di-rect. The film was viewed hundreds of thousands of times on the various social media channels. Yet the Kiev-born choreographer sees Rose as her first dance film. This is because it is not just a recording of dance, but tells a real story that everyone can follow – even though it is told completely through dance.
Milena Sidorova - Rose
Rose
Rose is situated somewhere we can’t meet one another at the moment due to the corona measures: at the bar of a pub in Amsterdam. Talking to the barman, a woman tells of the relationships she’s had, which are illustrated by the duets she dances. The barman nods every so often, but is actually wrapped up in his own thoughts of his experiences in love. The film is set on the borderline of what is real and what only happens in our mind.
Meet Milena Sidorova
Sedrig Verwoert - I Feel it Too
Watch it now for free
For his dance film I Feel It Too, Young Creative Associate Sedrig Verwoert also took inspiration from the times we’re living in at the moment, dictated by the corona pandemic. The complex emotions with which we are confronted are central to this dance film.
Sedrig Verwoert - I Feel It Too
I Feel It Too
I Feel It Too is the first work Sedrig Verwoert created in the position of Young Creative Associate with Dutch National Ballet. For this piece, made exclusively for the screen, Verwoert drew inspiration from the social and cultural restrictions that were a result of the global pandemic. The 24-minute dance film sheds a light on the complex emotions that we are collectively facing, ranging from a stage of naivete to a layered and heavy understanding of the new normal. Together with spoken word artist Rozina Salihu, composer Tim West and an external artistic team, Verwoert shapes and sifts our perceptions of ballet.
Meet Sedrig Verwoert
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Credits
Concept and choreography Memento
Wubkje Kuindersma
Film director Memento
Mathieu Gremillet
Film director, concept and choreography Rose
Milena Sidorova
Camera director and montage Rose
Arno de Haas
Creative director and choreographer I Feel It Too
Sedrig Verwoert
Film director I Feel It Too
Kevin Osepa
Sidorova lets her choreography sizzle with life in a dance language that keeps on moving you until the end.
Everything shines and swings, from the bar to the dance floor.
Holland
Festival
Holland
Festival
