Three choreoraphers appointed as Young Creative Associates

The young, talented choreographers Milena Sidorova, Sedrig Verwoert and Wubkje Kuindersma have been appointed as the new 'Young creative associates' of Dutch National Ballet. In 2017, the Dutch National Ballet launched this initiative for the development of young choreographic talent, whereby talented choreographers enter into a multi-year relationship with the company.

The "Young creative associates" receive artistic and facility support. This includes providing choreography assignments and mentorship in making artistic choices. They can also use rehearsal studios and dancers from the Dutch National Ballet. Siderova, Verwoert and Kuindersma are appointed for a period of three years. They succeed Juanjo Arqués and Peter Leung, who were appointed first in 2017.

Ted Brandsen, director of Dutch National Ballet:
“All three choreographers have previously made work for the Dutch National Ballet and/or the Junior Company, each showing their own, specific and inspiring signature that is in full development. They represent a new generation of choreographers who are important for the future of our company and of ballet in our country. Their appointment as "Young creative associates" enables them to develop further artistically in a more structured way, within the possibilities that we offer them as a company. "

Milena Sidorova:
“It is an enormous honor, partly because it is the first time in the history of Dutch National Ballet that an active dancer is given such an appointment. And it is recognition for the development that I am going through as a choreographer. I look forward to the collaboration and to being inspired by the fantastic ballet masters and phenomenal dancers as a choreographer, also because they are open to experiments and always go the extra mile. I also hope to learn a lot from the collaboration with talented set and costume designers. ”

Sedrig Verwoert:
“I am very happy that this has come my way and I look forward to continuing the collaboration. As a freelance choreographer I can now focus on my artistic development within Dutch National Ballet. I intend to play with different and perhaps underexposed narratives within the ballet and approach it in a contemporary way. Something new and contemporary. I hope that we are heading for a diverse and inclusive process. And make sure that everyone feels welcome within this art form. ”

Wubkje Kuindersma:
“I am happy and honored. I love the quality and artistry of the company, the excellent dancers, the artistic direction and the team. To be able to continue my artistic journey as a choreographer with Dutch National Ballet is a dream come true! I look forward to choreographing abstract, modern, poetic and narrative ballets as well as multidisciplinary creations and films. I hope to touch the audience through dance and to contribute as much as possible to the company. ”

ABOUT THE YOUNG CREATIVE ASSOCIATES

Milena Sidorova
Milena Sidorova (born in Ukraine, Dutch nationality) has been dancing with Dutch National Ballet since 2005, in recent years in the rank of Grand Sujet. At the age of 13 she created the choreography The Spider, which was received with great success and achieved more than 15 million views on Youtube.
Sidorova has won several awards and since 2007 has been creating works for the choreography workshop New Moves almost annually.
In 2019 her works received a lot of international acclaim after a performance at the Royal Opera House, London. Last year she was invited for a prestigious fellowship in New York and she was commissioned by Dutch National Opera to create the choreography for the award-winning production Kriebel. Last summer, she was involved as a consultant on DUNE, the big Hollywood movie that will be released in 2021.

Sedrig Verwoert
Sedrig Verwoert was born in Suriname and studied dance at the Amsterdam School of the Arts. In 2013 he won first prize in the Eurovision Young Dancers competition. He also won the "BNG Bank Dance Award" and the "Leo Spreksel Award". He danced with Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company in Israel and ICK Amsterdam (Emio Greco / Pieter C. Scholten) and has been active as a choreographer for a number of years. As a guest choreographer for Dutch National Ballet, he presented the solo The hard rocks will seem soft to us in 2019 and the group work L’Autre Côté last September.
Most recently, he collaborated on Beyoncé's visual album Black is King and, along with fellow creator Christian Yav, was nominated a "Swan" for "Most Impressive Dance Performance" for his creation They/Them.

Wubkje Kuindersma
The Dutch, Cameroonian-born, Wubkje Kuindersma made her debut as a choreographer in 2010 and immediately won a prize in a choreographic competition in Cologne. She danced with Ballet Gulbenkian, Nurnberg Ballet, Danish Dance Theater and Random Dance, among others. In 2016, Wubkje received the "BNG Bank Dance Award" for choreographic talent.
Kuindersma previously created the internationally acclaimed duet Two and Only for Dutch National Ballet and two works for the Junior Company.
In December 2018, Wubkje was included in the '25 to watch 2019 'list of the American Dance Magazine and was nominated in 2019 for the' Prize of the Dutch Dance Days'.
She also choreographed for Danish Dance Theater, Korzo in collaboration with Nederlands Dans Theater, Ballet Dortmund, BalletX, Noverre, National Youth Ballet of John Neumeier's Hamburg Ballet, Hessische Staatsballett, Beijing Dance Academy and West Australian Ballet.