Without The Hague, there would be no Nederlands Dans Theater. From our home base, we’ve been touring the world with our dance performances for decades — always carrying the heart and soul of The Hague with us.
An annual favourite of ours is Switch: an evening entirely curated, produced, and choreographed by the dancers of NDT 1 and NDT 2. The 2026 edition of Switch takes place on 17 January.
Looking for modern dance? Many people end up at Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) for that reason. It makes sense, because the terms are often used interchangeably. Yet NDT does not create modern dance in its historical sense. We focus on contemporary dance.
At NDT you experience dance created in the here and now. Work by artists from around the world, each with different backgrounds, styles and questions. One evening you might see an intimate solo, the next a vibrant ensemble piece.
All our performances grow out of strong technique and a curious view of the world we live in. Contemporary dance at NDT is never just beautiful movement. It is a way of looking at the world. You do not need any prior knowledge to step inside. If you are open to watching and feeling, you are already on your way.
Modern dance emerged at the start of the twentieth century as a reaction to classical ballet. For many pioneers, ballet felt like a fixed form with set steps, stories and roles. They wanted to create dance that felt more personal and more human, where movement was directly linked to what someone wanted to express.
They therefore developed their own techniques, such as those of Martha Graham and later Merce Cunningham, with a physical logic that differed from ballet. The torso became the centre of emotion and initiative. Movement often started from the ground rather than reaching upwards towards a perfect pose. Dancing barefoot, working with gravity, showing breath and resistance: the body was no longer a fairy-tale figure but a real person.
Modern dance also broadened the idea of what dance could be. Not only elevated or stylised, but also everyday. Walking, falling, standing still, repeating. From that moment on, any human movement could become material for dance.
From the mid-twentieth century onwards, contemporary dance developed as the next step. It builds on modern dance, but is less bound to a single style. You can see it as a way of working. While modern dance was innovative and exploratory, it still remained within recognisable schools and techniques. Contemporary dance lets go of those fixed structures and searches further.
Artists combine modern and classical techniques with influences from theatre, visual art, music, film and digital media. Improvisation and experimentation play an important role. Today’s dancers train in multiple techniques and draw inspiration from other movement practices such as t’ai chi, capoeira, acrobatics and street culture. The aim is not one universal style, but a personal movement language that expresses exactly what the maker wants to explore.
This is also where NDT’s core lies. We work with choreographers who continuously push the boundaries of movement and imagination. Contemporary dance at NDT is not a fixed definition but a living practice. Dance that emerges from the present, shaped by global influences, technically leading and artistically curious.
NDT is a place where contemporary dance takes shape in new ways every night.