Zoë Greten about her first week at NDT

We started the day with a ballet class, which was a nice first impression of how everyone dances. The class was followed by an introductory meeting for the new season, with Artistic Director Emily Molnar and her artistic team, and Executive Director Willemijn Maas. What do they expect from us and what can we expect from them? It was an open conversation, in which it immediately became clear that NDT is a safe environment where your opinion is valued, and you are given space to grow as a person and as a dancer. It was also very nice to hear that, as apprentices, we will be fully involved in rehearsals. We function as the understudies and have to rehearse as many roles as possible. What is already an incredibly nice prospect, is that the apprentices will also be joining the first tour of the season, which means that we will perform in Germany, Cyprus and Italy next month. Really a great start!

During a tour of the building, I met people from other departments. After that, my measurements were taken in the costume department, and I got a physio check at the Health Team. As you may understand, I came home very tired and full of impressions. Fortunately, I live in The Hague now. I’ve only just moved there from Amsterdam, during the summer holidays.

After such an overwhelming day, I slept very deeply. The second day, rehearsals for the tour were on the schedule with first Bedtime Story by Nadav Zelner. My hip-hop background turned out to be very useful for this work! The following days we also rehearsed three other works: The Big Crying by Marco Goecke, Fathoms by David Raymond & Tiffany Tregarthen and Cacti by Alexander Ekman. It’s tough rehearsing so many ballets in such a short time, but it’s exactly what I want to do here: work really hard and share my passion with everyone.

After these days, my brain is overflowing. I even dream of the choreography at night. More turns out to fit in my head than I thought. I can’t wait to rehearse all the choreographies completely and throw in my feelings. I am also looking forward to later this year, when NDT 2 gets to rehearse a work by Crystal Pite, one of my favourite choreographers, for the first time.

The first week counted six days, including a BBQ with the whole company on the beach of Scheveningen at the end. A great opportunity to get to know even more NDT people. As a young girl, I often went to NDT performances with my parents. It was always my favourite company. The fact that I am now a real member of it, is something I never dreamed of.