NDT 1 tours internationally with Figures in Extinction, our coproduction with Complicité.
In season 2025-2026 we bring you bold, thought-provoking contemporary dance at its finest, featuring acclaimed artists from all over the world. Ticket sales for the performances in Amare, The Hague start Thursday April 10 at 12PM.
As Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT), we’re a house of creation, and that’s why we focus on creation, innovation, research, and talent development. The first edition of Up & Coming Lab, that we organised at the beginning of July, is a great example of what that entails. This 2-week programme allows emerging makers to explore and deepen their movement language, in collaboration with the NDT 2 dancers. We invited Anat Oz, Anna Ozerskaia, and duos Sarah Baltzinger & Isaiah Wilson, and Eliana Stragapede & Borna Babić to do so. We wrapped up the programme with presentations in the NDT Black Box. We are very proud of the exchange and growth that happened during the Lab.
Eliana Stragapede & Borna Babić
“The Up & Coming Lab offered us a wonderful opportunity to explore our movement language for the first time within a group composition. Collaborating with the talented and insightful dancers of NDT 2 was truly a gift. Throughout the process, we felt we were able to develop a toolbox the dancers could draw from, resources that supported the research and helped invite them into our world. What made the experience even more special was the open, welcoming, and positive environment. We were given the space to explore freely, without the pressure to produce immediate results, something we deeply appreciated and considered a real privilege. Although the time was short, we are truly happy with the direction the process began to take. It felt like the beginning of something meaningful, an experience we’ll carry with us and we’re genuinely curious to see it unfolding in the future.”
Sarah Baltzinger & Isaiah Wilson
“The moment we stepped into the studio, something playful took over. Within minutes, the floor was covered in wigs, shoes, oversized jackets, and all type of clothes. We invited the dancers to become someone, or something, else entirely. From the start, it was clear: this lab would be a celebration of transformation. Each performer stepped into a character far from themselves; strange, exaggerated, uncanny. These fictional identities opened the door to brave, surprising explorations.
Once these particular beings had emerged, we handed each of them a walkie-talkie. These became central to our research. The crackling, distorted voices transmitted in real time began to drive the performers’ movements, their interactions, and their emotional landscapes. It was our way of giving life, however artificial, to these puppet-like bodies. The walkie-talkies became vessels of emotion, shaping an illogical yet deeply human language of sound and motion.
This initial frame gave rise to a wildly imaginative playground, filled with bold exploration, joy, and constant bursts of laughter. The lab was a truly unforgettable experience, and we’re deeply grateful for the opportunity to have shared this creative journey with such fearless and generous dancers.”
Anna Ozerskaia
“I had an absolutely fantastic time working with 4 dancers from NDT 2. We had great energy in the studio. I came up with ideas I wanted to research and work on, and all of them were met with curiosity and commitment from the dancers. They would go deeply and full-heartedly into anything I would suggest. I worked around the theme of emptiness. I find that this subject is rich for exploring from many different angles: emotionally, physically, and metaphorically. We also used wooden boards for building. Like this, the empty space of a room in a short moment was full of poetic landscapes. An empty wooden board can serve its direct function and be used as a building material, as it is, bringing the ideas of constructing, re-constructing, re-building. But it also can be seen as an empty space itself, in which one can project many fantasies. Being fascinated by the idea of “what we do not see in what we see”, I wished to turn the studio into a playground. Without going into dark places, we were searching for ways to connect deeper to that emptiness, that is not negative, but more something that is bigger than us. A comforting quietness one can look for. And it was interesting, that playing with a theme of emptiness, we could not feel fuller each day during our research. We developed some very touching scenes and had lots of fun as well.”
Anat Oz
“Up & Coming Lab was both a true pleasure and a meaningful milestone in my journey as a creator. Through hands-on practice, open dialogue, and reflection, I gained fresh insights into the methods I’m currently shaping and refining. The encounter with the dancers was intimate and unique. The shared experience of entering a creative lab together—where we explored the process of building a dance work—allowed us to challenge ourselves within our individual roles and shared responsibilities in the studio. I enjoyed presenting my creative toolbox, but even more so, questioning it, challenging it, and rethinking the ways I work. We explored the space between structured, time-bound material and the freedom in how movement phrases could be interpreted and performed.
My journey throughout was dynamic, playful, and full of surprises. This experience will remain with me as a gateway to a new path of artistic growth.”
Eager to learn more about our other initiatives for makers? Read about our Maker Pathway here.