Let Amsterdam Dance celebrated the city’s 750th anniversary with a unique community project that united all citizens of Amsterdam through 8 local happenings and a grand, collective finale.
1. The project aimed to connect people in Amsterdam through dance, as part of its 750th anniversary celebrations, and to make the Dutch National Ballet more accessible to a wider audience by bringing it into the public sphere.
2. Dutch National Ballet can be regarded by non-visitors as an elitist institution residing in an ‘ivory tower’. This event was intended to challenge that prejudice and demonstrate that it is a place where everyone can meet, gather, and enjoy themselves in the world of dance.
3. Amsterdam wants to be known as a place where residents are open to one another, where interaction encourages people to stay connected. In this case, given the city’s anniversary, we used dance as a celebratory catalyst to foster this ambition.
The main idea was that the Dutch National Ballet for the first time in history created a community project, connecting the entire city with dance, as a gift to the city celebrating its anniversary. Incorporating three key elements:
1. 8 stages in all 8 districts of the city, for local dance schools to show their unique talent. All outdoors, making it accessible for all citizens to enjoy.
2. Each district got his own colour, which the respective dance group also wore during the big finale at the grand theatre of the Dutch National Opera & Ballet. This connected the local performances and the finale in a personal way, creating a common thread.
3. The finale was a performance of Sasha Waltz’s choreography ‘In C’. This dance is about the encounters people have with each other, how they relate to themselves and others in a public space, and what they do when they connect. So, a fitting dance to celebrate the relationship that inhabitants in a big city like Amsterdam have with each other.
