Holland Dance Festival 2026

Dance in the Spotlight: Holland Dance Festival celebrates 20th jubilee edition and marks a new chapter with the start of construction on the Danshuis in Rotterdam

With over 50 performances across 17 productions, the 20th jubilee edition of Holland Dance Festival concluded festively with An Untitled Love by A.I.M by Kyle Abraham. With standing ovations and a vibrant atmosphere, the festival experienced a powerful finale.The 20th edition was characterized by great artistic diversity. Fifteen dance companies showcased the most current trends and developments in international dance. Audiences clearly appreciated this diversity. With five world premieres, multiple five-star reviews, and over 22,000 visitors, this anniversary edition can be described as energetic, diverse, intellectually sharp, and unforgettable. 

Founded in 1987 to present international dance and make dance accessible to everyone, Holland Dance Festival is the Netherlands’ only biennial international dance festival. It serves as a platform for distinctive, high-profile, and accessible productions from around the world. Twenty editions now form a living archive of dance. Over nearly forty years, the festival has presented work by more than 450 choreographers and 350 companies and makers, totalling nearly 400 productions and approximately 1,700 performances, attended by more than one million people. General and Artistic Director Samuel Wuersten: “These have been 450 impulses. We may pause for a moment to reflect on that — and then look ahead once more. Internationally, the festival also made an impact. The British newspaper The Guardian wrote in an extensive feature: “From nightmarish noir to Bolero on trampolines: the audacious Holland Dance Festival hits dizzy heights.” Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant headlined: “Holland Dance Festival puts inclusive thinking in dance on the map with two beautiful, moving premieres.”

4 February 2026: a milestone for Dutch dance – Samuel Wuersten, connector of the dance field
On 4 February, Holland Dance Festival opened its jubilee edition at Amare in The Hague in the presence of Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrix and Their Royal Highnesses Prince Constantijn and Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands. 

During the evening, the Jiří Kylián Ring and the new Kylián Honorary Award were presented. Established in 2006, the ring is passed on to an artist or personality who represents an inspiring and innovative force within dance. The Honorary Award honours individuals who have been of special significance to Kylián’s artistic development and legacy. That same day also marked the official start of construction on the Dance House in Rotterdam. Co-initiator Samuel Wuersten, who has served for thirty years as general and artistic director of Holland Dance Festival and as a connector within the dance world, expressed the ambition to create one house for all dance styles, all ages, and all levels. For Wuersten, the essence of the festival lies in encounter: “Dance is an art form that only exists when someone is watching. Without an audience, there is no dance.”

New discoveries and international dance heritage
The anniversary edition brought together large-scale productions and intimate performances.

The festival opened with Wildsong by Nederlands Dans Theater, performed by NDT 1, featuring a world premiere by Jan Martens and the revival of Horses (2024) by Marcos Morau, accompanied live by Het Balletorkest. Gauthier Dance made a strong impression with FireWorks. Classics such as Lickety-Split by Alejandro Cerrudo and ABC by Eric Gauthier were presented with renewed brilliance. The evening concluded spectacularly with Ravel’s Bolero, choreographed by Andonis Foniadakis, performed on trampolines. Hofesh Shechter Company immersed audiences in a compelling world where reality and fantasy merged seamlessly.

Boy Blue brought world-class innovative hip-hop theatre to the Netherlands with Cycles. In Grand Jeté, Silvia Gribaudi and MM Contemporary Dance Company playfully turned classical ballet upside down. In SEMÂ by Compagnie Linga, eight dancers from across Europe performed in a mesmerizing circular composition. From Canada, Rock Bottom Movement presented an absurdist and athletic contemporary dance theatre production. For the traditional HDF–Korzo production, Zino Schat created a remarkable performance exploring ADD and neurodiversity.
One of the highlights was An Untitled Love by Kyle Abraham, featuring music by D’Angelo. The performance interweaves contemporary dance, hip-hop, and jazz into a tribute to Black culture, family, and community — at once an intimate love letter and a vibrant mixtape.

At Holland Dance Festival, inclusion is not a side program but a core artistic value. With two compelling Dutch premieres, the festival once again emphasized its longstanding commitment to inclusive thinking within dance practice.

In HubClub’26 by Introdans, choreographers are challenged to rework existing repertoire so that older, deaf, or nearly blind dancers can shine fully — not by erasing differences, but by actively incorporating them into the creative process. When attention is given to recovery, sensory sensitivity, and alternative ways of perception, dance emerges with a different expressive power: layered, human, and urgent. Choreographer Jordy Dik, together with Compagnie Tiuri, made a strong impression with Please Hold My Hand — an intense and layered work addressing the (un)safety of women, creating space for vulnerability, softness, and connection. A clear and timely statement carried by powerful physical expression. In other projects as well, the body in all its diversity took centre stage. In Starting with the Limbs by Annie Hanauer & L’Autre Maison, four dancers — with and without disabilities — explored the experience of the prosthetic body through unexpected choreographic variations. The internationally organized DanceAble Symposium, moderated by Humberto Tan, brought together international, intergenerational, and interdisciplinary voices around one central question: does the growing visibility of dancers with disabilities in the mainstream also mean genuine inclusion? Through this programming, Holland Dance Festival demonstrates that inclusion is not a trend, but a fundamental artistic choice.

Holland Dance Festival shone not only on stage but also opened its doors to encounter, reflection, and in-depth exchange. Partner meetings, introductions, after talks, workshops, and masterclasses made the festival a meeting place for makers, professionals, and audiences alike.

The festival once again presented Good [old] Times, its biennial production for dancers aged 55 and older. In this sparkling double bill, Kiran Bonnema and Laisvie Ochoa each displayed their own group of dancers, with personal stories and expression as the connecting core. The production underscores that dance is for and by everyone, regardless of age.  Young talent also held a prominent place within the festival. With KC Dance 70 Years. In Motion! young dancers from the Royal Conservatoire Dance program performed alongside alumni and renowned choreographers. The Talent On The Move tour traditionally premiered in Delft during the festival and will travel to thirty cities across the Netherlands from 27 February onward — extending the festival’s impact far beyond The Hague. Holland Dance Festival is a place where young makers receive their first opportunities and where experienced creators eagerly develop new work for them. It is a space where generations meet and where the future of dance visibly takes shape.Preparations for the 21st edition in 2028 are already well underway. Once again, the festival promises to present a rich array of internationally significant and high-profile dance productions.