Sometimes it feels like there is a wolf inside me. Then I want to howl, run or cry really loudly. Sometimes I feel more like a monkey, when I sway in my chair or swing from lampposts. And sometimes, I also see that in others around me. Do you recognize that? Your neighbor looks a bit like a growling bear. And your little cousin actually looks like a hopping pony. But most people have their Inside Animal hidden away, tamed and locked up. Isn’t that sad?

In the cheerful family dance performance Inside Animal, five scientists welcome you to their laboratory. According to a fixed routine, they are busy with glasses and counting and taking notes. But their inside animals raise their heads and the performers increasingly fall out of step. Machine movements turn into acrobatic jumps, elegant music breaks out into swinging flamenco and the carefully stacked glasses fly through the air. Inside Animal is a performance about order and chaos, and the fun that can be found in both. A performance about your impulses. Do you follow them blindly or could they become too much for you?

“Inside Animal (6+) shows in a funny way how good it is to sometimes want to disrupt order with chaos” ★★★★☆  – de Volkskrant

“Through the physical contrasts, the piece plays a refined game with tension and letting go: one of the most difficult lessons you have to go through with your body, whether you are small or big.”  – Het Parool

“The performers never stand still and make impressive moves. At the same time, they also make you laugh. When they accidentally spit out water, take off clothes the wrong way, make animal sounds, stand on their heads or try to be serious.” ★★★★☆ – Kidsweek

Playlist 2025

11 January Castellum Alphen aan den Rijn
18 January Cpunt Theater Hoofddorp
19 January Stadsschouwburg Utrecht PREMIÈRE
26 January Podium Hoge Woerd De Meern
2 February Schuur Haarlem
9 February Theater Ins Blau Leiden
16 February Theater aan de Parade Den Bosch
18 February SPOT Machinefabriek Groningen
22 February MaasPodium Rotterdam
23 February Parkstad Limburg Theaters Heerlen
26February Theater de Veerensmederij Amersfoort
27 February Theater aan het Spui Den Haag
2 March Theater De Krakeling Amsterdam
9 March Schouwburg Concertzaal Tilburg
16 March Chassé Theater Breda
23 March Meervaart Theater Amsterdam
30 March Lindenberg Theater Nijmegen
6 April Parktheater Eindhoven
13 April Het Speelhuis Helmond
27 April Kielzog Theater Hoogezand

Supported by:

A dance concert on the edge of the future

Humanity is heading towards a black hole called the future. How do we prepare for the unknown? De Dansers and Club Gewalt together make a proposal: let us resist the neoliberal perspective that dependence is a weakness, but instead firmly embrace it. Let us lean fully on each other and discover and recreate the rules of this. Let us be present. Let us actively dedicate our voices and bodies to the greater good.

DEEP/END is an exercise in interdependence. We don’t know where the future will take us, but one thing is certain: if we have to dive into the deep end, we will do it together. Club Gewalt and De Dansers find each other in a rousing and propelling march towards the future, which múst resonate and move on. Inspired by the persistent inevitability of The Planets: Mars (Holst) and the Bolero (Ravel), the bodies and sounds of ten performers merge into a musical and dancing relay. With the gently overwhelming dance of De Dansers, the anarchist singing voices of Club Gewalt and a shared belief in music, the distinction between the individuals disappears. After all, the individual is over: long live the collective.

DEEP/END will premiere on May 24 at O. in Rotterdam and will only play at various festivals in the summer of 2024:

May 23, 24 & 25 Rotterdam O.
June 27, 28 & 29 Utrecht Festival Tweetakt
August 8, 9 & 10 ‘s-Hertogenbosch Theaterfestival Boulevard

My arms are longer than yours, so I can touch you from further away. You have very small fingers to quickly untie my laces. Your mouth is the largest, you can fit a whole sandwich in it. Your head is so small that it can disappear completely into my armpit. And what is it like inside? Is my hunger bigger than yours? Who needs to pee the most? And if cheerfulness had a color, would it be different for everyone?

In A Small Anatomy, four performers map the body and get to know it better. With dance and live music they take a journey through all the limbs, sensations and feelings that belong to the body. At first this goes decently, but soon the playful urge to explore creeps in. The feet fly off the floor, the thumbs dance in all directions and the performers climb on each other’s shoulders. The voice also participates: singing, growling, sneezing and occasionally some talking. Together with the audience, the performers discover that our bodies are all different. Sometimes they fit together perfectly, sometimes there is a big toe in the way.

ON TOUR
21 september Assen Podium Zuidhaege
29 september Eindhoven Parktheater Eindhoven
6 oktober Woerden Theater Het Klooster
13 oktober Alkmaar TAQA Theater De Vest
20 oktober ‘s – Hertogenbosch De Verkadefabriek
27 oktober Groningen SPOT/De Machinefabriek
28 oktober Den Haag Theater aan het Spui
31 oktober & 1 november Utrecht Theater Kikker
3 november Amsterdam Podium Mozaïek
10 november Rotterdam Theater Zuidplein
24 november Kassel (DE) Kulturhaus Dock 4
1 december Utrecht TivoliVredenburg

made possible by:

De Dansers, SHIFFT and IRC are jointly organizing a
workshop weekend in Utrecht!

6th and 7th of October 2023

Do you want to get to know 3 Utrecht-based dance companies in one weekend? And to immerse yourself in their material and method for two days, togetherwith a small group of other professional dancers? Register now for this inspiration weekend.

The different choreographic methods of Josephine van Rheenen (De Dansers), Jasper van Luijk (SHIFFT) and Shailesh Bahoran (IRC) are shared in these two days. From (group) partnering to composition, material-development and improvisation. Our common aim for this workshop weekend is to meet and collaborate with new dancers and to collectively explore innovative choreographic approaches.
And for you as a participant it is an excellent opportunity to become acquainted with these three companies and their working method in a short period of time.

When: October 6th and 7th between 11:00 and 17.30 in Utrecht (NL)
Who: There’s space for a maximum of 15 dancers
How: Participation on selection: sign up with a short video and a summary of your dance experience at Danae@dedansers.com
before August 20th 2023
Cost: € 75,-

How do you find solace? Or courage to face the world? In Hush, De Dansers seek the answer in softness and attention to one another.

Hush is a dance concert in which dance and live music go hand in hand, as equal counterparts. Attention determines the rhythm. For every move or sound, the performers very carefully look and listen to each other. A drummer follows the turn of a dancer with great precision. Three bodies and three voices move synchronously across the stage. Such details are the starting point of Hush. As the energy and dedication on stage increases, the performance grows into a compelling dance and music storm. Dancers fly and catch each other in acrobatic partner work and also pick up instruments. Piano sounds and drum rhythms swirl like the sea and the musicians themselves also roll across the floor. The performers sing about their attempt to keep their head above water in poetic lyrics. ‘Fly like a bird in a hurricane’, they sing. And also: ‘Carried by these hands I trust, I’m floating to that mountaintop’. Hush ends like a hurricane, but the attention to each other never wanes.

LIVE 2025

24 & 25 January Berlin (DE) PURPLE TANZfestival
5 February Heerlen Parkstad Limburg Theaters
13 February De Meern Podium Hoge Woerd
20 February Groningen SPOT/ Machinefabriek
21 February Hoogezand Kielzog Theater
28 February Amstelveen Schouwburg Amstelveen
4 & 5 March Amsterdam Theater Bellevue
7 March Zaandam Zaantheater
12 & 13 March Rotterdam Theater Rotterdam
20 t/m 23 March Nijmegen Theater LUX
26 March Winschoten Cultuurhuis De Klinker
28 March Amersfoort Theater de Veerensmederij
2 & 3 April Utrecht Stadsschouwburg Utrecht
5 April Roermond ECI Cultuurfabriek
9 April Deventer MIMIK
13 April Venray Schouwburg Venray
16 April Dordrecht Schouwburg Kunstmin/ Energiehuis
17 April The Hague Korzo
24 April Utrecht Theater Kikker

Supported by:

It starts in the dark, underground. Cold, bare and silent. Come on, hurry up, we want to get started. We are about to burst. We want to grow, prosper, live, give, dream and eventually return home exhausted. And then again. And again. And…

Three performers travel through the seasons. From the subterranean silence in winter to the miracle of new life in spring; from summer freedom and infatuation to autumnal romance and nostalgia. Out of the music, movements and a decor that changes time and again, a wonderful story grows about friendship and change, saying goodbye and returning back. FOUR celebrates the seasons, especially for very young people.

Made possible by:

A coproduction of De Dansers and Theater Strahl Berlin

Hold Your Horses is an energetic and sensitive dance concert about the desire to hold on. De Dansers tell their story with twelve hands, including the accompanying bodies, and a few guitars. We see hands grasping, mistaking, touching, taking off, falling down and plucking guitar strings. We see passion and distance. We don’t see horses, although we do feel them. We see an unconstrained dance party, where the cry for help slowly creeps in.

Hold Your Horses is about the urge to hold on to something or someone, in a world that is becoming increasingly elusive. With a spectacular, acrobatic movement language, six performers trot on with full dedication, without losing human sensitivity. Suddenly we meet a personal dance solo, or we abruptly feel the tension between the group and the individual. As one body, the dancers move in a continuous flow, propelled by Guy Corneille’s live music full of compelling guitar compositions and moving songs.

Hold Your Horses is no longer touring in The Netherlands. In 2024 only in Berlin at our co-producer Theater Strahl Berlin:
26, 27, 29 & 30 April and 19, 20, 21, 22 June 2024
> Theater Strahl, Ostreuz unten (DE).

“As always  in the irresistible dance concerts by De Dansers from Utrecht, the atmosphere starts out playful and casual. Gradually a cry for help creeps in, the fear of losing grip.” ★★★★ – de Volkskrant

“In Hold Your Horses we meet a pleasantly mixed cast, who create a playful and relaxed atmosphere, but at the same time work with focus and collaborate accurately . It is nice that all performers contribute to the choreography as well as to the sound: they clap rhythms, play drums and master the harmonica.” – Het Parool

“There is an intriguing friction in Hold Your Horses, the latest performance by De Dansers […]. It is so easy to be swept away by the passionate and high-spirited dancers and musician Guy Corneille’s comforting sounds. But when I take the theme of the piece into account, looking for something to hold onto in a volatile world, comfort is exactly what is in short supply.” – Movement Exposed – Critical Space

“Hold Your Horses by De Dansers can be seen as an ode to our versatile, longing arms, as well as a cry for help in an increasingly elusive world.” – NRC

“It is the group dynamics that play a central role in the urge to hold on to something or someone that Hold Your Horses is all about. This dynamic is given the space to develop because each dancer presents a personality, and their urge becomes a party with De Dansers without having to fear the hangover of tomorrow. Together they find the joy that doesn’t want to go anywhere but the here and now.” – Theaterkrant

Supported by:
 

A coproduction of De Dansers & Het Filiaal theatermakers

We have arrived at a decayed hotel at the end of all the cities: Hotel Herewherethere, where amazing things appear and disappear without cause or reason. Four lost figures end up in the lobby trying to feel at home among dancing fish, teasing furniture and storming walls. Hotel Herewherethere is humorous and strange, yet surprisingly recognizable.

De Dansers and Het Filiaal theatermakers roll up their sleeves to create a family performance in which dance, mime and visual theater come together. They stand up for the beauty of the attempt to always make something of it, even if things go bad. Hotel Herewherethere is dance theater about wandering and discovering for everyone from 8 years old.

“Everything is alive in this special hotel. Like the four guests, you shouldn’t try to understand what’s happening. Go along with it and you will automatically tumble from one amazement into the next. After seeing this performance, you will definitely want to book another night at Hotel Herewherethere.” ★★★★ – Kidsweek

“The non-lingual Hotel Herewherethere becomes a poetic and visual montage performance that provides the young audience plenty of room to freely associate – or to simply enjoy the beautiful images or the inventive incidents. With their open play, Yoko Haveman, Wannes De Porre, Blazej Jasinski and Anna Bentivegna ensure a high level of involvement.” – Theaterkrant

Made possible by:

De Dansers is looking for 2 dancers/performers (professional/trainee) for our 2021 production Drive

In these times when Covid-19 is travelling the world, it is hard to know what to expect from the future. When can we share dance again with each other? When can we meet our audience again with our bodies? We have no certainties, but we have plans for 2021 and we are hopeful to carry them out. This means we are looking for 2 dancers. The auditions are now planned for 2-3 July 2020, but depending on the developments we might reschedule them or adjust them to what is possible at that moment.

For our new production Drive De Dansers is looking for two energetic dancers/performers with stamina, good skills in partnering, a creative personality, physical sensitivity and commitment to work within a team. We are mostly looking for male dancers, but the audition is open to everyone. We often end up with somebody we didn’t expect. So also circus artists, physical performers, dancers with different kinds of dance training and of any gender are welcome to apply. Skilled bodywork and musical sensibility are a must. We also encourage candidates from (culturally) diverse backgrounds to apply.

For Drive we are looking for people that want to explore organic, theatrical ways of moving, collaborating with music and working with voice/singing. Also partnering will have a big focus in this creation. Applicants should be motivated to dance for different kinds of audiences (the piece will also perform for youngsters) and to perform not only in theatres, but also on summer festivals and on location. Drive is a coproduction with Theater Strahl (Berlin, Germany) so part of the creation and performances will take place in Berlin. De Dansers is only looking for dancers who are based in the Netherlands.

Audition date: 2^nd of July
Location: Utrecht
Time: 10:00 – ca. 18:00
Call-back (if necessary): 3^rd of July

Rehearsal period: end of March 2021 – June 2021
Performing summer location festivals: June 2021 – July 2012
Montage theatre + touring Berlin and The Netherlands: September 2021 – December 2021

Drive will continue touring in 2022 and 2023.

To apply for the audition, send a CV, photo and a fragment of you dancing to danae@dedansers.com before the 7^th of June. Motivation letters are not obliged, but welcome. The honorarium will be in accordance with the CAO Dans.

De Dansers is an Utrecht-based company of dancers and musicians, led by choreographer/dancer Josephine van Rheenen and composer/musician Guy Corneille. We create and perform dance concerts: organic meetings of modern dance and live music, playing over 150 performances a year in The Netherlands and abroad. More information about the group 

VIM VIGOR & De Dansers

‘Together is close enough’ will get inside your head.

We will get close, but we won’t touch.

This is sometimes the best kind of touch.

We will move together, sometimes looking at familiar faces and sometimes at strangers.

Or maybe you will have a better idea.

There will be a place, a time, and bodies.

And of course I will be there too.

‘Together is close enough’ is a cinematic ride into the center of your head. Join VIM VIGOR (New York) and De Dansers for a collaborative project about closeness – prepare yourself for a vortex of bodies, sound, the NDSM and my voice

‘Together is close enough’ will premiere at Over het IJ Festival 2020.

Made possible by: