Under our roof: Nederlands Dans Theater

Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) is one of the world's leading contemporary dance companies, dedicated to creation, research and talent development. As a creation house dedicated to diverse voices, ideas and approaches to dance, NDT continuously collaborates with emerging and renowned or established choreographers and artists from diverse backgrounds from all over the world. The company is led by artistic director Emily Molnar and managing director Willemijn Maas.

NDT consists of two dance companies, NDT 1 and NDT 2 (for very talented, beginning dancers) and is based in Amare, The Hague. The companies tour the Netherlands but also worldwide through Europe, America, Asia and Australia, connecting with large audiences and diverse arts communities around the world.

NDT is a collective house for creation, supporting new artistic voices and experiments and nurturing the past. With a repertoire of more than 600 works by associate choreographers Crystal Pite and Marco Goecke, Jiří Kylián, Johan Inger, Ohad Naharin, Gabriela Carrizo, Hofesh Shechter, and Sharon Eyal & Gai Behar, Nadav Zelner, Marcos Morau among others, and over 12 world premieres each season, NDT is the embodiment of contemporary dance.

Season 24/25

In season 24/25, NDT offers a stage to our trusted associate choreographers Crystal Pite and Marco Goecke, and to Botis Seva and Christos Papadopoulos, two creators new to the company. We are deepening our collaboration with Marcos Morau and Nadav Zelner, continuing our partnership with Complicité and theatre director Simon McBurney, and joining forces with Sharon Eyal, Gai Behar and their company L-E-V. And by reprising award-winning works by Jiří Kylián, Hofesh Shechter and Johan Inger, NDT pays tribute to its illustrious history.

NDT attaches great importance to talent development of makers and dancers. By investing in talent development of dance artists, both inside and outside the company, NDT builds the formation of new voices and perspectives. With initiatives such as Up & Coming Lab, Micro Residence programmes and Switch, NDT offers support and visibility to young makers in the local, national and international dance sector.

Online performances
Through online performances, you can experience NDT dancers closer than ever. Digital Theatre presents a number of performances as video on demand or livestream, so you can also enjoy NDT's dance art at home.

Talent development & Education
With its multifaceted talent development and education activities, NDT offers creative and challenging opportunities for both professional and non-professional dancers of all ages and backgrounds to flourish on and off stage. At Nederlands Dans Theater, we believe that everyone is a dancer. Dance has the ability to connect and inspire people and we encourage that wholeheartedly!

Two companies

Nederlands Dans Theater consists of two companies. The first company, NDT 1, consists of 28 phenomenal dancers from all over the world, aged 23 to 40 years old. The dancers are world famous for their theatricality, stunning technique and unparalleled expression. Each season, the first company performs four Dutch programs in addition to numerous large tours.

In 1978 the company founded NDT 2 under the leadership of Jiří Kylián. This second company prepares sixteen recently graduated, often classically trained dancers, for the world top. Initially, NDT 2 was considered a talent development program, however NDT 2 has since developed into an independent company with its own repertoire and extensive national and international touring schedule. The collaboration with many (upcoming) choreographers gives dancers the opportunity to quickly assimilate to different dance languages, techniques and working methods.

From their home base in The Hague, both companies work continuously to make a significant contribution to the future of contemporary dance, both in the Netherlands and far beyond. Dance talent, choreographic innovation, experimentation and a high degree of productivity – the company creates an average of 10 new works per season – define NDT since its early beginnings.

“The performers of Nederlands Dans Theater fuse exacting execution and creative ambition to create grotesque, haunting, and sublime images.”

That was the opening line of Broadway World’s review in March 2020, a day after the first performance of NDT 1 in New York City Center. The quote typifies a company that is praised worldwide for dancers who are both as technically gifted as they are exceptionally virtuoso.

The company is led by artistic director Emily Molnar and managing director Willemijn Maas.

➤ Go to NDT.nl/en/

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