Each year, the dancers of NDT 1 and NDT 2 organize a unique programme: Switch. An evening composed entirely by the dancers themselves, of which all proceeds will go to a charity of their choice. The 2025 edition will take place on January 18.
View the NDT 2 programme Lucid Variations as video on demand in Digital Theatre.
Dear friends,
Welcome to From Here Now Far by NDT 1, a program that brings together distinct voices in dance and theatre with a highly anticipated premiere by award-winning director Simon McBurney in collaboration with internationally renowned choreographer Crystal Pite.
Returning to the NDT stage is La Ruta by Gabriela Carrizo. In this powerful, cinematic world, space and time are suspended. We are excited to bring back this mesmerizing work that provokes the boundaries of our imagination.
Jakie by Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar was received with great acclaim when it premiered in 2023. This virtuosic and hypnotic work invites us into an experience that seemingly co-exists far into the future and deep into the past. It is a place where we get lost in the shadows.
We are thrilled to bring you the world premiere of Figures in Extinction [2.0], the second collaboration between Simon McBurney, Artistic Director of Complicité, and NDT Associate Choreographer Crystal Pite. Across continents, these two extraordinary creators have exchanged ideas reflecting on their fears and cautious hopes for the age we are living in, and how artists can meaningfully create in the face of mass destruction. The work is an examination of what we are losing and our need for re/connection. The subtitle reveals the topic: But then you come to the humans.
We are proud of the remarkable work, care and support that has been poured into this program. A very special thank you to our inspiring collaborators, Complicité and the wonderful team at NDT.
Thank you for your time and interest. We hope you enjoy From Here Now Far!
Emily Molnar
Artistic Director
DIRECTION
Gabriela Carrizo
CREATED IN COLLABORATION WITH
Chloé Albaret, Alexander Andison, Thalia Crymble, César Faria Fernandes, Scott Fowler, Surimu Fukushi, Boston Gallacher, Charlie Skuy, Yukino Takaura
ARTISTIC ASSISTANT
Louis-Clement da Costa
MUSIC DRAMATURGY
Raphaëlle Latini
MUSIC
Composition by Raphaëlle Latini.94 Capitol Records, LLC
Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphonie no. 11 (part: Eternal Memory – Adagio) performed by Leopold Stokowski, Houston Symphony Orchestra. Albersen B.V./ Presto Music / Alpha, (P) 1994 Capitol Records, LLC
Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphonie no. 14 in G Minor, (part: La Suicidé). Albersen B.V./ Presto Music / Alpha, © Boosey & Hawkes, London .
LIGHT DESIGN
Tom Visser
SET DESIGN
Amber Vandenhoeck
COSTUME DESIGN
Gabriela Carrizo
Yolanda Klompstra
Isabel Blokland
NDT REHEARSAL DIRECTOR
Francesca Caroti
WORLD PREMIERE
May 6, 2022 Amare, The Hague
DURATION
35 minutes
During this work a stroboscopic effect is used, this could possibly be received as bothersome.
Alexander Andison, Thalia Crymble, Scott Fowler, Surimu Fukushi, Nicole Ishimaru, Kele Roberson, Yukino Takaura
It’s very difficult to organise a dream, because when you organise it, you wake up. When you take control of a dream, you understand that you are sleeping. This is why, to dream you need to be unprotected. T. Currentzis
Someone walks alone/cutting the night into fragments of roads
The night is wounded/ bleeding through the cracks of a dream
Wounds scatter/ the breath of animals asleep/ the perfume of lilies
Eyes close and open/ night remains night
“Here we are at the end. We have arrived at the final destination. I had to pull over a few times to get reoriented. I can’t remember the last time I was here, but I think it was late autumn. All I have left is a collection of blurred memories that keep flashing by. They move at 120 km/h. Some really took place, and others are dreams dressing up as fact. Are they lies? I left my wallet in the glove compartment. I hope it is still there in the morning. There is a photo that I keep inside that reminds me of where I am from.”
ASSISTANTS TO THE CHOREOGRAPHER
Clyde E. Archer, Guido Dutilh, Leo Lerus
MUSIC
Composition by Ori Lichtik.
Including music by Ryuichi Sakamoto, performed by Alva Noto: The Revenant Main Theme. © New Regency Music Inc., Milan Records, Sony Music Publishing.
Einstürzende Neubauten: GS1. Written by Blixa Bargeld. NU Unruh, Alexander Hacke, Jochen Arbeit, Rudolph Moser. Published by Freibank Musikverlage/CTM Publishing. Courtesy of POTOMAK.
LIGHT
Alon Cohen
DECOR
Sharon Eyal & Gai Behar
COSTUMES
Sharon Eyal in collaboration with NDT’s Costume Department
NDT REHEARSAL DIRECTOR
Francesca Caroti
WORLD PREMIERE
May 11, 2023, Amare The Hague
DURATION
35 minutes
Fay van Baar, Anna Bekirova, Conner Bormann, Pamela Campos, Emmitt Cawley, Thalia Crymble, Scott Fowler, Aram Hasler, Nicole Ishimaru, Chuck Jones, Genevieve O’Keeffe, Kele Roberson, Charlie Skuy, Yukino Takaura, Theophilus Vesely, Nicole Ward
“Jakie is a twin… she breathes in the dark… alone… he loves her… her wounds are glowing… licking her …. asleep 💔”
– Sharon Eyal
“I remember the first day Sharon came into the studio to work with us; as we would show some previously learned phrases to her, she would add some tasks or changes to those fragments of what would make Jakie; I remember very well when she asked my group to start one of those fragments with our eyes closed, open it during and finally finish it with closed eyes.
How could my brain understand how to move my body in the dark? How to keep the visual shape of movements when you lose one of your most important senses? How to gain control over myself in such challenging positions?
The result? There was no better way to understand a bit of Jakie’s world than with that experience. The feeling, the memory of every single movement going through my body. Nothing else mattered. No beautifully shaped position mattered. But it mattered the sensation of being alive in every single step or pause.
To perform Jakie is exactly that for me: it feels as performing with my eyes closed. To take control over the deepest part of my body, not knowing what is coming but being open to receive it, to feel the most variant of feelings and adapt to it.
Going from the (un)known darkness to the purest and clearest memories of every experienced movement, to arrive where I can’t distinguish anymore what are the steps, the music, the excitement, the exhaustion or my heart beat.
Everything just make sense in the end: it is about all those memorable feelings inside of my blood which make me keep on moving or twitching from the inside with a much thicker and unique kind of joy, always alive, always running. “
“Sharon’s Jakie is a dream, the shimmer of moonlight upon 16 earrings, a world emerging from the mist. From the start, being part of this process was wonderfully special – to be in the studio with Sharon was to bear witness to true creative impulse and excitement, and a constant invocation of our imaginations to fuel the 5 week journey.
I would say that to dance this piece is to be an earring upon a formless entity, a rich and constantly evolving sensory network – opening and closing to reveal something deeper, pulsating and reorganizing itself to a subterranean, driving rhythm. “
Simon McBurney in collaboration with Crystal Pite
MUSIC
Claude Debussy: La mer, L. 109 – I. From Dawn Till Noon on the Sea, performed by Berliner Philharoniker, Herbert von Karajan, Claude Debussy
Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Op. 93: I. Moderato, performed by Vasily Petrenko & Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. © Boosey & Hawkes, London / Albersen Verhuur, Den Haag
Johan Sebastian Bach: Concerto for 2 Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043 I. Vivace, performed by Zubin Mehta, Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, Johann Sebastian Bach, New York Philharmonic Orchestra
Nils Frahm: Less, performed by Nils Frahm
Alfred Schnittke: Cello Sonata No. 1: I Largo, II Presto, performed by Natalia Gutman. © Boosey & Hawkes, London / Albersen Verhuur, Den Haag
Jim Perkins: The North Wind, violin by Anna de Bruin, recorded by Mark Knight, produced by Jim Perkins & Mark Knight, mastered by Ben Wiffen
Owen Belton: Extinction Crescendo, created for Figures in Extinction [1.0]
Additional music by Josh Sneesby
SOUND DESIGN
Benjamin Grant
TEXT
The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World by Iain McGilchrist (2009)
Audio reproduced with kind permission of the RSA: www.theRSA.org
VOICES
David Annen, Thomas Arnold, Suibhan Harrison, Mamie McBurney, Sophie Steer
TEXT FRAGMENTS
The voice of Alan Watts was provided courtesy of alanwatts.org and is from his talks on the “Nature of Consciousness
President Trump on Climate Change at G7 news conference: www.c-span.org
LIGHT
Tom Visser
DESIGN CONSULTANT
Michael Levine
DESIGN ASSOCIATE
Anna Yates
VIDEO DESIGN
Arjen Klerkx
COSTUMES
Simon McBurney in collaboration with Yolanda Klompstra
SENIOR CREATIVE PRODUCER FOR COMPLICITÉ
Tim Bell
NDT REHEARSAL DIRECTORS
Tamako Akiyama, Emily Molnar
WORLD PREMIERE
February 8, 2024, Amare, The Hague
DURATION
±30 minutes
Read The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World:
This creation is a co-production with Complicité
This new production is co-sponsored by Ammodo
Alexander Andison, Fay van Baar, Anna Bekirova, Jon Bond, Conner Bormann, Pamela Campos, Emmitt Cawley, Matthew Foley, Scott Fowler, Surimu Fukushi, Barry Gans, Nicole Ishimaru, Chuck Jones, Madoka Kariya, Genevieve O’Keeffe, Luca Tessarini, Theophilus Veselý, Nicole Ward, Sophie Whittome, Rui-Ting Yu, Zenon Zubyk
We would like to express our gratitude to the performers of NDT for their essential creative contributions to this work. We’ve been profoundly moved by their insights and ingenuity, their tireless commitment and trust. These incredible dancers are the lifeblood of our creation. They have given us much joy and a deep desire to keep excavating, uncovering, discovering and imagining what is possible.
“After experiencing Simon and Crystal’s first chapter of Figures in Extinction [1.0], I was left feeling deeply grateful and moved at these artist’s willingness to explore the most complex and confronting of problems.
Entering this creation of Figures in Extinction [2.0] I couldn’t imagine where we might begin. What is the first step in unpacking the human experience?
As dancers movement is a language deeply familiar, in many ways we are more comfortable with the abstract rather than the explicit.
While researching with Simon we were challenged to clearly define our intention. To know what we are saying not just sense it. I am not showing you water, I am water!
I was so excited by this opportunity to reframe my experience as a performer and not rely on the skills which are known. I am not showing you human, I am human!
The honouring of some sort of core truth felt integral to this process, perhaps anchoring this large team of collaborators.”
“The human species is constantly evolving, seeking constant renewal, reinvention, and redefinition. This constant progress leads to a loss of connection with nature and humility to coexist. Simon McBurney and Crystal Pite work now on the second iteration of their three part collaboration, Figures in Extinction [2.0] – but then we come to the humans, which aims to challenge the contemporary structure of human identity and ego. The creation invites a process of reshuffling contemporary barriers and focusing on our similarities as living organisms, rather than defining ourselves in relation to nature… we are a part of it. Our narrative has become one of isolated fixations within our own perspective. We continue further down the patt, blind to our present circumstances. Can we take this work and provide a symbolic mirror or reflection to us and the world we inhabit? Can we see how our similarities, simply as living organisms, greatly outweigh our so-called defining and “empowering” identifiers? We are not at the top of some hierarchical structure that man created… we are dust. Once born from the earth and destined to return: life and death, giving and taking. All things return home, all things return to the source.”
View more photos in the gallery
The performances in The Hague on February 8, 9 and 10 are part of Holland Dance Festival 2024.
We are proud of the collaboration with Holland Dance Festival. Amare is a great cultural venue with a wonderful dance theatre, and with its residents Nederland Dans Theater and, recently, Holland Dance Festival, the aim is to raise The Hague’s profile even more as the dance city of the Netherlands.
Holland Dance Festival Director Samuel Wuersten: “One of our big interfaces was that we want to reach more people with our performances and activities than just the loyal dance lovers, but also get in touch with the non-dance audience. As Holland Dance Festival and a major dance organisation like Nederlands Dans Theater, it is also our responsibility: we have to be open to what audiences, dancers, other dance organisations and the artistic community around us have to offer us and to what we can learn from them.”
Read more about the collaboration between Holland Dance Festival and NDT and FIND in this interview
