by Medhi Walerski, former dancer & choreographer
photo: joris-jan bos
“As I reflect back on this photograph, a multitude of memories flow through my mind; the warm nostalgia of the past, the happiness of the impact it has on the present as well as what its essence embodies for the future.
Out of hundreds of wonderful pictures I could have chosen from, I picked this one. This image was taken by Joris-Jan Bos as a company picture for the former NDT magazine, after a long and exciting rehearsal day. It was the beginning of my very first season with NDT 2 in 2001, a special moment in my career that I cherish deeply.
A time of inspiration and transformation, of great discoveries and love. It was an artistic birth. At NDT 2, I met a community of artistic souls that were and are dedicated to the same passion. A home where young dancers, hailing from many different countries and cultures, live and work together every single day. On this journey of growth I have spent a great amount of time admiring my colleagues’ artistry and connected with the pleasure of hard and devoted work. A place of creation and recklessness where we laughed a lot, cried, smiled, collapsed and stood back up, sweat, questioned, dreamed, marveled and hoped. It’s this community where great, significant collaborators and visionary creators were born, and where for me personally, I built strong relationships with friends that would leave a permanent trace, or that would become lifetime partners on and off stage.
This is why I love this photograph that much more. To me, it symbolizes these combining forces, mixing ethnicities, and the breaking of cultural barriers. Looking at this image and knowing that the company is celebrating its sixtieth anniversary makes me feel proud and incredibly honoured to still be a part of it today.”
