The Balancing Act nominated for a Zwaan (Swan)
The Balancing Act created by Ann Van den Broek has been nominated for the Zwaan for Most Impressive Dance Production of the 2023-2024 season. The award will be presented on October 4 at the dance gala of the Nederlandse Dansdagen in Maastricht.
The Zwaan for Most Impressive Dance Production is awarded annually by the Vereniging van Schouwburg- en Concertgebouwdirecties (VSCD). Other nominations this year are Pia Meuthen from Panama Pictures with Tipping Point and Marco Gerris from ISH Dance Collective with Rhythm & Flow.
Ann Van den Broek was awarded the Zwaan twice; for Co(te)lette (2008) and The Black Piece (2015). She has been nominated for the prize eight times, most recently for Memory Loss (2020). This makes Ann the most nominated choreographer for this award which is considered the most prestigious dance award in The Netherlands.
Ann Van den Broek wants to thank everyone in her team and extends her congratulations to all the other nominated artists.
The jury: “The Balancing Act is an impressive addition to the imposing oeuvre of WArd/waRD. Dance, technology and the personal nature flow into each other in a mediatized search for the self. It is a powerful theme of our time, movingly depicted by the phenomenal performers.“
WArd/waRD is moving to Tilburg
After ten valuable and fruitful years of working together with Theater Rotterdam, we are moving to Tilburg. Close to the Dutch-Belgian border and from an independent position we aim to strengthen local and international connections with social and cultural organizations and the audience.
In Tilburg we found a perspective that fits our company. The arts scene there, which includes a dance academy where our dancers regularly provide masterclasses, two theaters that program the work of Ann Van den Broek, a production company, a theater company and several museums, creates a climate that encourages new developments. In the meantime, we continue to focus on creating, producing, and presenting the artistic work of Ann Van den Broek.
Focus week in Nantes
Ann Van den Broek was in Nantes from April 9 – 13 with her crew for a comprehensive presentation of her work at Le Lieu Unique. This French center for the arts was a supporting partner in the creation of The Balancing Act. We remember this wonderful collaboration fondly.
A year ago, we traveled to Nantes for a residency, during which the idea was hatched to organize a weekof presentations focusing on Ann Van den Broek’s work. As a result, we did not only perform two nearly sold-out shows of The Balancing Act, but we also presented Loops of Emotions, performed the Memory Loss Concert, and Accusations Walks together with students from Nantes. The productions were presented in the context of an extensive exhibition of Ann Van den Broek’s work.
Work/world booklet now online
During the creation process of Creating Joy, the research performance for Joy Enjoy Joy, we asked Sanjoy Roy (dance writer for The Guardian) to write about the work of Ann Van den Broek. At the end, there were eight essays, four about the research piece and for about Joy Enjoy Joy. These texts are now bundled in the booklet work/world.
Online, these texts are combined with short clips of the joy performances, corresponding with the chapter of the booklet.
Protect/perform
Protect/perform looks over a period of fifteen years in the development of Ann Van den Broek’s artistic career from modern dancer to renowned choreographer of award-winning dance productions. Based on conversations with author Marcelle Schots, reflections and many never-before-published photographs, it sheds light on the context that inspired Van den Broek to create her body of work. A book to reflect. To remember, to redefine and to reveal what was never said before.
Protect/perform is bilingual (English/Dutch), 160 pages and costs € 15,00 (plus postage). The book is for sale at the performances or can be bought in our webshop.
WArd/waRD
A big part of Ann Van den Broek’s artistic vision can be found in the name of her company. The meaning of ‘ward’, according to the dictionary, reads as follows:
1) the act of guarding; the state of being under guard;
2) guardianship, being under control of a guardian;
3) a means of defense or protection;
4) a division of a jail or prison, or of a hospital;
5) a district or division of a city or town;
6) to fend off, parry;
7) to keep watch over, guard, protect.
In short, in relation to the organization, it is a place where it is safe to congregate and work.