More than 40 years after it was founded in a living room in Arnhem, the Dutch dance company Introdans has performed for the first time in the United States at New York’s Joyce Theatre.
Launched in 1971 by Ton Wiggers and Hans Focking, Introdans aimed to bring professional dance to audiences in Arnhem. ‘We had the Dutch National Ballet, and they came to Arnhem once, maybe twice a year,’ Wiggers told The New York Times in a recent interview. ‘There was an audience for those performances, so I thought, ‘Well, if there’s an audience for it, why aren’t we seeking for more dance here ?’
In the early days, the company met in Wiggers’ living room. It received no sponsorship from Arnhem and survived by giving ballet lessons. But the company gradually gained recognition for its innovative work and began to tour the rest of the country. By 1993, it was touring internationally and working with acclaimed choreographers such as William Forsythe.
The company has already taken a youth production to New York but this was the first performance for an adult audience. Alberto del Saz, a Spanish dancer based in New York, was enthusiastic about the Dutch dancers. ‘They’re quite beautiful’ he told The New York Times. ‘Sometimes I look at certain dancers and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, these people are in this little town in Holland’.’
Read the NY Times-review of Introdans’s U.S. performance Heavenly here.
Today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, Introdans performs Heavenly at Meany Hall in Seattle.