Dans op groot doek

The Nederlandse Dansdagen focuses on dance in the Netherlands in all its breadth, impact and cohesion.

One of the important trends in recent years has been the growth in the number of initiatives and activities that focus on the relationship between dance and health. Both in science and in healthcare practice, the health-promoting effects of dance have been convincingly demonstrated. This can involve dance lessons, dance therapy, or dance performances that offer comfort, inspiration and connection. 

This film programme, consisting of three short documentaries, gives a moving impression of the positive impact that dance can have on those involved. What makes it special is that all three films are introduced by the filmmakers themselves.

Bewogen bewegen | Barbara Jonckheer & Nienke ElenbaasBewogen Bewegen follows a group of 17 young adult women with and after cancer over a period of six months. Under the guidance of former Scapino Ballet dancers Annemarie Labinjo-van der Meulen and Bryndis Ragna Brynjólfsdóttir, they participate in a series of dance workshops and create a final performance together for an audience of family and friends. The documentary emphasises the powerful connection between movement and mental health, especially for people who have experienced life-changing challenges such as cancer. The viewer sees and feels what it means to be (or have been) seriously ill as a young adult and how practising dance can help to get life back on track.

This documentary has been selected as part of Makers van Morgen (Makers of Tomorrow), the platform for debuting documentary talent from 2Doc.nl. The project was initiated by the F|Fort Foundation, which is committed to improving the mental well-being of young adults with and after cancer. The makers will be present and Alexa Gratama from the F|Fort Foundation will give a short introduction. On 4 October, the follow-up project Corpus Clara will premiere at Theater aan het Vrijthof.

Blijf dansen in je hoofd | Hans Oostrum
Commissioned by Stichting GeneesKunst, Hans Oostrum spent two years working on a documentary about professional dancer Barbara d'Agostino of De Dutch Don't Dance Company, who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2014. It is a powerful and moving story about the positive power of dance and the crucial role it played in her recovery process.

Internist and haematologist Dr. Fenna Heynink, founder of the GeneesKunst Foundation, will give a short introduction, and Barbara D'Agostino, who will dance a new solo in the Sint Janskerk on 4 October, will also be present.

Mijn goede uur | Peter Franken & Dido Mirck
Mijn Goede Uur (My Good Hour) is a dance documentary by Peter Franken and Dido Mirck about the power of dance and music for people with Parkinson's disease. It is a film about contrast. About how a day can begin with physical pain, loneliness and struggle, and then, during dance class, turn into an hour of connection, energy and zest for life. That is why the dancers call it their Good Hour.

René van Helsdingen, a jazz pianist living with Parkinson's disease, plays a central role in the documentary. To the sounds of his improvised playing, the dancers embark on a short journey, never knowing where it will begin or end. This good hour brings them imagination, strength, resilience and, above all, togetherness. 

"We wanted to show what a day looks like when you live with Parkinson's, from getting up to going to bed. And how dance in the middle of that day brings about a kind of reversal. A moment when they are not patients, but human beings again. Or rather: dancers. We didn't want to tell a sad story, but rather show perseverance. The will to keep dancing, to keep living."