Arno Schuitemaker

Work

September 2024: Interview on Dutch radio

On August 15th, Arno was a guest on the much-listened-to radio show 'Nooit Meer Slapen'. In the middle of the night, he spoke about his new performance 'After After' and the journey he has taken as a dancer and artist.

If you understand Dutch, you can listen to the program as a podcast on VPRO and Spotify.

July 2024: After After premiered

On July 7th, 2024, After After premiered during Julidans at Internationaal Theater Amsterdam. The performance was met with thunderous applause.

"With a new composition by composer Aart Strootman and a masterful lighting design by Jean Kalman, Arno Schuitemaker proves with After After, once again, that he is the king of transformation." — Critic's choice (Theaterkrant)

After After continues its tour from September 2024 onward. Check our calendar for the dates as well as from our other performances.

March 2024: French premiere 30 appearances out of darkness

30 appearances out of darkness will be performed at CENTQUATRE in Paris where it will have its French premiere. The performance is presented on March 27th and 28, 2024, and is part of Séquence Danse Paris 2024.

September 2023: Reopening Théâtre de la Ville

On September 9 and 10, we perform If You Could See Me Now at the reopening of Théâtre de la Ville in Paris. The performances are part of Festival de la Place which takes place at Place du Châtelet in front of the theater.

May 2023: Sloot Festival

Celebrating a 1-year anniversary, the Sloot Festival brings together artists and collectives that are all connected to this exciting cultural hotspot in Amsterdam. As De Sloot is home to our office, we are happy to be part of it! On May 12 we perform If You Could See Me Now and on May 13 Ivan Ugrin performs his solo from O S C A R. Check out the full line-up at desloot.nl

December 2022: Open studio

On Tuesday December 13, 2022, we open the doors to our studio! We invite you to take a peek behind the scenes of the preparations for our performance of 30 appearances out of darkness that will be in the Schuur in Haarlem on December 14 and 15. If you have questions for Arno or the performers, this is the moment to meet them. Come join us for the rehearsal at Veem House for Performance in Amsterdam from 18.00 onwards. If you would like to come, please send an email to Lynn. Looking forward to having you there!

November 2022: O S C A R in Project Space On the Inside

After a great success in Toulouse our performance O S C A R will be back in Amsterdam. On November 11 and 12 the performance and installation at once will be presented in the art gallery Project Space On the Inside in North Amsterdam. Curious to experience this performance in a unique setting? Then get your tickets here!

October 2022: Het HEM and Amsterdam Dance Event

On October 21 and 22, 2022, we perform If You Could See Me Now at Het HEM as part of the Arts and Culture program of Amsterdam Dance Event. This beautiful industrial location, and home for contemporary culture, is located just outside of Amsterdam. Don't want to miss out? Get your tickets here!

Photo: Sjoerd Derine

September 2022: Open rehearsal

On Tuesday September 27, 2022, we open the doors of our studio! You are welcome to attend the rehearsal of The Way You Sound Tonight when we prepare for the performances in Alkmaar and Amsterdam in the following days. From 18:30 onwards you can join us at the studio De Vlugt (Burgermeester de Vlugtlaan 125) in Amsterdam. We finish at 21:30 at the latest. If you would like to come, please send an email to Lynn. Looking forward to seeing you!

Photo The Way You Sound Tonight: Piero Tauro

June 2022: Top 5 best performances of the season

30 appearances out of darkness is selected as one of the top 5 best performances of the season by de Volkskrant, calling it a "masterly crescendo of dance, light, and sound that fascinates all the way until the redeeming finale". The performance premiered at the Holland Festival on June 10, 2022, and will go on tour right after the summer. Check out the dates.

Photo: Bart Grietens

June 2022: 30 appearances out of darkness on Dutch tv

On June 19 at 19:20, Dutch TV (VPRO) airs episode 2 of their Holland Festival Special. Presenter Nadia Moussaid paid us a visit when we were putting the final touches to 30 appearances out of darkness at the Holland Festival. The program can also be watched after June 19 at NPO Start.

May 2022: Documentary "Grenzgänger" on ARTE

Taking three perspectives on contemporary dance, Arno is one of the portrayed artists in the ARTE documentary "Grenzgänger". The interview, taken at Internationaal Theater Amsterdam, is accompanied by excerpts of If You Could See Me Now that were recorded at Kunstkraftwerk in Leipzig, Germany. The documentary can be watched online until June 13, 2022.

April 2022: Collaboration with Pierre Audi for Orphée et Eurydice

With a cast of ten dancers, Arno is creating the choreography for the opera Orphée et Eurydice by Christoph Willabald Gluck at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence on invitation by and in collaboration with stage director Pierre Audi.. Lighting designer Jean Kalman, with whom Arno collaborates for his own performances, is also part of this production. The rehearsals of this exciting adventure have started and the premiere is on Tuesday, April 12! (Photo by Michele Monasta)

March 2022: Première at the Holland Festival

We are thrilled to announce that the new performance 30 appearances out of darkness will premiere at the Holland Festival 2022 on Thursday, June 9!

Magical, mysterious, and hypnotizing, 30 appearances out of darkness is a radical new performance about disappearing — and appearing. Impressive images emerge from a pitch-black, sometimes on the threshold of perception. Gradually, this darkness becomes a place of infinite potential.

Arno creates this brand-new performance with lighting designer Jean Kalman and composer Aart Strootman with whom he also created his two previous performances. On stage, there is an amazing group of performers. Co-producing this work are La Place de la Danse CDCN Toulouse Occitanie and PÔLE-SUD CDCN Strasbourg, with much thanks to the Holland Festival.

February 2022: O S C A R back in the theaters

O S C A R premiered in the summer of 2021 at Julidans and is finally being performed again, after many cancellations and attempts to reschedule due to covid. On Friday, April 15 we will be at Stadsschouwburg Utrecht, and on Wednesday, June 1 at Theater Rotterdam. On Saturday, April 30 we will do something special and present one of the solos of O S C A R at Het HEM in Zaandam.

October 2021: Front Row Festival at RADION in Amsterdam

On October 9, 2021, we join Front Row Festival at RADION and present one of the solos of O S C A R. It is the second time that We Are Public organizes the festival and we are delighted to be part of this evening full of music, theatre, performances, and literature. Not a We Are Public member? Get your tickets here.

July 2021: O S C A R premieres at Julidans

The moment that O S C A R can be performed for the first time has arrived! This brand new work will be presented at Julidans in Amsterdam on July 15 and 16.

The past year, every time when the restrictions in relation to the corona virus allowed, Arno went into the studio with performers Ivan Ugrin, Mark Christoph Klee and Paolo Yao to reflect on personal memories of important moments in their lives. O S C A R brings them and the audience together on stage where three solos merge in one experience, a physical journey from one space to the next. Due to the restricted capacity, don't wait to long to get your ticket. We hope to see you there!

June 2021: Finally back on stage!

After 9 long months, we were back on stage on June 7 and 8. Dance Week Festival in Zagreb, Croatia invited us to perform If You Could See Me Now. Both evenings were sold out and it felt absolutely wonderful to be in front of a live audience again. Finally!

Photo by Krunoslav Marinac at Dance Week Festival

December 2020: New work is on its way

When we had the photo shoot for the poster of our new performance on March 13, none of us could even imagine how the rest of this year would turn out the way it has. Behind the scenes, we’ve been working on it and we can’t wait to present our new work to you in 2021!

August 2020: We performed again!

It was just pure joy to hit the stage again! We performed If You Could See Me Now and it was our first time since February. We loved every minute of the two sold-out nights at Het HEM! A shout-out to Sjoerd Derine who took this awesome shot. And much thanks to all of you who were there!

August 2020: If You Could See Me Now at Het HEM

Now that we can perform again, we will do something memorable: If You Could See Me Now will be performed at the marvelous Het HEM on the edge of the city of Amsterdam!

Get one of the last tickets

Collaborating with We Are Public and Het Hem, we present the performance at this unique location on August 14 and 15 at 9.30 p.m. when the night falls. Art after dark! Because of the corona measures, tickets are limited so do not wait too long to buy your ticket.

Are you a We Are Public member? Get your free ticket here.

RIVM GUIDELINES AND ACCESSIBILITY
The evening is in compliance with current RIVM guidelines. Click here for information how to get to Het HEM. The performance, the restaurant and the expo spaces of Het HEM are wheelchair accessible.

WITH THANKS TO
Supported by the In Art We Trust Fund, we can make these performances happen. This new fund by We Are Public is initiated because of the impact that the corona measures have and each month it selects 15 makers that they support. We are proud to be one of them this month!

This SPECIAL EDITION of If You Could See Me Now is also supported with a contribution from Fund Performing Arts NL as part of 'Balkonscènes' in order to make live experiences possible in these times.

All this support is very, very welcome. Do you also want to make a contribution? You can! Here you can find more information on how to make a donation.

EXTRA: THE EXPO AND DINNER
When you never visited Het HEM before, come a little early so you can wonder around in their monumentale spaces to see beautiful visual art works by RAAF and Levi van Veluw, and others. And at 7.30 p.m. food is served from the Hotmamahot kitchen. Book a table by sending an email to info@hethem.nl and mention your name, phone number and your party size.

April 2020: Soon new videos

We hope you all are healthy and well. Although life as we know it is on pause at the moment, we are delighted to let you know that, starting next week, we will share new videos of our performances that will be online till the end of the year. Feel free to press play as often as you want. Stay tuned!

October 2019: Arno wins award for The Way You Sound Tonight

Honored and proud! On Friday October 4, Arno was honored with the award of most impressive dance production for The Way You Sound Tonight.

The jury: "It is one of those theater experiences you want to last forever. The dance, the staging of performers and audience, the ongoing stream of music, it is bulls eye. Because of Schuitemaker's choice to create an 'acoustic ballroom' you get immersed in a seductive and almost ecstatic experience."

The award, also called a 'Zwaan', is the most important dance award in The Netherlands and considered to be the Oscar of Dutch dance. It is awarded annually by the VSCD.

Check out the upcoming performance dates of The Way You Sound Tonight.

June 2019: Nomination for most impressive dance production

The Dutch VSCD Dance Jury nominated The Way You Sound Tonight for the award of most impressive dance production.

As one out of three nominated performances, the jury praises The Way You Sound Tonight for it being "one of those experiences that you want to last forever."

The VSCD dance awards are awarded anually and are considered to be the Oscars of Dutch dance. The winner will be announced on October 4, 2019 at the Dutch Dance Festival in Maastricht. 

Read more about The Way You Sound Tonight.

April 2019: If You Could See Me Now at club OT301 (SPECIAL EDITION)

Especially for We Are Public’s Front Row, Arno reworks his acclaimed performance If You Could See Me Now from 2017, this time created for the underground club OT301; the squat that used to be the film academy. 3 dancers, 2 rows of seats, 1 massive chunk of energy.

"This performance is like hypnotizing trip. In the setting of an intimate club, up close with the dancers, it is a special edition to look forward to!” - Daniël Kieft, chief editor We Are Public.

Performers Stein Fluijt, Ivan Ugrin, Mark Christoph Klee

Only once, Wednesday April 17, 2019 – OT301, Amsterdam - Tickets

Front Row is the ongoing cultural experiment by We Are Public. They create groundbreaking programs with the best cutting-edge makers of our time. "Because we think they are good and because they give us alternative ideas and different perspectives."

More about If You Could See Me Now

November 2018: Best performance 2017/2018

The Way You Sound Tonight was selected as the best performance of season 2017/18 by critic Lisa Reinheimer in latest issue of Theatermaker.

She also praised the music by composer Aart Strootman for being the best new music composition for a performance.

July 2018: On television!

Dutch broadcasting agency VRPO and the German ZDF interviewed Arno Schuitemaker about his latest work The Way You Sound Tonight during their respective programs about the Holland Festival 2018.

If you enjoy to watch these items, click on the links below:

VPRO Holland Festival special (in Dutch) - 11:55 - 19:10 min.

ZDF Theater: Ein Fest! (in German / English) - 01:04 - 07:13 min.

March 2018: Arno curates an evening at Het Huis in Utrecht

On April 5, 2018, Arno Schuitemaker curates an eclectic evening at Het Huis in Utrecht, The Netherlands. The evening is dedicated to the thoughts and foundations of The Way You Sound Tonight, a new work that will premiere at Holland Festival in June.

During the evening everything transforms from one thing to another: from visual art to work-in-progress, from lecture to concert. Arno will share work of visual artist Arek Lawkowski and the Italian theater maker Alessandro Sciarroni, there will be a lecture by architect Machiel Spaan, a conversation between in-house dramaturg Marijn Lems and Arno, work-in-progress of the new performance with dancer Ivan Ugrin and it all will end with a concert by composer/performer Aart Strootman.

Tickets can be purchased here.

February 2018: World premiere at Holland Festival in June

On June 17, 2018 The Way You Sound Tonight will experience its world premiere at Holland Festival in Amsterdam. Created as an "acoustic ballroom", The Way You Sound Tonight lets five performers take the audience into a dynamic game between distance and proximity, space and energy, in an infinite flow of movement and sound. Click here for tickets.

January 2018: Rave reviews for If You Could See Me Now

If You Could See Me Now premiered in December 2017 and received rave reviews:

"In this liberating dance performance everything falls into place. (...) It is no exaggeration to say that these kind of experiences will determine the future of the theatre." - **** Alexander Hiskemuller, Trouw

"Yet another brilliant work, with a progression so subtle that its transformations are sometimes more tangible than directly evident.” - **** Francine van der Wiel, NRC Handelsblad

"Magnificent work that subtly plays with your feelings.” - **** Mirjam van der Linden, de Volkskrant

September 2017: Best new choreography

In the September issue of Theatermaker critic Jos Schuring has picked I will wait for you as the best new choreography of the past season! The work premiered last year and will be performed again later this year in Italy and Germany, and next year in Hungary, Spain and The Netherlands.

August 2017: Tanz magazine yearbook 2017

The German magazine tanz has ranked Arno Schuitemaker to be as one of the most promising choreographers in their yearbook 2017. tanz is a magazine covering a wide range of dance, including contemporary dance. Next to their yearbook, they issue a monthly edition.

June 2017: Anniversary

On June 11, I will wait for you will be performed at Theater De NWE Vorst in Tilburg as part of a 10-year anniversary after Arno Schuitemaker's graduation at Fontys Dance Academy, proudly joined in the celebration by DansBrabant and Theater De NWE Vorst.

Prior to the performance, dramaturge Guy Cools will interview Arno Schuitemaker, reflecting on this work during the past years.

March 2017: STRP Biennial

On March 29th, 30th and April 2nd, we present WAITING FOR YOU at STRP Biennial in Eindhoven. WAITING FOR YOU is an adapted version of I will wait for you, wherein the three dancers perform in an open space: no seats, no fixed point of view, but a shared stage for performers and audience alike.

STRP Biennial is an indoor art & technology festival, offering a glimpse into the near and sometimes distant future of our technology-driven culture with performances, interactive art, light art, robotics, experimental music and films, lectures and workshops.

November 2016: 2nd prize for WHILE WE STRIVE

We are honored and delighted that WHILE WE STRIVE was awarded with the 2nd jury prize at [re]connaissance 2016 in Grenoble. The performance also received much praise by the platform's partners and will be presented several times next year in France. At the beginning of this month, WHILE WE STRIVE had its Belgian premiere at De Warande in Turnhout and will return to The Netherlands early 2017.

October 2016: Great acclaim for I will wait for you

Last month, I will wait for you premiered at Frascati in Amsterdam and the performance was received with enthusiasm:

"What makes this production excel is the buildup. The evenness by which the entire flow of movement transforms and comes to fruition, is fantastic." - **** de Volkskrant, Mirjam van der Linden

"Waiting is rewarded. An absolute must-see" - **** Scènes, Jos Schuring

Many people are asking us if it is possible to download the music of I will wait for you. At this moment, the music is exclusively composed for the performance. In case you are interested, please write an us e-mail so we can inform you if the music becomes available in the future.

After After: "Masterful", Critic's choice Theaterkrant →