Astrid Boons

Astrid has previously performed in The Netherlands with Dansgroep Krisztina de Châtel, Dansgroep Amsterdam, NDT2 and Göteburg Operans Danskompani. Since 2016, she has been active as a choreographer as well: she premiered her first piece at Korzo during Here we live and now (2016).

Through dance, Astrid continually discovers new layers in human beings. Transformation is a central theme of her work, using movement as a continuous, slow metamorphosis of energy. Astrid poses existential questions about human movement and subsequently attacks this subject physically and mentally. She is often influenced by organic processes; her creations can be experienced like landscapes. The performer’s body has to be emptied in order to be driven by a deeper force. To her, the state of being of a performer is very crucial for the work, as is concentration and precision, transcending the narrative and ultimately giving her movement language.

Astrid’s work has both a sculptural and organic quality, which makes it palpable and intense. It unfolds slowly before your eyes and other senses, working together very precisely with the music, lighting, and set design. Fundamentally speaking, her work demands a deep concentration from performers and audience members alike.

Fully enjoying her career as a dancer, Astrid’s appreciation for dance as an artform – plus the creative process surrounding it – gained much deeper significance working with the Japanese Saburo Teshigawara for the Göteborgs Operans Danskompani. In this project, she was given full freedom to immerse in choreography, in deep gratitude of the trust she has received from the company.

Astrid returned to The Netherlands to concentrate entirely on choreography. She sent her work to theatres, and particularly to Korzo, with whom she connected during her time at the NDT. To her own surprise, she was invited to create a short choreography for Here we live and now in 2016. She created the duet Rhizoma which won her the BNG Bank Dance Prize. A year later, she made the duet Vestige for Here we live and now 2017, named by Dutch paper Het Parool as one of the five best dance performances of the year. In that same year, she received The Haagse Piket Kunstprijs.

Astrid believes in continuity and mutual trust. Her work process can be characterized by the workshops with her dancers, which often last several days. In her own words: “The art of being a dancer lies in finding yourself in the language of the other.” She deems it a priority that her dancers believe in themselves and really want to work with her, so that the performance can unfold from a sense of mutual trust.