In de mime solo Victory Boogie Woogie plaatst Charles Pas zichzelf in een dystopische tussenruimte om te onderzoeken wat het betekent als je jezelf continu moet optuigen. Als verdwaalde jongeman gaat hij de strijd aan met het alledaagse, in een poging dat te temmen en op zoek te gaan naar alles wat daarachter ligt. Wat betekent het als je geen verbinding kan vinden, ontreddering de overhand krijgt, maar je niet anders weet dan door te gaan?

Bij deze voorstelling, waar de kracht ligt in het minimale gebruik van theatrale middelen, is Charles in dialoog met een volledig gesampled geluidsdecor van de soundtrack van het stadsleven. Victory Boogie Woogie is een dynamische trip waarin door middel van flitsen van een leven in de stad zich een steeds groter plaatje openbaart aan de toeschouwer. De dreiging van het radicaliseren van het individu ligt constant op de loer.

Charles Pas Artist in Residence in 2023/2024 bij ICK Dans Amsterdam.

Shane Koppers

ICK Amsterdam

VICTORY BOOGIE WOOGIE

Hugo Cabrera

A visceral duet of sweat and survival. No protection, just bare desire.

A Pelo [a ˈpe.lo] - adv. phrase 1.carried out without protection or preparation, without much thought. 2. Naked; without disguise. 3. Colloq. without a saddle, bareback. 4. Fig. To face something unarmed, often on impulse.

In this raw physical duet that serves as a prequel to We play so hard it hurts, Fernando Troya takes you through a darker time in his past. A time of oversexualization, often leaving him feeling ugly and condemned. The piece shows how queer desire becomes the conflict and the body its battlefield. Unapologetically intimate: it wants to be seen, felt, and endured.

Two bodies trapped. As one tries to escape, the other becomes the jailer.
What if the only way out is through each other?
A Pelo is not here to please you.
It’s here to own you.
Edging you with sweat and exposure - until nothing is left but skin, breath, and exhaustion.

A PELO

The ICK Dance Parade is back—the annual moment when ICK Dans Amsterdam reveals itself: raw, curious, and constantly in motion. In one hour, journey through a stream of pop-ups, sketches, experiments, and fleeting encounters. Makers, our dancers, and the new ICK-NEXT dancers step into the spotlight, from the works of Emio Greco | Pieter C. Scholten to fresh voices like Robin Coops, Melissa Diktaş, and Fernando Troya. 

Don’t expect a polished narrative, but rather unexpected twists and collisions of styles and energies. A host weaves the elements together, offering context without taking control. What will you see? Work still taking shape—already chafing, shifting, and surprising. 

Think of it as a mini-Uitmarkt for dance, but in true ICK fashion.Come see it!

ICK DANCE PARADE

Tom van Wee

Rodrigo Ribeiro

Sophie Prins

Dance and celebration of queerness and the power of witchcraft

Under the dense foliage, in the mystical glow of the full moon, three figures come together for an enchanting ritual. Far from the norms of society, a play of light and darkness unfolds, a macabre dance against the direction of the clock, fueled by demonic energy. This is where the Sabbath takes place - a night of magic, mystery and transformation. Behold the Sabbath, where boundaries blur and magic is in the air. To be entered at your own risk, for when night falls, the witch awakens.

Sabbath is an ode to the outsider, a celebration of the queerness and power of witchcraft. In this dance performance, choreographer Niek Wagenaar and his dance company Nymphs revise the traditional image of the witch. The witch is no longer a figure of fear and exclusion, but a symbol of empowerment, resistance and self-discovery. The witches' Sabbath is a safe space where everyone can be themselves, where identity and community are celebrated.
Behold the Sabbath, where boundaries blur and magic is in the air. To be entered at your own risk, for when night falls, the witch awakens.
 
“
The potentially transgressive, antinomian and outsider qualities of ‘witch’ are reflected in ‘queer,’ in that both words are reclaimed, recovered and reinvented, not as derogatory epithets but instead as identities of celebration, empowerment, transformation and resistance.”
 - Julian Vayne, modern witch

SABBATH

An endless battle, fought by an untamed creature in a flowered dress. Guided by the Dahul, the drum that makes the ground move. Together, stamping on the ground, they let it be known that she was, is, and always will be. Representing immortality. She who embodies existence.  
 
We celebrate, fight, let ourselves be carried away, held back, rise up, pass on, are conscious, unconscious, fed, feed, always keeping danger in sight. The oppressed, embodied in a body. What if you are eradicated, executed, and oppressed every day? What does something that is always in survival mode look like?  
 
Experience the power of survival and expression in 'That which is indomitable' by Melisa Diktaş. An immersive performance that embodies the essence of struggle, survival, and resilience, wrapped in the rhythms of the Kurdish movement language.  

About Melisa Diktaş:  
- Award winner at BNG Dansprijs 2025  
- Winner Fringe at Best Awards 2024  

In a highly expressive dance, she conveys a powerful mix of emotions: anger, pain, a sense of freedom, and the force of rebellion, with a striking dynamic between stillness and energy. This performance nearly bursts with urgency. She portrays a strong and untameable woman facing political oppression — but she fights!  
— Jury, Amsterdam Fringe Festival 2024

That which is indomitable

In ROCCO/ROCCA, the spectator takes his place around the boxing ring, where dancers become boxers. And boxers become dancers. They challenge each other with striking punches, fast footwork and virtuoso tactics. In close combat, relationships are challenged and men and women look for each other’s extremes.

The performance is based on the film by Italian director Visconti: ROCCO e i suoi fratelli, a film about brotherly love and the struggle for a better life. The dancers represent sibling love in all its facets: the good and the bad, the devil and the angel, the androgynous and the incestuous. ROCCO/ROCCA is a dance performance about the physically and emotionally churning bodies of boxer and dancer.

In 2012, during the Dutch Dance Festival, ROCCO was awarded the VSCD Dance Award, the Zwaan, for ‘most impressive dance production’. Dancer Christian Guerematchi was nominated for the ‘most impressive dance performance’.

In 2015, ROCCA was presented by Ballet National de Marseille with a female cast. This international success was seen again in the Netherlands in 2022 as ROCCO/ROCCA, a performance in which gender no longer matters. Men and women are equal, also in their intense physical and emotional surrender to both desire and struggle.

Press about ROCCO:

“Greco and Scholten sometimes cleverly intertwine the beauty, the craft, the physical intensity and the show element of martial arts and dance.” — Klaas Backx (De Groene Amsterdammer, November 16, 2011)

“ROCCO has become a hypnotic trip with a tension that rises until nothing seems to exist anymore but two physically and emotionally boiling bodies.” — Mirjam van der Linden (Volkskrant, November 7, 2011)

“A classic battle between brothers is staged here like a sweaty boxing match.” — K.A. (Der Standard, August 2, 2011)

ROCCO/ROCCA

We play so hard it hurts is a solo directed and performed by Fernando Troya. Delving into the subterranean realms of cruising culture and the quest for intimacy amidst darkness, the production emerges as a testament to the transformative power of resilience. During Amsterdam Fringe 2024 We play so hard it hurts received the International Bursary Award.

We play so hard it hurts synthesizes autobiographical traces with the timeless allegory of Peter Pan to excavate and celebrate the complexities of queer identity. Through a relentless commitment to authenticity, Troya playfully exhibits his adventure. The piece navigates spaces between performance, dance, and theater. And uses 10 mattresses as a living stage design.

Engaging in a dialogue with space, constructing and deconstructing new evocative architectures, enhancing the metaphorical imagery of the show. An allegory to where many of us remain trapped in a world of perpetually frustrated discovery, where play becomes a lifestyle.

In the report of the International Bursary Award wrote the jury the following about We play so hard it hurts: 
"Although Fernando Troya’s exploration of identity, sexuality, and vulnerability is personal, it never comes across as self-indulgent. On the contrary, 'We play so hard it hurts' is a raw and honest portrayal of his experiences within the gay cruising scene, using ten mattresses to create unique visual imagery. Troya’s background in classical ballet adds extra layers of depth to the choreography, which, combined with the scenography, brings the piece to life in a technically stunning way." -  Theaterkrant

WE PLAY SO HARD IT HURTS

Through the flamenco style of bulería, this workshop draws on Yinka's extensive experience as a flamenco dancer and her more recent work with Embodiology, an improvisational practice from an Africanist lens developed by Dr. Ama S. Wray that shares fundamental values with flamenco. Both are based on the idea that dance and music are inseparable. In this workshop participants will be guided to awaken their expressive, receptive and communicative body through the exploration of rhythm, group work and composition. This work will help dancers already versed in the form to renew their commitment to their own creativity in flamenco, and will offer an accessible way for newcomers to approach the form.

Graves' first solo work, The Disappearing Act, will have its Dutch premiere at the X Flamenco Biennial on 24 October at Musis Stadstheater Arnhem. It premiered at the Nimes Flamenco Festival (France 2023) and subsequently toured international festivals such as El Grec, La Batie, FIT de Cadiz, Albuquerque Flamenco Festival, Tanz Im August Festival and Festival d'Avignon.
This piece is the culmination of Yinka's multidisciplinary exploration of invisibility and erasure as it pertains to the black experience. As part of the Bienal de Flamenco de Sevilla 2022, Yinka presented The Disappearing Act: On Erasure, an illustrated lecture based on the theoretical corpus of the stage piece. Her next production, A Place To Dance, is a collaboration with Madrid-based Brazilian dancer and choreographer Poliana Lima, due to premiere in February 2026. At the same time, she is working on a new solo scheduled for 2027.

The Rhythmic Body - Flamenco Workshop

In Forme(s) de vie brengt choreograaf Eric Minh Cuong Castaing dansers en volwassenen met een beperking samen. Zo onthult hij de (aanpassings)kracht van lichamen die maar al te vaak worden afgeschreven. Op het podium komen dansers samen met performers die hun mobiliteit verliezen. Met de belichaming van prothesen door de dansers stelt deze voorstelling/installatie het hedendaagse idee van een augmented body aan de kaak.

Welke gebaren zou je behouden als beweging een probleem werd, een doel, een strijd die al je aandacht opeiste? In het verlengde van L’Âge d’Or, dat gemaakt werd met kinderen met een motorische neuronziekte, biedt Forme(s) de Vie een nieuwe manier om samen te dansen. Vanuit de noodzaak van het menselijk gebaar. De voorstelling-installatie ontwikkelt zich rond een film op verschillende schermen en betrekt ook de lichamen van bezoekers. Dansers compenseren met hun lichaam de motorische tekortkomingen van anderen, zoals een ex-danser en een ex-bokser. De dansers worden als het ware gebruikt als prothesen. Dat beïnvloedt het bewustzijn van hun lichaam en relatie tot elkaar. En tot het heden, in onze individualistische, ultra competitieve en techno wetenschappelijke samenleving.

AANVULLENDE INFORMATIE
Eric Minh Cuong Castaing is van 2021 tot 2024 een van de Associated Artists van ICK. Zijn drie onderzoeksprojecten die worden ontwikkeld in Frankrijk en Nederland, zoveel mogelijk in samenwerking met lokale zorginstellingen en speciaal onderwijs. Bij elk project hoort een specifiek workshopprogramma. De kennis die we opdoen tijdens de creatieve processen met kwetsbare doelgroepen wordt gedocumenteerd. Onderzoekers van de MA Dance Therapy in Rotterdam creëren een model voor een betere, fysieke interactie tussen de doelgroep en bijvoorbeeld familieleden en zorgverleners.

Het project Forme(s) de Vie bij ICK komt tot stand met financiële steun van VriendenLoterijFonds, VSBFonds, Stichting Zabawas, Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Noord-Holland en het Fonds Culturel Franco-Néerlandais.

FORME(S) DE VIE

Op tournee in 2025

Emio Greco | Pieter C Scholten

WE, the SHAMELESS, is de opvolging van de succesvolle solo Shameless die de blik vooruitwerpt: mét de inzichten en ervaringen uit het verleden.

In deze verhitte “solo voor twee” wordt Eminem explosief van repliek voorzien door twee danseressen: twee verbonden lichamen die soms samenvallen maar ook een eigen identiteit hebben. Zonder gêne delen ze die tweespalt met het publiek.

Schaamteloos betekent hier: ongebreideld nieuwsgierig naar dat wat radicaal anders is. De twee performers smelten samen tot één collectief lichaam om dan weer uiteen te vallen in twee verschillende gedaantes die uiteenlopende kanten van dezelfde persoonlijkheid laten zien. Daartussen verschijnt en verdwijnt een innerlijke stem via een beeldscherm. Ironisch of bloedserieus, als projectie of hersenspinsel.

“Begeleid door een steeds fellere Eminem, laten de vrouwen je duizelen (…) Een duizelende danssolo voor twee.”
- Theaterkrant

WE, THE SHAMELESS

Adam

Maggie

Christie

Eric

Anna

Standard

Salah Eddine Mesbah

Hessel Moeselaar

Pouriya Jaberi

Raj Mohan

Building on his previous works, such as SHAKTI and AGHORI, in which Indian philosophy of life and Hindustani culture form the starting points, Bahoran searches for the universality of the mystical in MYSTIC. How can something bring about the same experience in different cultures, in different times, in different places, and for all kinds of different people?

With a background in hip-hop culture, Bahoran goes on an adventure in collaboration with ICK Dans Amsterdam and the ICK ensemble dancers with a classical/contemporary background. Cross-pollination is also sought in the music and spiritual aspects of the culture of the Amsterdam Andalusian Orchestra. Six musicians play live during the performance.

About Shailesh Bahoran
Shailesh Bahoran is a Surinamese-Hindustani choreographer, dancer and theatre maker. With solid roots in hip-hop culture, he has specialised both solo and with his Illusionary Rockaz Company in street-based dance styles of popping and breaking. Bahoran has worked with Het Nationale Ballet, Don't Hit Mama, Het Nederlands Symfonieorkest, Conny Janssen Danst and ISH Dance Collective, among others.

Award
The Swan for “Most Impressive Dance Production” was awarded to Illusionary Rockaz Company and Duda Paiva Company with the performance AVATĀRA in 2023.

The Amsterdam Andalusian Orchestra (AAO) performs music styles ranging in origin from Granada to Baghdad and has several successful theatrical productions to its credit, including REMLA, ZIEL|ROUH and Jihad of Love.

Shailesh Bahoran is Associate Artist at ICK Dans Amsterdam.

MYSTIC is a production of ICK Dans Amsterdam in coproduction with Illusionary Rockaz Company, Amsterdams Andalusisch Orkest and Meervaart.

🎨 Cultural

MYSTIC

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De Company van ICK bestaat uit een ensemble van dansers én een junior compagnie: ICK Next. Oprichters Emio Greco en Pieter C. Scholten bouwen samen aan een hedendaags repertoire, waarin het intuïtief bewegende lichaam centraal staat. Ook gastchoreografen worden gevraagd creaties te maken vanuit het overkoepelende thema, Het Lichaam in Opstand. Vanaf 2021 is de veelzijdige choreograaf Shailesh Bahoran als Artist Associate uitgenodigd om met het ensemble te werken.