Guiding principles
ICK connects artistic production, research, talent development, education, presentation, and audience participation. It functions as an environment in which dancers, guest artists, young makers, researchers, students, and the public can influence each other’s practice.
ICK is internationally known for its innovative approach to dance, in which the body is understood as a carrier of stories, meanings and social reflection. From this perspective, ICK develops artistic, educational and research projects in close collaboration with international and interdisciplinary partners. Recent collaborations include the Philharmonie de Paris, the Opéra de Tunis, and European research and innovation consortia within Horizon Europe such as the PREMiERE and HAMLET projects. These collaborations place ICK at the intersection of choreography, research, technology and societal inquiry.
ICK developed as an internationally oriented institute for contemporary dance with three interconnected domains. Within the Company, ICK creates and presents performances with its own ensemble; since 2019, ICK-Next has offered dancers in training and recently graduated dancers a transition to professional practice. The ICK-Academy connects artistic research, creation, education, and knowledge transfer in dance with science and technologies in national and European contexts. Guest artists and emerging makers receive studio space, coaching, co-production investment and support, and access to ICK’s network and knowledge.
History
ICK Dans Amsterdam is an International Choreographic Arts Centre founded in 2009 by Emio Greco and Pieter C. Scholten, who have worked together since 1995. Central to their work is the internationally recognised method Double Skin / Double Mind, which approaches the body as a source of physical intelligence, intuition and embodied knowledge. The artistic vision approaches the body as an entity that thinks, remembers, reacts, and makes decisions. Dance makes this bodily intelligence visible, shareable, and transferable.
Building and facilities
Since 2021, ICK has been operating from Space for Dance Art in Amsterdam Nieuw-West. The space unites rehearsal, creation, research, small-scale presentations, workshops, debate, and encounters. This dedicated dance house hosts four fully equipped studios and facilities for technology-based and motion capture research. The four studios are used by the organisation itself as well as by external makers and partners. As the resident company of Meervaart, ICK is firmly connected to Amsterdam Nieuw-West. At the same time, the organisation collaborates with theatres, festivals, companies, universities, and research institutions in the Netherlands and internationally.
Photo: Alwin Poiana
