After leading the organization for more than eleven years, Kristin de Groot will leave the organization as of November 1st.
Kristin was appointed director as of September 2011. At that point in time, Dansateliers was still one of the production houses in the Basic Infrastructure. Only two months before starting, it was clear that the announced drastic cut downs would lead to all production houses disappearing. Instead of being able to build further on a base that was there, her main assignment was redirected to keeping the organization afloat. Thanks to the financial support of the municipality of Rotterdam, Kristin and her team managed to do so.
Today, Dansateliers is a flourishing house for the development of dance. It is a place where everyone – with care and attention – is exploring ways to further develop the artform, the artists, the public and the sector. Dansateliers is rooted firmly in the city of Rotterdam and is a loyal partner in local, national and international collaborations.
The board is grateful for all achievements made in the past years. Under Kristin her direction so many fruitful partnerships were initiated that have led to new knowledge and beautiful and important developments. Dansateliers is renowned in its local context, but also national and international and we are proud of that. We wish to thank Kristin for her endless energy, her passion and inspiration. Even though we will miss her dearly, we also think it is a good time for her to take this step and be able to engage with new challenges.
– Marco Florijn, chair of the board.
Kristin:
‘It is with a lot of warmth and satisfaction that I look back on the past years. There is this lovely sense of enormous pride that I carry with me, thinking about what we’ve been able to do and set in motion. As a team, we have worked hard in rebuilding the house, while honoring its origins – creating space for experiment. To me, it was crucial to guarantee that space and time for exploration. Innovation only arises when artists find the room to play around and experiment with ideas. Not-knowing is a good place to be in, it allows moving into unexplored territories, where one even might get lost for a bit. That is how we can allow ourselves to discover and find new possibilities, insights, perspectives, etc. We have been able to grow together with the artists and partners we worked with, by creating a safe environment and customizing our ways and conversations. We have worked with beautiful and inspiring people and we still do so, which led to very warm and trustful relationships.
We have built a rich track record with dance artists and projects that were identified in ‘important’ lists, by being nominated, being selected, or being awarded with prizes. Next to this and to me even more important, are the numerous beautiful, enriching and meaningful conversations I’ve had and been able to witness. I treasure those for which I am deeply grateful.
I have always considered ten years as the right term to lead such an organization. Since 2021, Dansateliers is structurally supported not only by the municipality of Rotterdam, but also by the Performing Arts Funds. Now is the right time to pass on the responsibility to a new director. It will allow a good amount of time for my successor to engage with the organization and sense its potential before having to develop a new four-year plan.
Change is always exciting and a bit scary, but I experience it as something very positive. I am not sure what I will do next, but I look forward to continuing to offer my knowledge and experience for what is needed in the sector.
