Arthur Rosenfeld
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Dance for young audiences has made impressive advances in the Netherlands in the last 15 years, and choreographer Arthur Rosenfeld has led that charge with a non-traditional form of dance theater that defies fashion trends.
Since the beginning of his professional dance career in 1974, Arthur has been known for his special gift for comedy and for his unpretentious (and often self-deprecating) way of communicating human truths, first as a performer and then as a creator. This very personal yet universal approach, backed with a lot of hard work and supported by exceptional compositional skills, has earned him and Meekers an indelible position in the Dutch dance landscape.
Initially trained in New York, he joined the then Amsterdam-based Scapino Ballet in 1974. Contracts followed in Cologne and Mannheim, but it was his many seasons with Pina Bausch’s Tanztheater Wuppertal, which he joined in 1978, that played the greatest role in the forming of his eventual artistic identity.
In 1986 he joined forces with Ana Teixido and started concentrating on creating a new repertoire. They established a tradition of evening length duets for adult audiences that has now extended to some 10 different productions over the course of 20 years. Alternating with these were ensemble performances produced on a minimal budget.
“A Damaged Fairy Tale”, produced in 1993, marked an inspiring breakthrough for the world of Dutch children’s dance, presenting entertaining and humorous art with level of sophistication and quality unheard of for young audiences.
Arthur and MEEKERS have received numerous prizes and citations over the years, recently the Dancers’ Foundation Merit Award 2006, for the complete body of his work. The jury report gave special emphasis to his often under-recognized influence on the development of dance and innovation in the Netherlands.
Dance for young audiences is taken more seriously than ever in the Netherlands, reflecting its impressive development in recent years. Choreographer Arthur Rosenfeld has led that charge with non-traditional dance theater that defies fashion trends and has created a new tradition in its own right.
[With Meekers he has established a new tradition of multi-layered dance-theater that works both sides of the boundaries between children’s and adult work, and art and entertainment.]
