A-mag – Amsterdam Magazine: Vol 4, No. 1

AMSTERDAM MAGAZINE

SIGHTS & SOUNDS COMPLETE LISTINGS DANCING & DINING ART & FASHION JAN & FEB 2016

MELTING POT HOW AMSTERDAM BECAME HOME TO 180 NATIONALITIES

BY RUSSELL SHORTO

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A!

AMSTERDAM MAGAZINE

VOL 4 N0 1 JAN & FEB 2016

180

P.06 WHAT’S NEW? City confidential: exciting new Amsterdam initiatives, events and venues – including your Top 5 must-do things this issue.

P.10 UP CLOSE Famous historian Russell Shorto examines the benefits of diversity and openness in Amsterdam, a city that boasts 180 different nationalities.

P.19 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT The National Ballet honours intriguing dancer/spy Mata Hari; the eerie works of Francesca Woodman at FOAM; Amsterdam as a stand-up comedy breeding-ground; and our critics’ other picks of the best exhibitions, concerts and events.

P.31 EAT, DRINK & CHIC Neighbourhood Watch explores the Eastern Docklands, plus our Valentine’ s story on Boundless Love, the hottest new shops & food trends, and our selection of the best restaurants and cafés.

P.62 CLOSING Get out of town with our excursion tips; Then & Now in Amsterdam; top tips from visitors on the way out.

P.49 THE A-LIST Agendas at the ready: from clubbing to gallery hopping, The A-List is your one-stop, at-a-glance guide to the city’s very best music, theatre (language no problem!), sporting, family and gay & lesbian events and venues.

Bart van Oosterhout editor-in-chief A-mag a-mag@iamsterdam.com

STAY IN TOUCH: iamsterdam.com facebook.com/iamsterdam twitter.com/iamsterdam youtube.com/videoiamsterdam

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© MARIE-CHARLOTTE PEZÉ

CONTENTS

Someone at the Amsterdam statistics bureau has counted exactly how many different nationalities live in our city. He came to precisely 180. The list includes a couple of very lonely persons, nationality-wise. One from Qatar, and one from Monaco, for instance. In itself that number isn’t very surprising. There are about 192 countries in the world. Very large (and very open) western cities will attract at least one member of many of these countries at one time or another.

Except that Amsterdam isn’t a very large city at all. Compared to London, Paris, Berlin, Madrid, we’re a mere village. In cities that are Amsterdam’s size you typically find a much more homogeneous population.

This year the Dutch capital has decided to make a point of its diversity. Well-timed in a world where nationalism (or ‘nativism’ as some prefer to call it), for obvious reasons, is on the rise.

That’s why we asked historian Russell Shorto – author of Amsterdam: a History of the World’s Most Liberal City – to write an essay on Amsterdam’s diversity from his perspective as both an expert and a long-time inhabitant of Amsterdam, where he directed the John Adams Institute, the unofficial cultural embassy of the US in the Netherlands. Shorto politely obliged, but in his essay he immediately points out that diversity is not the point. The point is that Amsterdam, as one of the world’s most liberal cities, has been successful because of its openness and inclusiveness. From the end of the 16th century onward, refugees from all over the world found a safe haven in Amsterdam, where they could express their ideas and practise their religion in liberty (albeit not always in the open – don’t forget to visit the ‘Ons Lieve Heer op Solder’ hidden church). Not out of noble motives but rather a well understood self-interest.

As Shorto points out, different cultures equals new ideas, equals new business opportunities, equals prosperity.

There you have it, welcome to Amsterdam, the pleasure is all ours.

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OPENING

What’s new? (in town)

All the latest cultural news plus the fresh new initiatives, events and venues making Amsterdam the place to be.

jan & feb 2016

‘IN AMSTERDAM THE ONLY PEOPLE WEARING CLOTHES PRINTED WITH THE CITY’S NAME WERE TOURISTS, BUT IN ROTTERDAM MOST MEN UNDER THIRTY SEEMED TO OWN A ‘ROTTERDAM ALL DAY’ HOODY.’ AUTHOR BEN COATES RINGS THE SARTORIAL CHANGES DAM TO DAM.

text Mark Smith

RUNWAY MODEL The 19th century German poet Heinrich Heine is sometimes alleged to have said, ‘If the world comes to an end, I shall go to Holland. There, everything happens fifty years later’. Surely he’d be eating his words at the sight of the spangly 433-room New Hilton Amsterdam Airport Schiphol which, with 1,700 square metres of meeting and event space, is set to challenge the expectations of airport hotels (which, admittedly, are generally not sky-high). Designed by the same Mecanoo architectural practice that gave Birmingham in the UK its futuristic library, the hotel is an impressive landmark with its cubic mould structure, diamondshaped windows and spacious atrium featuring a 42 metre-high glazed roof. And not a trouser press in sight. www.hilton.com

ART BECOMES YOU The pinnacle of class: hanging your portrait as the Girl with the Pearl Earring or the Prince of Orange on your mantelpiece (or your Facebook profile). MuseumFoto’s new location just opened by the Nieuwe Kerk near Dam Square, to facilitate your costumed entry into art history. www.museumfoto.amsterdam

ROOM SERVICE The festival that’s hell-bent on persuading Amsterdammers to be tourists in their own city is back for a fourth indulgent edition.

The brainchild of Vincent van Dijk – a PR man and blogger who’s so hotel-obsessed he once spent every night of the year in a different Amsterdam hostelry – Amsterdam Hotel Night offers low rates in more than 30 participating venues around the city, but ticket-holders are also welcome at an array of festivities to boot. Events at previous editions have included a roller-skate party at the hip-and-healthy Conscious Hotel Vondelpark, a silent disco at the chic Canal House, and Alice in Wonderland-themed shenanigans at the Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht. That ‘Do not disturb’ sign won’t be a-swinging for too long, then…

16 & 17 January Various locations www.hotelnacht.nl

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‘HELLO AMSTERDAM! VISITED THE ANNE FRANK HOUSE FOR THE FIRST TIME AND GOT TO SIGN THE JOURNAL NEXT TO MADONNA FROM 2012.’

‘WITH A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF HUMILITY.’ ARTIST ANISH KAPOOR, WHEN ASKED HOW HIS OWN WORK WAS INTERACTING WITH THE REMBRANDTS IN THE RIJKSMUSEUM’S GALLERY OF HONOUR.

WELL THAT’S THE IMPORTANT THING, RIGHT MARIA SHARAPOVA?

© YORICK MEIJDAM

DRY PATCH Its glass roof has sheltered the likes of Justin Bieber and One Direction. Now the Conservatorium hotel can keep guests dry as they navigate Amsterdam, thanks to its collaboration with Stutterheim Stockholm. Guests staying in one of the hotel’s seven signature suites can use the raincoats – designed especially for the Conservatorium – gratis throughout their stay. Sneak it in your suitcase, though, and you’ll be €230 poorer. www.conservatoriumhotel.com

WORLD’S YOUR OYSTER A list compiled by food website The Daily Meal has named a restaurant at Schiphol one of the 35 best airport eateries in the world. Bubbles Seafood & Wine Bar in Schiphol’s Lounge 1 received plaudits for its extravagant arrays of shellfish. The site took into consideration feedback from food critics and chefs as well as reviews from magazines including Conde Nast Traveler. www.schiphol.com

BAG NEWS Gratis plastic carriers will be a thing of the past in the Netherlands from 1 January, when new legislation banning retailers from giving them away comes into force. The ban, part of a wider campaign to reduce unnecessary waste, has proved creatively fruitful for the Dutch ‘slow fashion movement’ I-did. Its Circular bag, by Urban Mining, is a good-looking, reusable shopper made from clothes that have been thrown away. www.i-did.nl

BISH BASH BOSCH The devil really is in the details when it comes to the works of late medieval artist Hieronymus Bosch: look closely at his nightmarish tableaux and you’ll be treated to such delights as monsters gorging on souls, a man playing a flute made from his own nose and, of course, hordes of horny humans in contortions that would make Madonna blush.

To mark the 500th anniversary of the so-called devil’s painter, a museum in the artist’s home town of ’s-Hertogenbosch has managed to bring together 20 paintings (nine of which are on view for the first time) and 19 drawings. The exhibition at the Noordbrabants Museum is the result of director Charles de Mooij’s quest to bring the artist’s diabolical creations back to the town where he lived and worked.

13 February-8 May Het Noordbrabants Museum www.hetnoordbrabantsmuseum.nl

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jan & feb 2016

OPENING WHAT’S NEW?

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‘A PRETTY AMSTERDAM MADE PRETTIER BY WINTER. I LOVE A LOW, COLD SUN.’

‘WHEN I WAS 18, I WENT TO AMSTERDAM WITH A FRIEND, WHICH IS A GOOD START TO A DRUG STORY I SUPPOSE…’

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SEEMS MUSICIAN HOZIER WASN’T PAYING ATTENTION DURING ASTROPHYSICS LESSONS.

ACTOR SETH ROGEN RECALLS AN EXUBERANT TRIP FROM HIS YOUTH.

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www.seapalace.nl

TOP 5 to do

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Amsterdam’s famous pagoda-shaped purveyor of dim sum, the Sea Palace restaurant that rises from the waters of the river IJ near the OBA Library, is to be moved 75 metres closer to Central Station, despite objections from locals. The change has been controversial with residents of the apartments upstream, who fear the relocation will cause wonton destruction of their views.

© BETTY AND GEORGE WOODMAN

SPRING ROLL

© PETROVSKY AND RAMONE

© GEORGE PACHANTOURIS

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If you only do one thing in Amsterdam, make it one of our top picks of must-do events, exhibitions, museums, music and more this issue.

1 THE AMSTERDAM LIGHT FESTIVAL

Enjoy the marvellous light installations, created by local and international artists, that illuminate the city and its canals, on foot or by boat – or both!

Until 3 January (walking route) & 17 January (boat tours) Various locations www.amsterdamlightfestival.com

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white photos of this doomed artist who committed suicide at a young age are as gripping and ethereal as her tragic life story.

Until 9 March FOAM www.foam.org

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Dance, intrigue and mystery – this breathtaking ballet performance about the life of the infamous Dutch spy and courtesan is a must-see.

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2 FRANCESCA WOOD-

4 ICE-SKATING ON MUSEUMPLEIN

The beautiful black and

Glide your way into the new year at Ice*Amsterdam, the

MAN AT FOAM

Until 28 February Museumplein www.iceamsterdam.nl

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5 CHINESE NEW YEAR

3 MATA HARI

6-26 February Dutch National Ballet www.operaballet.nl

ice-skating rink that casually uses the monumental Rijksmuseum as a backdrop.

To celebrate the dawning of the year of the monkey, festivities take place around the historic Nieuwmarkt neighbourhood on the Saturday following the event, so look out for impromptu parades, fireworks, and hot and tasty Asian foods.

6 February Various locations

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‘SEE YOU AT HEINEKEN MUSIC HALL WITH MY BROTHER TYE TRIBBETT!!! #STROOPWAFELS’

© EMILY GRAY PHOTOGRAPHY

DESTINY’S CHILD SINGER MICHELLE WILLIAMS DOESN’T HALF WAFFLE ON.

NAPPY EVER AFTER One of the Internet’s foremost mummy bloggers – that new breed of photogenic parents sharing parenting pics and tips online – has revealed that her relaxed approach to #parentingtheshitoutoflife was inspired by five years of living in Amsterdam as an expat. Known to her growing army of fans as Mother Pukka, half-Dutch, half-English Anna Whitehouse told the UK’s Evening Standard that she found London more restrictive than Amsterdam on moving back to Blighty: ‘I felt there was more fun to be had with parenthood. The Dutch have a gung-ho approach to it. And kids aren’t seen so much as an inconvenience in social realms, more as a welcome addition.

From an early age they just fit in; whether that’s in bars, cafés or posh restaurants.’ www.motherpukka.co.uk

DAISY CHAIN An Amsterdam-based tech start-up that’s developed a version of Fitbit for cows got an, erm, pat on the back at the recent Web Summit 2015. The product, whose official name is Dairy Activity Monitor, enables farmers to track and trace the movement of cows on an individual basis, giving organic farms insights on how much time their bovine charges spends roaming free. The technology won the Pitch competition. www.conecterra.io

SPOILER ALERT A cheeky prankster has been pimping out the rides of unsuspecting car owners in Amsterdam, adding cardboard mudguards and extravagant spoilers to transform run-of-the-mill run-arounds into so-called Slapdash Supercars overnight. The culprit is twenty-something artist Max Siedentopf, who has claimed his crafty customisations constitute a profound statement about the contradictions inherent in consumer society.

‘We live in a time where individuality, self-expression, and status are at an all-time peak,’ he told one newspaper. ‘We want to personalise everything to be unique.

However, for some reason the individualisation of one’s car has drastically decreased over the past few years.’

Let’s hope all that nocturnal cutting and pasting hasn’t left him too exhausted. www.maxsiedentopf.com

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PART I UP CLOSE

MELTING POT

melting pot

Russell Shorto dissects the history of Amsterdam’s remarkable diversity and why it can brag of its openness

A BEWILDERING MIX ‘In 1580, Amsterdam had 30,000 inhabitants. Fifty years later there were close to 140,000, plus swarms of undocumented aliens, which a scholar recently estimated would have numbered in the hundreds of thousands, flooding into the city to work on the expansion or looking for places on VOC ships. And the inhabitants were a bewildering mix. At least a third were foreign born. Most immigrants were from Germany and Scandinavia, but one could have also seen and heard Africans, Turks, Inuits, Laplanders and others. The city was a cacaphony of languages.’ * Jumping ahead another 400 years, Amsterdam now counts exactly 180 nationalities according to the Bureau of Statistics. Brits, Germans, French, Italians, Ghanese and Americans are among the largest groups, as are Moroccans, Surinamese and Turks, but you will also find Bolivians, Moldavians and Nepalese among the ranks of those who call Amsterdam home.

© PEPIJN HOOIJMEIJER

*From Amsterdam: a History of the World’s Most Liberal City,

by Russell Shorto.

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With 180 nationalities Amsterdam is scoring high marks on diversity. Is that something to be proud of? We asked Russell Shorto, historian and former Amsterdammer.

‘Diversity is not the point, it’s your openness that counts.’ text Russell Shorto

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WHY OPENNESS PAYS OFF

never stopped to take note of the range of nationalities I was in regular contact with during the six years I lived in Amsterdam, but writing a column about diversity in the city offers a good excuse to reflect on the subject. French, Irish, Iranian, Moroccan, American, Canadian, South African, Australian, Israeli, Afghani and Belgian – that would be a quick accounting. Oh, and Dutch.

Of course, anyone living in any city might easily conjure a similarly varied list. That’s the nature of the world we live in. One thing that sets Amsterdam’s diversity apart is its antiquity. Maybe it’s stretching things to say that Amsterdam invented diversity, but it is certainly the case that Amsterdam’s growth – its rise to Golden Age greatness – had precisely to do with its diversity. And it’s not a stretch to say this: in becoming the melting pot of Europe in the 1500s and 1600s, the city set the template for modern urban life.

CORPORATE SPEAK ‘Diversity’, of course, is a modern buzzword. To me it is corporate-speak. It signals that the speaker is about to go down the dull road of attempting to appease some perceived community of the ag-

grieved. The word has the hollow thud of insincerity in it. The reality behind it, however, is the opposite of dull and insincere. The real world, the world of glassand-metal skyscrapers and thronged sidewalks, is a place where ethnicities and languages and cuisines are stewing together and emitting new products and ways of being with digital light-speed. The real world is far ahead of ‘diversity’.

Amsterdam, with its unique role in European history, set the foundation for our real world. Amsterdam circa 1584 was the goal for refugees. Spain had attacked the provinces of what is now Belgium; the city of Antwerp – which was the New York of the day, the hub of finance and cross-cultural business – fell to the armies of the Inquisition. People panicked. Bankers and textile manufacturers, cartographers and spice dealers, Jews and Christians: they fled – northward. Amsterdam had been rising too, over the previous century, not on the refined trade that Antwerp specialised in, things like silk and cinnamon, but on bulky, earthy products: timber, salt, herring. In a humbler, rougher way, it too was growing. Many of Antwerp’s inhabitants had links to Amsterdam, so it became their destination.

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PART I UP CLOSE

melting pot

‘Diversity is a buzzword. The real world, the world of glass-and-metal skyscrapers and thronged sidewalks, is far ahead of ‘diversity’.

GALILEO AND DESCARTES In the midst of an intolerant world, Amsterdam, as it took in hordes from all over Europe and as far away as Africa and the Middle East, discovered that there was gold to be mined in the reverse concept. Toler-

ance of differences – not just on the part of the government, but in the eyes of ordinary citizens, neighbours and people on the street – meant connections to far-flung lands, business deals, access to new ideas.

And these new ideas often meant new business, even new industries. And, in time, the reputation for tolerance had a multiplying effect. Amsterdam’s printers – rough tradesmen with their ink-stained hands – capitalised on the city’s reputation as an entrepôt for new ideas by announcing their availability to print texts on a wide variety of topics, virtually free of censorship. Soon the city became the world capital of publishing. Political and scientific tracts – both of which were banned in many other places for impugning ruling regimes and/or the Church – churned from the city’s presses.

Galileo and Descartes had their works published by Dutch printers. And those works contained not only new ideas, but the seeds of new industries. You’re an enterprising businessman and you read about the wondrous possibilities of the telescope, or the microscope. What do you do? You open a factory that produces lenses, eyepieces, metal tubes, focusing knobs. The city’s surgeons hold public anatomy lessons by dissecting the corpses of executed murderers; there is a flurry of interest in the subject.

The presses get to work producing exquisite full-colour texts showing the intricacies of the human body. A skipper from Norway or Iceland pulls into the IJ, Amsterdam’s harbour, in a vessel sporting an innovative hull design. The city’s shipyards get to work.

© MARIE-CHARLOTTE PEZÉ

That mass migration proved to be the first step to Amsterdam’s discovery of the secret of (dare I say it) diversity. You have to remember that throughout Europe (indeed, around the world) for most of history ‘intolerance’ was official policy. It was universally held that in order for a society to be strong and stable, its people had to be unified. A mix of languages and faiths spelled disorder, which meant, in time, chaos, and eventual takeover. Nations worshipped the gospel of purity.

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That is how Amsterdam became the centrepiece of the Golden Age, and, in time, the model that other cities strove to copy. ‘Diversity’ – in the sense of a target number of different nationalities – is not necessarily the point. Openness is the point. We know this today – at least, some of us do. We know that innovations in wind power, water management, elevator design, driverless cars, biodegradable packaging or sustainable farming come from dropping defences, from being a truly open society.

© MARIE-CHARLOTTE PEZÉ

BALKANISATION With upwards of 180 nationalities, Amsterdam today reflects its past. You see the most obvious modern-day form of the city’s storied openness in places like the Dappermarkt, in Amsterdam Oost, which is sometimes called the best open-air market in the Netherlands.

There is a babble of languages. Buyers, sellers and products come from Indonesia, China, Thailand, Suriname, Poland...

Of course, such balkanisation (if I can use the term) may signal the opposite: a tendency on the part of ethnic communities to remain apart, a tendency not to mix and share ideas.

And in Europe lately the fear of the other the fear of terrorism, or of newcomers taking jobs, or the fear of the local culture drowning in a sea of foreignness – has been strong. Nativism is on the rise. There are reasons for concern.

And yet, the engine of history is not going to move into reverse. The genie is out of the bottle; the world of our children will be unimaginably different from the one we grew up in. It could be darker and more frightening. Or it could be brighter, more filled with possibilities, more open and also more secure. To get there requires bravery.

Amsterdam today – the city I know and have lived in and written about – knows its history, knows what has worked so well. Even such a thing as the Zwarte Piet debate is enormously healthy. It reflects a more fully engaged mixing of cultures and backgrounds. Old stereotypes are being seen as just that: old and stereotypical. New traditions can be invented.

Amsterdam’s past is its future.

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PART I UP CLOSE

melting pot

‘In the midst of an intolerant world, Amsterdam discovered that there was gold to be mined in the reverse concept.’

BRAIN GAIN: DESCARTES AND SPINOZA text Marie-Charlotte Pezé

B

orn in France in 1596, father of modern philosophy and analytical geometry René Descartes originally had military ambitions, which led to his joining the Dutch States Army in Breda in 1618. After inheriting enough money to live independently, he left his military career and travels behind, and spent a few years in Paris before moving back to his adoptive Netherlands in 1628, where he studied mathematics at Leiden University.

Baruch Spinoza was born in Amsterdam in 1632, of Sephardi Portuguese immigrant parents. He was only three years old when Descartes, lodged at Westermarkt 6, had an affair with a servant girl, Helena, which led to the birth of their daughter who tragically died five years later. Over the next 20 years, while Descartes wrote most of his major works, including his famous Discourse on the Method (1637) and Principles of Philosophy (1644), Spinoza grew up to become a modest optical lens grinder. In 1653, he started studying under Francis van den Enden, a radical democrat

and free-thinker who introduced him to Descartes’s writings. His friendships among dissident Christian groups widened, and he was soon considered a heretic, which brought him to be not only shunned by the Jewish community via an official cherem, but also kicked out of Amsterdam by city authorities. It’s in Rijnsburg that he penned Descartes’ Principles of Philosophy, his only major work not published posthumously, which is regarded by some as an extension of Descartes’s theories and by others an outright opposition.

After the publication of Ethics (the manuscript of which was edited in secret by his friends to safekeep it from destruction by religious authorities), he is today recognised as the Prince of Rationalist philosophy. Interestingly, scientists Christiaan Huygens and Johannes Hudde also counted among his friends, and it is said that Spinoza’s skills as a glass grinder contributed to their construction of the great microscopes and telescopes of the time.

Spinoza died in 1677, at the age of 44, of a lung illness possibly caused by glass dust. In a

strange parallel, Descartes was taken by pneumonia 27 years earlier during a harsh winter at the royal court of Sweden. His legacy includes the Maison Descartes (now known as the French Institute in the Netherlands), located on Vijzelgracht – where he never lived but which was founded in his honour.

Of Amsterdam, Descartes wrote to his friend Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac: ‘I could live here all my life without ever being noticed by a soul.

I take a walk each day amid the bustle of the crowd with as much freedom and repose as you obtain in your leafy groves. It gives me much pleasure to watch the ships arriving, laden with all the produce of the Indies and all the rarities of Europe. Where else on earth could you find, as easily as you do here, all the conveniences of life and all the curiosities you could hope to see? In what other country could find such complete freedom, or sleep with less anxiety, or find armies at the ready to protect you?’

15 REFUGEE

Iranian Kurd Erfan Seddighi fled Iran over a year ago after his father, an Imam, threatened to kill him. The 24-year old cross-dressing, bisexual hairdresser spent months in Turkey, took a boat to Greece, a bus to Macedonia, a train to Serbia and got pepper-sprayed on the Hungarian border.

But unlike the majority of 2015’s refugees who headed for Germany or Sweden, Saro, as he’s known, chose Amsterdam as his ultimate destination. ‘There are people like me here,’ he says. ‘People are free and I can just live my life and know that others accept me.’

For now Saro lives in a converted office building in the southeast of Amsterdam, teaching himself Dutch and dreaming of a career in fashion and hair design. He even likes the weather.

‘I want to stay here forever,’ he says. ‘For four years it was my dream to come to Amsterdam, and now I’m so happy.’

LIVE & LEARN

© MARIE-CHARLOTTE PEZÉ

By Lauren Comiteau.

RUSSELL SHORTO American author, historian and journalist Russell Shorto lived in Amsterdam for six years (2007-2013), during which he directed the John Adams Institute and wrote two books about the history of the Netherlands: The Island at the Center of the World, about the Dutch origins of New York, and Amsterdam: a History of the World's Most Liberal City, which captivatingly explores the evolution of the 13th-century fisherman’s village, through its Golden Age splendour, into its present-day, worldwide model of liberal ideals. For his positive contributions to the relationship between the United States and the Netherlands, he even received the Dutch knighthood in the Order of Orange-Nassau in 2009.

Evidence suggests that more and more budding young brains from all over the world are choosing Amsterdam as their place of study. In fact, 2015 saw more than 90,000 international students in the Netherlands.

And with top-notch universities offering countless curriculums in English, plus an amazing quality of life and fantastic job prospects for graduates, it comes as little surprise that Amsterdam is a favourite among foreign scholars.

The feeling is very much mutual. As a city that thrives on the diversity of its population, Amsterdam actively encourages its international students to remain in the city after their studies are over – and offers plenty of reasons for them to do so. Non-EU students are able to apply for something called an ‘orientation year permit’, allowing them to live in Amsterdam for a full year after graduating in order to look for a job and then (hopefully) stick around even longer. Students can apply for their permit through the IND and have the option to collect it at the Expatcenter Amsterdam, where they can also pick up lots of useful tips, free memberships and invaluable job-seeking advice.

By Jayne Robinson.

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PART I UP CLOSE

melting pot

© ANNE DOKTER

ROYAL CONCERTGEBOUW ORCHESTRA The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam has approximately 25 different nationalities amongst its performers – unsurprising considering the audition process. Positions are advertised worldwide and success relies solely on demonstrated ability.

Since the orchestra’s conductors also come from many different countries, the common string (pun intended) across the nations is English, the stage language used by the Orchestra. However, keen that their multinational performers get the most from Amsterdam life and society, the Orchestra provides Dutch language classes for everyone, and the overwhelming majority of the musicians speak fluent Dutch.

While language is considered vital to assimilation, the cultural diversity of the Orchestra is not considered extraordinary in the slightest. As Head of PR, Anne Christin Erbe, says, ‘We play music from all around the world every day, so we deal with diversity through our music’. In fact, vanquishing difference and treasuring the shared European cultural heritage will be among the aims of the upcoming RCO meets Europe tour. The Orchestra will play in all 28 member countries of the European Union, using its concerts to remind us all that, though we may be separated by language, customs and nationality, music is the force that unites us all.

MÉDECINS SANS FRONTIÈRES Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) relies on a diverse staff, and Amsterdam offers a great pool of international citizens to choose from. ‘We screen potential staff members for international experience and the ability to adapt to new cultural settings. People from other countries who are now living and working in Amsterdam obviously fulfil some of those criteria,’ says MSF’s HR Coordinator in the Netherlands, Anton Frima. ‘MSF becomes like a family to many and when some people are ready to progress from field assignments and wish to settle down, they move back to Amsterdam to work at the Head Office here. These are incredibly dedicated people and they tend to stay with us for life.’

MSF staffers are dropped into the cultural deep end during Initiation Week when they are likely to encounter up to 35 different nationalities. MSF doesn’t focus on cultural sensitivity training, instead driving home the importance of communication as a vital tool for survival in high-stress situations.

‘Obviously we need to be aware of diversity but we prefer to focus on helping people achieve our common goals,‘ says Firma. ’Differences tend to evaporate quite quickly and our teams tend to think of themselves as proud citizens of the world.’

BOOKING.COM The headquarters of Booking.com, the leading online accommodation booking site, is based in the centre of Amsterdam and is home to 1,200 employees from over 70 countries. As a Dutch business, Amsterdam holds a special place in the hearts of Booking.com and its employees. ‘In theory, as an online hotel reservation company, we are not bound to one location,’ says CEO Darren Huston. ‘But the reality of the situation is very different. It’s crucial for the further development of this e-commerce business and for the efficient running of the operation that talented people from all over the world want to work for the company and can gather in one location. As such, establishing a headquarters in Amsterdam is a great asset for us. Especially for young people, Amsterdam is the place to be. They want to live and work here because the work-life balance of this city is such a unique experience.’

Amsterdam is host to the company’s annual event that brings together Booking.com’s global employees. ‘While we are a digital business, it remains important to physically meet now and then to celebrate success, network and share experiences.’

Everyone knows that Amsterdam is the best place to do that...

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Cross-cultural ventures

Companies that bet their success on worldwide talents

text Leda Georgiades

IMPACT HUB AMSTERDAM

ING BANK ING is a global banking institution with very firmly planted Dutch roots. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the bank has been providing services to its clients across 40 locations since the early 1990s.

Cultural diversity has always been a necessity for ING, especially in today’s global world where talent is no longer bound by physical borders or boundaries. The bank’s employee base has gone from being predominantly Dutch to a mix of nations, cultures and languages: ‘We want to mirror our client base,’ says Mathieu Verougstraete, Diversity Manager and himself a Belgian. ‘We must understand our clients’s needs and speak their languages if we want to achieve our goals.’

ING has created ‘Crossing’, an employee-driven, cross-cultural network where Dutch and non-Dutch colleagues get together to share experiences. Crossing members also work in the community to mentor talented students from different cultural backgrounds. Nevertheless, diversity at ING means more than ’nationality’ or ‘culture’ and the bank actively promotes inclusion over difference; as Verougstraete is quick to point out: ‘A workforce that is respected will be successful. It is our job to create an open and sharing culture in which everyone feels comfortable and respected. For ING that goes well beyond the borders of national diversity.’

TOMTOM Almost everyone is aware of TomTom’s navigation products: if you have an iPhone, for example, TomTom powers the Apple Maps app that comes with it. What fewer people are aware of, however, is that TomTom is born and bred Dutch – demonstrating once again this tiny country’s extraordinary relationship with innovation, design and sheer inventiveness.

TomTom is home to over 30 nationalities in their offices in central Amsterdam, and they employ an additional 4,400 people across 40 countries worldwide. The company demonstrates their positive global citizenship by donating their products and building positive relationships in each location by encouraging their employees to volunteer with local charitable organisations. In India, TomTom workers roll out projects involving road safety and the environment; in the UK the company has donated navigators to the London Ambulance Service Voluntary Responder Group, helping them to respond to emergency calls more quickly and easily; and here in the Netherlands, employees – national and international – act as mentors to university students.

© DIETER SCHALK

Impact Hub Amsterdam is the Dutch branch of a network of more than 72 start-up and social impact incubators around the globe.

Over 5,000 stakeholders are brought together as mentors and experts to the 300-plus entrepreneur members. Boasting more than 25 nationalities in its membership, Impact Hub can really lay claim to being one of the most culturally diverse organisations in the city.

The Netherlands is a great place to start a business; entrepreneurs are heavily supported by the government and there are few limits to starting a business if you are not a Dutch citizen. Amsterdam itself is such a vibrant, innovative and creative city that it’s impossible not to want to get involved in some of the projects seen here.

Impact Hub brings these elements together in their premises in Westergasfabriek. They offer workspaces for people to meet and discuss their ideas and innovations and, at any given moment, any number of languages and accents can be heard around their offices. Programmes, workshops and events (covering almost every topic from tax to running a fashion start-up) encourage everyone to share their experiences and forge partnerships, regardless of nationality.

Some of the most incredible ideas start from a single conversation and it’s fair to say that Impact Hub has facilitated quite a few of those.

You’re invited

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ENTERTAINMENT

‘I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHY THERE’S MORE SUGAR THAN DOUGH IN DUTCH DONUTS - THIS IS AN OFFICIAL QUESTION.’

Jean-Baptiste Descroix-Vernier, obviously not a fan of our delicious Oliebollen

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jan & feb 2016

PART II

MATA HARI STAND-UP COMEDY FRANCESCA WOODMAN NEW AMSTERDAMMERS FILM NIGHTLIFE ESSENTIALS SPEC IAL D I Book SCOUN your T cru w

ww.a ise festiv msterdamnow at al-tick -l ets.lo ightand 15AL use prom vers.nl FAMA o cod e G 25% disco to receive u a n t regula o r pric ff the e o f €20.5 0

AMSTERDAM LIGHT FESTIVAL

Early sunsets don’t mean Amsterdam spends the winter hibernating with cups of hot cocoa and Netflix reruns. The Amsterdam Light Festival shines a new light on the city with a dazzling collection of 35 light installations that can be admired from two different routes: the (free) Illuminade Walking route which runs through Plantage and Weesper until 3 January, and the Water Colours canal cruises (offered by most canal cruise companies), which offer 75 minutes of oohing and aahing at the grandiose light sculptures, interactive systems and giant projections on historical buildings specially designed by international artists. This year the theme of the festival is Friendship.

Various Locations www.amsterdamlightfestival.com

OLIEBOLLEN

© JANUS VAN DEN EIJNDEN

During the winter, the city is peppered with Oliebollen stands, the Dutch version of the donut, a ball of soft mouth-watering dough which forgoes the middle hole entirely (why waste any donut space?) and comes sprinkled with icing sugar. There is also a version with raisins or cranberries for the more adventurous.

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PART II ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Mata Hari

The spy who loved

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A timely new ballet about the turbulent life of Mata Hari casts the ultimate Dutch femme fatale in a sophisticated new light. text Mark Smith

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MATA HARI 6-26 February www.operaballet.nl

hen Ted Brandsen, director and choreographer at the Dutch National Ballet, refers to the life of Dutch dancer, courtesan and spy Mata Hari as ‘a closed book’, he’s not just speaking figuratively. Documentation relating to the capture, interrogation and death by firing squad of the Dutch woman (born Margaretha Geertruida Zelle in 1876) remains sealed in French government archives and won’t be released until the centenary of her death next year.

‘You could say that this ballet

is the last opportunity to play with the mystery surrounding her life,’ says Brandsen. ‘But even then I don’t think we’ll ever quite know the entire truth about this extraordinary woman’.

Brandsen compares the life of Mata Hari to that of her contemporary, Coco Chanel: ‘Both women had the talent and tenacity to carve their own way at a time when it was absolutely not possible for most women to do so,’ he says. Each woman’s story is tied inextricably to Paris. Both had colourful love lives involv-

ing high-ranking officers that made them ideal candidates for espionage (Mata Hari during WWI, Chanel during WWII). Both appear to have blurred the lines between romance and prostitution.

Following an unhappy marriage to a colonial army captain in Dutch East India, Zelle moved to Paris in search of what Brandsen calls ‘a bigger, fuller, more glamorous’ life. Despite having no formal training, as Mata Hari (Malay for ‘the sun’ or, literally ‘eye of the day’), a Javanese princess persona, she quickly be-

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don’t miss these

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© PIETER KERS

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IMPRO

SONIC ACTS

BEELD VOOR BEELD

For the fans of unrehearsed, spontaneous theatre, IMPRO Amsterdam not only brings together an awesome selection of international improvisers for a week full of professional performances, it also holds a slew of fun activities such as workshops, talks, and even an open stage for those who want to be propelled into the limelight and test their witty chops without a script.

25-30 JANUARY Compagnietheater, Kloveniersburgwal 50 and Polanen Theater, Polanenstraat 174 www.impro-amsterdam.nl

 SONIC ACTS ACADEMY

At the intersection of arts, music and science, Sonic Acts is a festival rich in research and exploration. Artists, scientists and theorists alike are invited to the multiple exhibitions, performances, lectures and workshops to delve into new art-related and often thought-provoking perspectives. The opening will take place at the Stedelijk Museum, then De Brakke Grond will put on inspiring events with topics ranging from dark matter to ecology, while Paradiso hosts the fun with concerts and film projections.

© PETROVSKY & RAMONE

26-28 FEBRUARY Various locations www.sonicacts.com

came one of the most famous dancers on the planet. Clearly, dance was the logical medium for bringing her story to the stage. Casting for the role was critical: ‘You must have the right lead, otherwise there’s just no point,’ says Brandsen.

‘We found her in four-star ballerina Anna Tsygankova.

She’s fearless and powerful, but she can be wildly different in each production. When she comes into a room, every man looks at her.’ Mata Hari’s strength in that department took her all over Europe, but for acclaimed composer Tarik

O’Regan, it was Zella’s relationship with ‘the exotic’ that captivated. ‘These turn-ofthe-century stories connected with European colonialism fascinate me,’ he says. ‘Colonialism created a schism whereby people were trying to maintain aspects of a life thousands of miles away whilst having a glamorous adventure. Mata Hari’s vision of her time in Indonesia is as filtered and flattering as any Instagram image.’ With his score, O’Regan says he has used the leitmotif to embody Mata Hari’s tempestuous inner life. ‘Each

emotion has a clear melodic idea attached to it, but they’re rarely distinct. The most joyful moments in her early life are shot through with an undercurrent of something darker.’

Mata Hari’s story remains shockingly relevant in an age when many of us spend part of every day constructing our own narrative and presenting our best face on social media.

As Brandsen puts it, ‘It speaks to that terrifying thought: How much can you ever really know about any other person, whether that’s your lover, or your neighbour?’

 BEELD VOOR BEELD FESTIVAL This international documentary festival likes to raise questions about our vision of cultural diversity, which is more often than not posed from the Western angle.

The filmmakers invited to showcase their work and participate in the discussions and workshops challenge that perspective with fresh and unexpected takes on the subject – and the world. This 25th edition of the festival will present films about a variety of eye-opening subjects, including caring for the elderly, the Armenian genocide, and whether God also loves women. It will also devote a day to the history of the Dutch mining industry that will feature live music.

11-15 FEBRUARY EYE Film Institute and Tolhuistuin www.beeldvoorbeeld.nl

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PART II ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

stand-up comedy

Funny Town

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Amsterdam’s stages are regularly graced by visiting international comedians; but who knew it’s also home to a couple of comedy hotspots that have shown to be great breeding grounds for future worldwide talents?

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text Catalina Iorga

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owadays hardly a couple of months go by without big comedy names filling up Amsterdam’s arenas such as the Ziggo Dome (American superstar Kevin Hart is performing on 16 and 30 Jan) and Heineken Music Hall (tickets to the 14 and 15 Jan gigs of Aussie powerhouse Jim Jefferies are already gone). If Amsterdam is now a mandatory stop on the tour schedules of international comedians, we owe much gratitude to these two venues: Boom Chicago, a global improv institution, and Toomler, the first stand-up club in the Netherlands.

In 1993, American university grads and improv enthusiasts Andrew Moskos and Pep Rosenfeld opened Boom Chicago in the rundown Iboya salsa joint on mega-touristy Leidseplein. They had noticed on a trip to the Dutch capital that, although many of its inhabitants spoke excellent English, comedy in the same language was severely lacking. One of Boom’s many famous alumni, comedy blockbuster staple Jason Sudeikis said to Bloomberg in 2013 that Moskos and Rosenfeld ‘saw a void, and professionally fucking filled it’.

I first saw Boom’s cast do their thing in 2010, during the now defunct Student Night Wednesdays. Think a dozen master students from all over the world nursing cheap Heinekens and munching on the ubiquitous bitterballen at Boom’s second home, the old Leidseplein Theater. Since then, much has changed: Boom now operates out of the Art Nouveauflavoured Rozentheater in the swankier Jordaan, and has expanded its comedy empire to escape room adventures and nightlife hotspots with the Chicago Social Club – but, loyal to their debuts, improv remains at the group’s core.

Boom’s current headliner, New Kids on the Gracht, is new Creative Director Sue Gillan’s first production

and features three new actors alongside two group stalwarts. The show revolves around audiencepowered scenes and songs about contemporary life, including emotions, emojis and the economy.

While Boom Chicago brings in the big multilingual crowds in its spacious theater, the much smaller Toomler, the first comedy club in the Netherlands, sits tucked away in a basement in the classy Oud Zuid district. First founded in 1990 by brothers Raoul and Eric Heertje, the club is now co-owned by all the performers who are part of Comedytrain, a collective whose home base has always been Toomler.

With a little luck, here you might get to see intimate shows from future comedy superstars. In December 2013, I was sitting right next to the stage at one of Toomler’s tiny tables as a South African comedian nimbly navigated hilarious tales of interacting with different cultures or learning his mother’s native Xhosa language. In September of this year, the rising star at hand, Trevor Noah, took over from Jon Stewart as host of arguably the biggest news satire programme in the world, Comedy Central’s The Daily Show.

With its keen eye for talent, Toomler keeps bringing promising young artists from abroad. Watch out for alternative Brit comedy icon Josie Long hit its stage on 21 February - she won a BBC New Comedy Award at only 17 and is knocking on cinema’s door with a recent BAFTA Scotland nomination. And if you’re not feeling up to Valentine serenading on 14 February, then let Seattle-born Nick Thune do it for you with his unique blend of music and jokes.

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BOOM CHICAGO Rozengracht 117 www.boomchicago.nl

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TOOMLER Breitnerstraat 2 www.toomler.nl

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featured artist

don’t miss these

‘In the end, there’s a Man of the Hour in each of us.’

SOMETHING RAW FESTIVAL Avant-garde dance and performance theatre can sound a little obscure and hipstery, but not at Something Raw Festival, where costumes and decors are shed and the spotlight is focused on the simplicity and beauty of the basics: raw bodies, emotions, movements – and of course talent. The performances shown at cutting-edge institutions Theatre Frascati and De Brakke Grond by their selection of international artists are not polished, but definitely not amateurish either: they are simply true and fascinating. The closing party allows everyone to join in and dance the night away.

text Bregtje Schudel

9-13 FEBRUARY De Brakke Grond, Nes 45 Theatre Frascati, Nes 63 brakkegrond.nl, theaterfrascati.nl

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WHISKY WEEKEND

ITZIK GALILI

Whisky lovers rejoice: organised by staple whisky authority Whiskycafé L&B, three whole days honouring the golden nectar are coming to Amsterdam. There‘ll be over 30 booths, tastings and nosings, workshops and, if you can stomach it, a lot of Scottish music. Connoisseurs can enjoy rare and expensive brands, but amateurs are also welcome to make their first step into this world of exception with the help of knowledgeable experts and a huge selection of books. The event has become so popular that it has moved from the café to the magnificent Posthoornkerk.

Born: 31 December 1961, Tel Aviv.

In 1990, a 28-year-old Galili left Israel and travelled to the Netherlands to become one of the country’s most lauded choreographers. For 11 years, he was artistic director of Galili Dance in Groningen, then spent two years leading Dansgroep Amsterdam.

Now, for the first time in 25 years, Galili is back working in Israel.

29 & 30 JANUARY Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam, Leidseplein 26 stadsschouwburgamsterdam.nl

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NATIONAL TULIP DAY

© GADI DRAGON

Although Amsterdam remains his home – ‘When I travel abroad, Amsterdam is always with me’ – Galili‘s work has always borne a closer resemblance to the frenetic life in Israel, where everyone’s busy running around and trying to survive. His dance is filled with heavy emotions and light humour, with extreme conflicts and great possibilities. His latest work Man of the Hour, starring eight male dancers from the Kamea Dance Company and two singers from the Israeli Opera, gives Galili the chance to revisit his own past and to look expectantly to the future. ‘The beauty of this project is that I could reflect on my past work and travel in real-time through it, like travelling through ‘tomorrow’s history’. It’s about living in the moment, and about remembering the past.’

Man of the Hour

Only the Dutch would grow hundreds of thousands of flowers completely out of season, and then transform Dam Square into a fairy-tale, festive garden from which anyone can come pick their own multi-coloured bouquet.

The tulip growers also organise surprises, special events and promotions to celebrate the beginning of Tulip Season, which culminates in April with the opening of the Keukenhof Gardens in Lisse, where the art of landscaping is brought to new delightful heights. While we wait for Spring with bated breath, the joy of National Tulip Day is only made better by the fact it‘s all free!

15-16 JANUARY Posthoornkerk, Haarlemmerstraat 124 www.whiskyamsterdam.nl

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16 JANUARY Dam Square

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PART II ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Fallen angel

Francesca Woodman

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FOAM kicks off 2016 with On Being an Angel, a retrospective of the intimate and utterly captivating portraiture of Francesca Woodman. text Catalina Iorga

O

ften referred to as a child prodigy, Francesca Woodman, born in 1958 into a family of American artists, began taking surreal and highly conceptual black and white self-portraits as a teenager. One of the 102 photos displayed at Foam, as part of a travelling exhibition organised and first shown by Stockholm’s Moderna Museet, shows a 13-year old Woodman sitting on the edge of a bench in an oversized jumper and trousers, her long hair obscuring her face, while her left hand holds a shutter-release cable linked to the camera.

This is only one of the ways the young photographer expressed herself, oscillating between blurry movement and eerie stillness, fully baring her naked body or hiding behind clothes and countless props – anything from fossil displays to peeling wallpaper. Before her tragic demise at the age of 22, when she jumped off a building, lovesick and broken by disenchantment at the fickle art world, Woodman took thousands of photos on a spectrum ranging from the occasionally comical to the downright disturbing.

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An image titled ‘Three Kinds of Melon in Four Kinds of Light’ demonstrates the artist’s lighter side, as she pokes fun at a euphemism for breasts. Woodman covers her left breast with a photo of a melon, her face once more out of the frame, while two other melons lay on the table. But humour is sparse in her enigmatic oeuvre, which was informed by strong influences, such as her frequent trips to Italy or the abstract imagery of decay established by master of American photography Aaron Siskind, one of her Rhode Island School teachers.

Many of her photos are staged in derelict urban settings and possess a narrative quality, often presented in series such as the Angel Series made in Rome, which sees Woodman become the eponymous angel, clad in a Victorian white petticoat, jumping next to floating pieces of white fabric resembling wings; or again hidden from view, as a hand shakes a translucent cloth in front of a door frame.

One cannot help but wonder about her artistic evolution, had she managed to overcome depression. Woodman treaded a fine line

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don’t miss these ANTONIONI EYE Film Museum has lovingly concocted a monumental exhibition devoted to Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni: 13 giant screens with projected excerpts of his masterpieces, along with rare letters and documents, photographs and personal mementos. One of the first directors to understand the importance of mise-enscène and powerful visuals to support narrative and character development, Antonioni was not only a decisive film innovator but also a true cinematography artist. The exhibition is accompanied by screenings of Antonioni’s films and special programmes.

UNTIL 17 JANUARY EYE Film Museum, IJPromenade 1 www.eyefilm.nl

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© GEORGE AND BETTY WOODMAN

SALSA FESTIVAL

between photography and performance art, which is most evident in the six experimental videos also on show at FOAM. In one of the clips she stands behind a wide sheet of tracing paper, slowly writing her first name. She then gently tears up the paper in thin slices, her body emerging from the leftovers, nude and defiant, and the camera zooms out to reveal her looking directly at her future audience before exiting the frame.

You may leave the exhibition feeling like Woodman’s still a mystery, no matter how many layers she peeled off through her art. But it would be hard to argue she didn’t give it her best shot.

UNTIL 9 MARCH FOAM, Keizersgracht 609 www.foam.org

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Don’t schedule that hip replacement surgery until after Valentine’s Day – the Amsterdam Salsa Festival, taking place in giant Rhone Party and Congress Center, requires three hot days of mambos, Cuban basics and inner turns. In addition to the shows where professional dancers dazzle with their moves, they offer various workshops which accommodate different levels, so that even beginners can practice then show off at the after-parties. They even have two eight-hour bootcamp sessions so there is no excuse for stepping on your partner’s toes.

JUMPING AMSTERDAM One of the most exciting events in horse dressage takes place at RAI Amsterdam from 28 to 31 January, for the Reem Acra FEI World Cup. In addition to the spectacular jumping competitions and award ceremonies, the grand show also includes a programme chockfull of equine entertainment both inside and outside the arena – such as Catalan Santi Serra Camps whose incredible performances with a dog and horse are almost circus-worthy, and the French Horseman Team who have devised their own mouth-gaping obstacle course. With more than 60 exhibitors, live music, great food and special shows for children, there are plenty of opportunities for all enthusiasts to horse around.

12-14 FEBRUARY Rhone Party and Congress Centre Rhoneweg 12-14 www.amsterdamsalsafestival.nl

28-31 JANUARY RAI Amsterdam, Europaplein www.jumpingamsterdam.nl

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highlights

PART II ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Beyond the War

Before his great photojournalistic career took off, Leonard Freed spent years in Amsterdam documenting the Jewish community’s recovery after World War II. text Leda Georgiades

B Three days of food for the soul text Marie-Charlotte Pezé

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msterdam loves to eat; there are entire warehouses devoted to food, such as FoodHallen in West, and the city’s culinary agenda is replete with events devoted to gourmet, specialty foods, such as the Neighbourhood Food Market at Westergasfabriek, the Food Festival in November, or the summer organic markets in Frankendaelpark. With its 20 food trucks, including some voted as the Netherlands’s best, the Food Soul Festival will invade the gargantuan warehouse De Kromhouthal (such as only Amsterdam Noord can provide) from 2931 January, offering delicious fare such as a pop-up dessert restaurant by Restaurant Staets, and gourmet hot dogs and organic fries by Daily Dog. The atmosphere is warm and fuzzy, and the colourful trucks only add to the folksy feel, like the Entrecote-Mobile that serves fabulous meats from its fire-engine red 1978 Citroën HY, or the Beef Chief who grills his burgers from a van painted with giant birds of prey. What the Food Soul Festival brings to the table – in addition to a way of indulging in a three-day picnic in the

middle of winter – is music.

Nothing loud enough to turn your stomach – the vibe is relaxed with a soundtrack that’s all swinging soul music.

Of course drinks are also on the menu, with an artisan beer bar and, for the fans of indoor-picnic-chic, the Oyster Car, a gorgeous black Ford Popular from the 1950s, hosted by theatre designer Herman de Jongh, who serves champagne and Bloody Marys with his fresh, luscious plates of seafood. Now if you want to shed some weight before heading out, the only way will be to get a hair trim at Salon Le Barber, where you can get a cut and shave on the go (and popcorn and poffertjes from their sister truck.) There is a tiny €1.25 fee for the special, environmentally-friendly plastic glasses, and all transactions are done with tokens, which can be purchased at the ticket office. Bring some friends, have a glass of Prosecco, swing to the lovely tunes, and enjoy the festival’s rainbow of culinary delights – we dare you to say Dutch food is bland after this.

29-31 JANUARY Gedempt Hamerkanaal 231 www.foodsoulfestival.nl

© LEONARD FREED MAGNUM PHOTOS

Food Soul Festival

orn in Brooklyn in 1929, young photographer Leonard Freed moved to Amsterdam in the 1950s and lived in the city for the next decade. His photographs, reproduced in his book Jews of Amsterdam depict the everyday lives and religious rituals of a community that had been decimated during the war and was in the process of relearning to trust the previously tolerant city that had first welcomed but then betrayed them.

Taken in the early years of his career, before his talent brought him to the Magnum agency in 1972, this thorough and touching photojournalistic series is a loving tribute to the Jews who decided not to migrate from the Netherlands but to stay and rebuild this once self-confident, thriving community.

Beyond the War is an apt

title for the exhibition, as these photos seem to depict perfectly ordinary people going about their lives, without a hint to remind the viewer of the horror of the community’s recent past, all the hatred, cruelty and grief.

The normality of cooking and serving a Shabbat dinner, hanging out laundry with a child trying to help, or a dance party honouring a beauty queen, must have seemed like a dim-distant paradise during those atrocious years and yet that’s what these images convey – family, joy and religious reverence, in glorious defiance of the past.

Freed’s photos are about hope and the power of life – a positive message for us all these days.

UNTIL 14 FEBRUARY Joods Historisch Museum www.jhm.nl

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The new Amsterdammers text Marie-Charlotte Pezé

In 2016, A-Mag is honouring some of Amsterdam’s adopted residents, starting with Jean-Baptiste Descroix-Vernier.

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renchman JeanBaptiste Descroixtext Marie-Charlotte Pezé Vernier is a complex character with a biography worthy of a Russian novel. In parallel to his law degree, he studied theology, with a view towards priesthood; but if his Masters in Business Law won out in the end, his faith has remained a life compass.

In 2002, at 32, he created Rentabiliweb (since re-baptised Dalenys). The company changed the face of the web by introducing user monetization and has grown into an international, stock-traded payment institution. Descroix-Vernier is also a big player on the political scene: he is rumoured, along with his army of Russian developers (whom he likes to call his ‘ninjas’), as being the mastermind behind the election of Irina Bokova for the head of UNESCO. For the trail of success that Descroix-Vernier leaves behind him, he is nothing like a typical financial magnate. Of his modest origins (his father was a beekeeper and writer, his mother a teacher), he has inherited an obvious distaste for ostentation: he only keeps enough of his salary for his humble living expenses,

WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO AMSTERDAM? It’s a city that breathes freedom and intelligence. Culture is everywhere, and easily accessible. It’s a beautiful city, human-sized, with a well thought-out urbanisation.

Technologies are welcome, and the digital network is excellent.

ANYTHING YOU DON’T LIKE ABOUT IT? I don’t wish to offend my adoptive people, but someone has to tell them already: bitterballen are just disgusting. Greasy, stodgy, and simply… not good! I’m sorry.

and gives everything else to charity. He prefers to stay away from the spotlight and handles most of his business via Skype, from his houseboat moored in the Amsterdam harbour where he has lived for the past ten years, enjoying his privacy, the company of his cats, and the Dutch high-speed Internet connections.

WHAT DO YOU MISS MOST FROM FRANCE? My family – what is left of it. I pray for them, and I Skype with them whenever I can.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE DUTCH BUSINESS WAYS? I like the Dutch way. They may be a bit complicated and rigorist sometimes, but it’s a very honest people who marry prudence and courage, and it really suits me.

What I enjoy about living here is that nobody knows who I am. I live frugally and keep to myself,

and my neighbours think I’m a computer technician.

WHAT OF DUTCH ALTRUISM? To me it is a beautiful democracy, with great institutions and a good king. They have nothing to blush about, neither in terms of their international or their local generosity. The social structures are numerous and efficient.

AND AMSTERDAM’S SPIRIT? It’s a great fit for me. I definitely recognise myself in this mix of liberal and conservative, familyoriented values.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE SPOTS IN AMSTERDAM? I love the Jordaan. I also really enjoy the markets on Waterlooplein – someone must make the effort to find a new name for this place – and IJHallen. I like to stroll around the Begijnhof and the Botanical Garden.

IS AMSTERDAM HOME? Yes, it feels like home, even though I know I’ll move some day – you always leave port when you are a sailor at heart. But this city and the Dutch people will always have a special place in my heart.

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PART II ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

film

Taking you through Amsterdam’s movie scene, one event at a time.

Expat Cinema

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Finally! Some movies we can all enjoy. text Bregtje Schudel

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DUTCH FILM, ENGLISH SUBTITLES EYE, IJPromenade & Filmhallen, Hannie Dankbaarpassage 12 www.eyefilm.nl

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FILMS FOR EXPATS Every Monday Rialto, Ceintuurbaan 338 www.rialtofilm.nl

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EX-PATS CINEMA & ITALIAN CINEMA Once a month Lab111, Arie Biemondstraat 111 www.lab111.nl

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t’s nice to know that, in the Netherlands, you can visit just about any screening of English-language films without fear of suddenly being accosted by a Dutch James Bond or a Flemish Iron Man (watch out for the dubbed version of animated movies, however). Still, Amsterdam cinemas have more to offer than the latest superhero flick or blockbuster – even if, of course, you’ll still have to contend with those pesky Dutch subtitles.

Thankfully, some cinemas have found just the solution.

Sometimes, the best way to get things done is to do it yourself.

That’s how Ex-Pats Cinema got started at Lab111 in 2014. It was originally set up by Katie Crook, herself an expat, who realised that she wanted to keep up with foreign films without needing to keep up with the Dutch subtitles. Once a month Ex-Pats

Cinema offers an eclectic programme, with films from different countries and genres, from winners at highbrow international film festivals like Cannes, Venice and Berlin to Foreign Language Oscar hopefuls. All films are screened with English subtitles. It’s a great initiative, with a nice vibe and many regulars.

If you’re a fan of Italian cinema, you’re in even more luck: LAB111 also holds a monthly Italian Cinema programme.

Host Flavio Aulino screens both recent small-scale Italian films and the big classics. The introductions and after-talks are in Italian, but the subtitles are in English.

But if you want your foreign film to be even more recent, then head over to Rialto where, every Monday, they screen at least one of their regular film titles with English subtitles.

Rialto is also one of 40 cinemas across Europe to play host to the second edition of IFFR Live, which will simultaneously broadcast five of the film premieres showing at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Afterwards, you can join in with the Q&A discussion via Twitter.

Last but not least, if you wish to sample some of our national cinematic productions, check out EYE’s programming at De Filmhallen. Under the header ‘Dutch film, English subtitles’, they screen some of the best films that the Dutch movie industry has on offer. Previous screenings have included Paradise Suite (our entry for this year’s Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards) and Gluckauf (last year’s big winner at the Dutch Oscar gala). The screenings are, sadly, pretty random, so keep your eyes peeled.

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highlight

nightlife essentials

Our must-see film(-related) pick this issue…

B-Movie Orchestra

T

hey’re back! Beginning with their performance at the Tolhuistuin this February, the B-Movie Orchestra starts off their new tour ‘Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde’, another groovy tribute to that thrilling, sexy and alien beast from the ‘60s and ‘70s: B-movie music. A fun and funky live performance with a Big Band, two singers – the unrivalled Cinematic Fever Girls – and a catchy and colourful collage of B-movie lore.

Initiator Baz Mattie hit on the idea for the B-Movie Orchestra while watching a (slightly more modern) movie made by another master of B-movie music mash-ups: Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown. According to Mattie, the music of the ‘60s and ‘70s just has this special kind of allure. ‘There’s something very raw, very sexy about that music. In those days, the budget for the score was fairly low, and the composers had to work on a dime. They just didn’t have the luxury of a big orchestra, so they had to be innovative.’

Not surprisingly, the music is the star, preferably without any text – ‘We’re not a pop-band’, says Mattie – but with copious amounts of oohing and aahing: that’s where the Cinematic Fever Girls step in. The music gets matched up with film clips from other B-movies (not necessarily the movies from the music itself).

But Mattie and company also like to spread a broader canvas. At the time of writing, they were in the final stages of organising a guest lecture on B-movies and there’s even talk of a B-movie double bill to accompany the Orchestra wherever it goes. ‘We do feel a bit like missionaries,’ admits Mattie, ‘the way we bring our B-movie music gospel to the people. I am certain it will make the world a better place!’

6 FEBRUARY Paradiso Noord, Tolhuistuin, IJpromenade 2 www.tolhuistuin.nl; www.b-movie-orchestra.nl

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HOTEL NIGHT

Once a year, Hotel Night treats Amsterdam residents to their most coveted establishments at reasonable prices. Three different categories of hotels participate: creative hotels, such as Conscious Hotel and Botel Amsterdam; premium hotels like the monumental Renaissance; and luxury hotels such as the Hilton.

Bring your eye-mask, and don’t forget your heels or dicky bow for the special events, dinners and parties.

16 & 17 JANUARY Various locations www.hotelnacht.nl

CROSS LINX

WONDERLAND FESTIVAL

Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be cheesy; it can also be a long night of dancing to the rumbling rhythm of the latest electro and house beats. The Alice in Wonderland-inspired extravaganza not only features bigname DJs and live acts, it’s also three giant halls of psychedelic decorations and other visual delights, and of course costumed guests and performers.

13 FEBRUARY Amsterdam Studio’s, H.J.E. Wenckebachweg 173 www.verknipt.org

STUKAFEST

Cross Linx is a travelling festival that has enjoyed unexpectedly happy marriages since 2001. Exploring the connections between classical and avant-garde pop music, they often put on brilliant performances that get standing ovations. This year will bring together – among others – Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche who will perform with the Lunatree Ensemble in the Unlimited Orchestra.

25-28 FEBRUARY Muziekgebouw aan’t IJ, Piet Heinkade 1  www.cross-linx.nl

If you thought you were done with college dorms years ago, think again: Stukafest (an abbreviation of Student Kamer Festival) is coming to town for a fun night of navigating book-littered floors and hitting your head on bunk beds. 22 student houses will open their doors to visitors and young artists will perform a broad range of acts, including theatre, music and dance. The rooms are small so get your tickets early, and join everyone for the after-party at Sugar Factory.

3 FEBRUARY Various locations www.stukafest.nl

COSI FAN TUTTE

ARIODANTE

Mozart’s opera masterpiece is a tale of love, attraction, betrayal, and ultimately forgiveness. De Nederlandse Reiseopera (the Dutch Travelling Opera) takes over the stage at Carré for one night only to explore the fickleness of the human heart and its dangerous games.

12 FEBRUARY Royal Theatre Carré, Amstel 115 www.carre.nl 

The National Opera brings Händel’s baroque love story masterpiece to the stage in this new production nominated for the International Opera Award of 2015. Mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly shines in the lead of this rendition of the intimate, timeless intrigue.

17 JANUARY- 3 FEBRUARY Royal Theatre Carré, Amstel 115  www.carre.nl

IDAN RAICHEL

Ethiopia and Israel come together in a unique and beauti35 international artists creat- ful musical collaboration with Idan Raichel Project, which beed incredible light installacame a household name with tions especially for the Amits 2003 hit ‘Bo’ee’. The Israeli sterdam Light Festival. The Water Colours boat route fea- singer and pianist returns to Amsterdam for a piano concert tures almost 20 of these artat Melkweg celebrating his works which will illuminate new album At the Edge of the the city during the long winBeginning, to enchant audiencter nights. Most boat tour es with his unique genre of companies offer the 75 min. cross-cultural musical influence. cruise.

21 FEBRUARY UNTIL 17 JANUARY Melkweg, Lijnbaansgracht 234  Various locations www.amsterdamlightfestival.nl www.melkweg.nl

WATER COLOURS CRUISE

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Get out of town TSAR PETER HOUSE

One of the oldest wooden houses in the Netherlands (1632), this modest labourer’s house is the one Tsar Peter the Great stayed in when he visited Zaandam in 1697. A beautiful dome was added to protect this small museum which features countless memories of the Tsar’s stay, as well as the visit of many other dignitaries who have written or carved their names in the windows and wooden walls.

1966

DRUM COVER GIRL ERLIN IBRECK - JAMES BARNOR,

© STATE HERMITAGE MUSEUM, ST PETERSBURG

In Amsterdam

FREE entrance with your I amsterdam City Card:

HERMITAGE AMSTERDAM

SPANISH MASTERS FROM THE HERMITAGE Until 29 May

This monumental exhibit retraces the glorious story of Spanish art during the Golden Age, including more than a hundred paintings and other graphic works and applied arts by masters such as El Greco, Ribera, Velázquez, Murillo, Goya and Picasso. Inspired by Italian masters, these often dramatic, theatrical works of art are a must-see and portray a decisive, exceptional period of art history.

FREE entrance with your I amsterdam City Card

TROPENMUSEUM

THE SIXTIES – A WORLDWIDE HAPPENING Until 13 March

Amsterdam’s museum of anthropology turns its focus on the decade that saw enormous social, cultural and political changes all over the world. By examining each aspect of the sixties, from the arts to fashion, architecture and even the media, the exhibit throws the visitor back in time and uncovers the global connections which defined today’s world.

FREE entrance with your I amsterdam City Card

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FREE entrance with your I amsterdam City Card

TEYLERS MUSEUM HAARLEM REAL WINTERS Until 6 March

The reality of 19th-century Dutch winters is on show at Teylers Museum, with works from artists such as Schelfhout and Apol, Mauve, Breitner and Van Gogh. Depictions of beautiful icy landscapes and delightful scenes of skating and sledding on frozen lakes and canals are accompanied by paintings showing the harsher side of the season like impassable ice drifts, as well as more abstract images by Witsen and Mankes. The exhibition makes for an interesting comparison with today’s much milder winters, a silent commentary on climate change.

FREE entrance with your I amsterdam City Card

THE AMSTERDAM & REGION TRAVEL TICKET This special 24-hour public transport pass is valid on metros, trams and buses operated

by GVB, Connexxion, Arriva and EBS. Get yours for the special price of €10 with the I amsterdam City Card (normal price €13.50). www.iamsterdam.com/citycard Offer exclusively available at the I amsterdam Visitor Centres at Stationsplein (across from Central Station) and at Schiphol.

GE OUT T TOW OF N BU PASS S

+ €10

jan & feb 2016

EAT DRINK CHIC ‘IT’S IT’S SO NICE TO BE SURROUNDED BY WATER, ESPECIALLY WHEN SAIL AMSTERDAM COMES AROUND EVERY FIVE YEARS AND WE GET FRONT-ROW VIEWS ON THE SHIPS.’ Dick Voet and Behroez Moosavi, excited about working in the area of the Eastern Docklands

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NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH: EASTERN DOCKLANDS BOUNDLESS LOVE EATING OUT ON THE MENU PRETTY THINGS COLUMN TRIP AROUND THE WORLD WHAT’S IN STORE

FASHION WEEK If the fashion industry can sometimes appear a bit nonsensical to the uninitiated (we have otherworldly memories of models sashaying down a catwalk wearing painted cardboard boxes), it is also a world of intense glamour and creativity. The Mercedes-Benz Amsterdam Fashion Week has grown enormously over the past couple of years to become a truly international event, showcasing star brands such as SuperTrash, Jef Montes and Tony Cohen.

The dinners and parties are super fun and glitzy, and bring the chance to mingle with the ‘in-crowd’; but don’t think the event, which is hosted by the Westergasfabriek, is all superficial. The programme, which spreads the joy over many different venues all over the city, also features debates and workshops about health in fashion (at the Hoxton Hotel), photography exhibits (at FOAM Photography Museum), screenings of films about iconic brands, such as Dior and I (at the Pathé Arena), and an exploration of how music can inspire designers, with a presentation by Anne van den Boogaard who created her new line while listening to sad love songs.

8-18 January Westergasfabriek & other locations www.fashionweek.nl

© MARIE-CHARLOTTE PEZE

PART III

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PART III EAT, DRINK & CHIC

Neighbourhood watch

neighbourhood watch

EASTERN DOCKLANDS

LISA KLAVERSTIJN AND HILDE HARSHAGEN, 27 Photo editors for Volkskrant

‘This used to be a dangerous neighbourhood, but now people want to live here. The islands are booming, growing more vibrant over the years with lots of cafés and shops, and the area is getting very popular and trendy.’

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An architectural tapestry with wide views on the IJ River, the culturally-booming Eastern Docklands are one of Amsterdam’s best kept secrets. text & photos Marie-Charlotte Pezé map Monique Wijbrands/SaltyStock

Living on the water

T

o the East of Central Station lies an inconspicuous neighbourhood built on a handful of artificial islands: Oostelijke Handelskade, Java-eiland, KNSM-eiland, Sporenburg, Borneo and Cruquiuseiland, which together make the Eastern Docklands. Gone is the old charm of the city with its crooked brick buildings, gabled stones and growing plants; the order of the day is modern architecture. But what the islands lack in historical whimsy is largely compensated by innovative design and splendid urban planning, a growing personality, and killer views on the IJ River.

For all its modernity, the district is actually incredibly rich in history. When Central Station was built on the river at the end of the 19th century, access to the harbour suffered, and space suddenly lacked for all the great trading ships, which had in any case grown too large for the existing docks. A new area needed to be allocated, and the city planners went for the usual Amsterdam solution: let’s just build new land on the water. In 1876, Oostelijke Handelskade was developed, and Amsterdam got its first deep-

water harbour, which was conveniently located near the railroad tracks and designed with modern warehouses and steam-powered cranes, allowing for faster loading and unloading.

The peninsula formed by KNSM and Java islands was built two decades later to quell the tides and waves of the Zuiderzee which often disturbed the harbour. Java was built as a modern version of the canal ring, with narrow canals and room to accommodate houseboats, and KNSM was used as headquarters by the Royal Dutch Steamboat Company (de Koninklijke Nederlandse Stoomboot-Maatschappij, or KNSM), a sort of successor to the Dutch East India Company, specialised in international industrial freight.

World War II marked the end of the golden days of the Eastern Docklands, after the Royal Steamboat Company lost more than half of its ships to the conflict, and the Western Docklands were built to accommodate passenger freight and ever-increasing cargo.

A MARVEL OF URBAN PLANNING The Eastern Docklands fell in disuse and soon lost their shine; in

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neighbourhood watch

PART III EAT, DRINK & CHIC

The engineering feats attract architecture students from all over the world the 1970s, you would not have gone for a nice stroll along the quays, as the entire area was derelict. A large number of the former warehouses were squatted by artists and hippies. By the 1980s, the city decided to rehabilitate the area by promoting residential construction, and it is today an architectural tapestry of rehabilitated warehouses, popular three-storey family homes with modern designs – contemporary interpretations of classic Amsterdam canal houses – rows of brick residences, blocky projects-looking buildings, and houseboats; but also and especially striking, modern steel and glass edifices such as the IJ Tower, Piraeus on KNSM, and the Whale on Borneo.

Border areas are still a bit industrial and heavy machinery can be heard pounding the earth in the distance; but parks and community gardens are also plentiful, and you find locally-grown fruit and vegetable stalls on quiet street corners. If it all seems a bit nonsensical, it still has a lot of personality – the omnipresence of water with wide-open views is very alluring, the engineering feats have attracted architecture students from all over the world, and the district is often lauded for the brilliance of its urban planning.

The most densely populated area of the Netherlands, it is mostly home to young families and urbanites who recognise not only its atypical character, but also its quality of life. Lisa Klaverstijn and Hilde Harshagen, of local newspaper Volkskrant, find that it’s booming in popularity. ‘It’s becoming very attractive; people want to live here. It could use a bit more variety, as the population is mostly white and well-to-do, but it’s still very vibrant.’

The Eastern Docklands seem to have a life

MUZIEKGEBOUW AAN ’T IJ & THE BIMHUIS The Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ and the Bimhuis are all about contemporary music, classical with a modern twist, and everything from tango to trip hop, jazz and experimental. Located in the same building, both venues feature staples such as the Amsterdam Sinfonietta but also worldwide names like Nevermind from Israel with their Bach and Telemann rendition (31 Jan), or Chitose Trio from Japan who will perform traditional gagaku music (20 Feb).

A little something for everyone, including children for whom workshops and performances are regularly organised.

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Piet Heinkade 1 & 3 www.bimhuis.nl www.muziekgebouw.nl

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FIFTEEN Celebrity chef and healthyeating advocate Jamie Oliver provides troubled youth the chance to turn their life around by training their chops in the kitchens of his chain of restaurants Fifteen. The Amsterdam site, located in a trendy old warehouse on the piers, works with local and sustainably-produced ingredients, such as North Sea plaice and Jerusalem artichokes.

They also offer workshops in their state of the art kitchen.

Jollemanhof 9 www.fifteen.nl

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PAKHUIS DE ZWIJGER

MEZRAB

You can stop for a quick lunch in this friendly abode on Piet Heinkade, or you can stick around and participate in the events and ensuing discussions that they organise with inspiring speakers and artists, focused on the challenges of urbanisation and sustainability. In the same vein, they are also the initiators of the De Hallen Local Goods Weekend Market in NDSM (23-24 January and 27-28 February).

The versatile Mezrab (formerly Wilhelmina Pakhuis) offers way more than the Iranian soup from the menu: it’s a bit of a free-for-all cultural funhouse, with world music, poetry, film, hard rock karaoke, disco with live percussions and storytelling night (in Dutch or English). With special guests such as Greg Shapiro, or unique bands such as Abhishek Borkar’s Sarod recital, their trademark is alternative culture.

Piet Heinkade 179 www.dezwijger.nl

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Veemkade 576 www.mezrab.nl

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neighbourhood watch

PART III EAT, DRINK & CHIC

PANAMA One of the big name clubs of Amsterdam, Panama throws regular events such as ‘We all love the ’80s, ’90s, ’00s’ or the ‘Disco Train’ every second Saturday of the month. They have great resident DJs who can spin a tune, but they also invite guest stars such as Ferry Corsten or Nick Warren to fill up their nightclub and play a huge variety of styles that doesn’t stop at electro and trance; they’ve been known to even throw Big Band battles.

Oostelijke Handelskade 4 www.panama.nl

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POLS POTTEN LLOYD HOTEL AND CULTURAL EMBASSY This magnificent building has a heavy history: from immigrant housing, to centre for WWII Jewish refugees and then juvenile detention centre, it finally became a hotel after a design competition in 1996. Its hallways give off a fun mental institution vibe, and it’s the only hotel in the world with rooms ranging from one to five stars, all designed by different artists.

They also have a restaurant and organise great cultural events.

Oostelijke Handelskade 34 www.lloydhotel.com

MERCAT Jamon Iberico, paella, calamari and churros: that’s Mercat in a nutshell. The restaurant works with Spanish suppliers, offers an extensive à la carte menu and has an authentic olive bar. Dine like a true Spaniard until late into the evening while enjoying homemade sangria, then head to Panama right next door for a great night of dancing. Buenas noches!

Oostelijke Handelskade 4 www.mercat.nl

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Nothing to do with the infamous Cambodian leader: the founder of Pols Potten is simply called Erik Pol. He started importing terracotta pots from Spain 30 years ago and his warehouse-like flagship store is now a reference in… pots. Innovative and unconventional, the products’s designs are as varied, colourful and beautiful as their suppliers, who include name talents and emerging artists alike. They also offer funky sofas, rugs, chairs, custom kitchens, and jewellery.

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KNSM Laan 39 www.polspotten.nl

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TIMOTHY BAKKER, 33 Waiter at The Harbour Club

‘It’s really not the end of the world, it’s just a few minutes by car or public transport. And people are very friendly here; we get a lot of locals on the terrace on nice days.’

of their own, a city within the city, which beats to the rhythm of its own drum, and with residents who love their neighbourhood. ‘It’s so nice to be surrounded by water, especially when SAIL Amsterdam comes around every five years and we get front-row views on the ships,’ says Dick Voet, who works in local government. Retail shops have not yet gotten the word on how trendy the place has grown, but food, drinks and event venues definitely have, such as The Harbour Club or Jamie Oliver’s restaurant Fifteen, so there are plenty of options to grab a great bite, see a good band or enjoy a night of dance-floor stomping. ‘We may feel a bit disconnected from the centre, but there are a lot of really nice bars and cafés around,’ says Ymkje Koopal, who works at the Muziekgebouw. The concert hall is only one of

many places where alternative culture is making its mark on the neighbourhood; Club Panama also calls the Docklands home, as well as a flurry of independent venues such as Pakhuis de Zwijger, Mercat, and of course, the Lloyd Hotel and Cultural Embassy, an old prison which was transformed into a hotel with stunning rooms, a bright and airy café-restaurant where you’d just die to spend hours with your laptop, and regular events like art exhibitions, workshops and talks. On a cold sunny day, after an overdose of city-centre shopping, the Eastern Docklands is the perfect area for a long walk away from the crowds, to admire the views over the IJ, gawk at the strange architectures, and make a few lively or delicious pit stops along the way.

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YMKJE KOOPAL, 28

producer with Asko|Schönberg at Muziekgebouw

‘I love working here. We may feel a bit disconnected from the centre, but there are a lot of really nice bars and cafés around.’

24H OOST

13-14 FEBRUARY 12:00-12:00

Amsterdam Oost takes centre stage during 24H Oost on 13 & 14 February. Head to the various neighbourhoods in the east of Amsterdam to enjoy a whirlwind of workshops, guided tours, performances, food and drink, music and parties. www.iamsterdam.com

THE HARBOUR CLUB Miami and Saint Tropez have nothing on The Harbour Club.

Its splendid views over the piers can be enjoyed from the terrace, but even on a cold rainy day, the place is worth visiting. The monumental interior of this warehouse-sized restaurant has a 16-metrelong mural by neo-pop artist Selwyn Senatori, and the menu honours fish (Bluefin tuna from Malta, a killer lobster bisque, six different types of oysters) just as much as meat – you can admire the aging slabs of cow hanging in the kitchen window. They also have live music every Sunday night.

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Cruquiusweg 67 www.theharbourclub.com/ amsterdam

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boundless love

PART III EAT, DRINK & CHIC

BOUNDLESS LOVE

Ain’t no mountain high enough text Lauren Comiteau photos Marie-Charlotte Pezé

W

hile many couples come to Amsterdam to enjoy a cosy weekend away in one of the most romantic strolling cities this side of Venice, some go the full Monty, moving across oceans and continents to be with their Amsterdambased loves. We found three ‘lovepats’ who followed their hearts to the Dutch capital and have no intention of backpedalling any time soon.

MARTINE THEMMEN, 26, GRONINGEN, AND DANILLO BIGHI, 28, RIO DE JANEIRO This Dutch-Brazilian duo met at a gay bar in Berlin two years ago, where both had relocated to study. ‘It sounds cheesy,’ says Martine, ‘but I thought he was good looking... although probably gay.’ Even cheesier, both admit, was his pick-up line: ‘In Brazil, we don’t talk. We kiss.’

Their ‘flirt of convenience,’ jokes Martine, grew into a full-fledged love affair that saw the couple travelling the world. When they decided to make a life together, Amsterdam seemed the logical choice: Martine’s career was taking off and Danillo’s Italian roots meant he could apply for EU residency. A year after settling here, the couple still joke about their improbable beginning.

‘Well, I’m here,’ says Danillo.

Hardest thing to leave behind: Friends and family.

Biggest reward: Her. Of course.

What you love about Amsterdam: Its village feeling.

I’ve lived in Paris, Berlin and Florence, and Amsterdam was never big on my list. I only knew it as touristic. But I find it a very cosy city and I like its small beauty and canals. It’s super peaceful compared to Rio. Most annoying thing: The weather.

Most romantic spot: The Jordaan. It’s misty.

Most romantic restaurant: We like to cook at home – buy some nice wine, the best risotto and prepare a meal. We mix up the cooking, but I like stampot a lot!

First Dutch words: Dikke doei, or bye-bye. (Said to Martine’s grandmother to great comic effect.)

Favourite Amsterdam moment: When we go to Vondelpark or Westerpark and have a picnic dinner and some wine.

Advice to a visiting couple?

Walk through the city, especially the Jordaan. You’ll always see something nice, the buildings or a new café.

What have you learned about Dutch women? I thought Martine would be colder, less touchy, but she’s way more cuddly than I expected.

ANA IVANCI C, 25 ANTUN BAUE , ZAGREB R, 23, ZAGREB

ANA IVANCIC, 25, ZAGREB, AND ANTUN BAUER, 23, ZAGREB Although neither Ana nor Antun are Dutch, their love story is vintage Amsterdam. After Antun decided to get his masters in political science at VU, Ana, a management consultant with a good job offer in Germany, had to make a decision: should she follow him to Amsterdam or turn their live-in love affair into a long-distance relationship? She took the plunge. With The Hague and Brussels nearby, Amsterdam was a solid choice for Antun’s ambitions, and because Croatia is in the EU, Ana needs only a permit to find work. So the couple rented out the Zagreb flat they lovingly decorated and moved to Amsterdam West in August.

Hardest thing to leave behind: My job. I never stopped working and sometimes now I feel a little useless.

Biggest reward: Being with him and all the opportunities, even in my career. It could change for the better.

What you love about Amsterdam: I’m never bored. I have friends and the city is so full of life – cafés, bars, concept stores.

It’s like a museum sometimes.

It’s the perfect place to be: safe,

NEIRO I, 28, RIO DE JA DANILLO BIGH ONINGEN GR , 26 , EN M EM MARTINE TH

and not so big, similar in size to Zagreb, which is still a conservative city so it’s hard to express ourselves there.

Most annoying thing: Not even the weather! It’s so fresh, I don’t even mind the wind. But there are too many tourists in the centre.

What was THE ‘aha’ moment when you realised you weren’t home anymore? We had both our bikes stolen at the same time. Twice.

Most romantic restaurant: Vapiano in De Pijp. We went there in Stuttgart, and it reminds us of our trip.

Advice to a visiting couple?

Get a bike and cycle around the city. Take a backpack of food and a picnic blanket with you, too. Be spontaneous.

Your true Amsterdam spot?

Van Stapele Koekmakerij in the centre. They make only one type of cookie. We love it. It’s so Amsterdam for us.

Surprising things about Amsterdam and its people: They are open-minded and happy and everything is easy. You can wait two weeks for an e-mail reply! We like the big windows, but it’s a bit weird that people leave the curtains open. The small doors and stairs are also a bit strange.

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Valentine’s Day Highlights THE LOVE BOAT

LOVE AND SKATE

A romantic Valentine’s cruise is the perfect way to see the city’s illuminated waterways while enjoying dinner and drinks.

Oh, the romance of holding hands while ice-skating together! Realistically, you'll probably be spending more time pulling each other down – but rosy cheeks become everyone and nothing is more gezellig.

www.canal.nl www.lovers.nl

CLASSICAL ROMANCE Amsterdam’s concert halls provide a grand setting for a romantic date. Look out for special performances at renowned venues in the city including the Royal Concertgebouw and Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ. www.concertgebouw.nl www.muziekgebouw.nl

LIVE THE LEGEND...

KYRA PHILIPPI, 47, APELDOORN JOHN PALUMBO, 47, SYRACUSE, NY (US) CECELIA, 10, DELPHINE, 8, LAURO, 4

KYRA PHILIPPI, 47, APELDOORN, AND JOHN PALUMBO, 47, SYRACUSE, NY (US), WITH CECELIA, 10, DELPHINE, 8, LAURO, 4 Kyra and John were both studying music at Yale University in the US when John needed a violist for his quartet. After their first date, recalls John, ‘Kyra expected me to drive her home in my big car. But I didn’t have one!’ Kyra eventually had to return to the Netherlands and John decided to go with her.

Fast-forward some 20 years, three children and a fabled house in Amsterdam’s centre later, and there is no other place the couple can conceivably call home. ‘I couldn’t imagine going back now,’ says John, who after an initial three years of not being allowed to work, now has a job in IT. ‘I’m so totally settled in.’

Hardest thing to leave behind: New York, which is a big city where everything is available. Amsterdam is a big village. There are no Chicagos or LAs here. And also my big, closeknit family in upstate New York.

Put an ocean between you and people forget you!

Biggest reward: The children.

They are enlightened, have no racial prejudices and are open-minded. It’s kind of an ideal I’d have liked for myself. They are exposed to so many fantastic experiences. Amsterdam is small-town safe but international and not parochial.

What you love about Amsterdam: There’s plenty to do and the balance is right. There are families with children and that’s unusual for cities. It’s totally liveable. And everything is close at hand, you can bike everywhere.

The education level is also higher than in the US. Most annoying thing: Drunken tourists yelling in the middle of the night.

What reminds you of home: When I see pick-up football games on the Amstelveld. We use to play touch football as kids, so it reminds me of America.

Advice to a visiting couple?

We love to go to cafés together – with or without the kids.

Favourite romantic restaurant: Café Koosje – good food and child-friendly.

Most romantic spot: Go to a museum – the Rijks, Stedelijk, Hermitage. Any!

Legend has it that couples who steal a kiss on the beautiful Magere Brug (Skinny Bridge) over the River Amstel will be blessed with everlasting love.

ROMANTIC COMEDY Amsterdam’s oldest cinema, The Movies on Harlemmerdijk, is all about old-fashioned charm on Valentine’s, its intimate screening rooms featuring extra comfy red velvet seats and a cosy bar and restaurant. You can also immerse yourself in art-deco romance at Filmhallen’s ‘Parisien Room’, or at the stunning Tuschinski cinema with its double ‘love seats’. www.themovies.nl www.filmhallen.nl www.pathe.nl/bioscoop/tuschinski

HORSE & CARRIAGE Make like Cinderella and Prince Charming and take a horse & carriage ride around the old cobblestone streets of Amsterdam to your dining destination.

www.iceamsterdam.nl

LATIN LOVIN‘ IN THE DAM Turn up the heat during a chilly February by shaking your stuff at the annual Amsterdam Salsa Festival.

From 12-14 February, the festival promises three days of workshops and classes, live performances and a special Valentine’s themed party on the Saturday night. www.amsterdamsalsafestival.nl

LIVE THE FAIRY TALE Indulge your inner knight or damsel with a romantic trip to a fairy–tale castle. Lying just to the East of Amsterdam in Muiden, the enchanting Amsterdam castle Muiderslot dates back to 1280 and comes complete with drawbridge, turrets, moat and landscaped gardens. www.muiderslot.nl

EPHEMERAL VOWS Get married for a day.

Wed & Walk is the perfect way to get married without the commitment, as your vows only last a day! www. wed-and-walk.com

A BICYCLE MADE FOR TWO Roam the city’s historic canals and lanes by tandem available at many of Amsterdam’s bike hire companies. www.macbike.nl www.yellowbike.nl

www.amsterdamcarriages.nl

STROLL HAND IN HAND

TABLE FOR TWO

The next edition of the activity-packed ‘24-hour’ event hits Amsterdam Oost on 14 & 15 February, right in time for Valentine‘s Day. Explore the eastern neighbourhoods of the city hand in hand, and participate in the slew of open-door events, parties, workshops and exhibits.

Amsterdam has its fair share of romantic restaurants, but for a different dining experience, see how well can you trust your lover while blindfolded: at CTaste you dine in the dark to heighten your sense of smell and taste.

And… touch? www.ctaste.nl

www.iamsterdam.com

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PART III EAT, DRINK & CHIC

EATING OUT

Our top dining options, from firm favourites to precocious newcomers.

eating out

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text Karin Engelbrecht

RESTAURANT C

NEW

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© JAN BARTELSMAN

S

ituated in a recently renovated former newspaper office, where the same team ran the popular pop-up restaurant Baut, the gimmick’s in the name here.

Instead of the expected threecourse structure, the menu is organised by temperature zones, with ‘raw and cold’ (020˚C) tartares and salads; fish and meats cooked at a ‘low temperature’ (40-80˚C); ‘steamed and cooked’ (100˚C) soups and pastas; and ‘grilled and roasted’ (200˚C) burgers and steaks.

There’s a perfectly presented steak tartare with fancy egg yolks, anchovy, artichoke and radish (€10.50), which although a tad too finely minced for our taste, still managed to put up a pretty palatable performance of flavours and textures. Tender lobster, a flavourful bisque foam and a Parmesan crisp perch on creamy basil gnocchi (€15), while unbeatable burgers are dressed with bone marrow, onion and aioli (€12). Dessert is a desert-island dream of caramelised banana and creamy coconut ice cream with sticky salted toffee and crispy bits (€10). And there’s superb Buscaglione coffee to end it all.

Chef-owner and Dutch Master Chef judge Michiel van der Eerde honed his skills at famous Michelin-starred establishments – and it shows. Not only does the food have a newfound finesse, but the decor does, too. Gone are Baut’s brutalist rough edges, shabby chic furniture and experimental art. In their place is a polished palette of dark neutrals, featuring brass, steel, wood, velvet, concrete and recycled leather, with a mix of modern,

industrial and neo-vintage design.

Guests can choose one of 20 bar seats surrounding the open kitchen, which was apparently inspired by L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in London; or they can sit at a regular table around the perimeter. But, wherever you sit and whatever temperature you prefer, we doubt Restaurant C will leave you cold.

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Wibautstraat 125 www.c.amsterdam

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41 trendy DIM SUM NOW Flavours like Chinese-cabbage-duck-garlic-ginger and spinach-carrot-chestnut-mushroom make for a refreshing change from usual suspects siu mai and ha kau at this new De Pijp dumpling specialist. With its hip cafeteria setting, fashionable young clientele and interesting selection of dim sum, gyoza and steamed buns, the offering here might indeed be very ‘now’, but if you’re looking for the real – and much more affordable – deal , head to Zeedijk instead.

Ferdinand Bolstraat 36 www.dimsumnow.com

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critic’s choice FOODHALLEN

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ocated in the refurbished belly of a former tram depot in West, Amsterdam’s first high-end indoor food court is still drawing in the crowds a year after opening. Visitors of every age and persuasion sit around tiny tables discussing what to try next. And, with over 20 food stands to choose from, ranging from local bitterballen to Indian tandoori lamb wraps, Vietnamese rice paper rolls, Japanese sushi and Australian pies, some indecision is always on the menu. Don’t forget to admire the building’s original architectural features – exposed tram rails, raw brickwork walls, arched olive doors, soaring glass ceilings – and, of course, the adjacent shops, too.

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Bellamyplein 51 www.foodhallen.nl

classic TAIKO

quick & simple BREZEL & BRATWURST Pretzels and bratwurst are arguably among Germany’s finest foods, and with the opening of Amsterdam’s first Deutsche street food outlet, there’s now one less reason to cross the border. In addition to various fresh pretzels, you’ll find authentic, organic German-made bratwurst and 100% beef bockwurst, served on buns or sliced, currywurst-style with curry sauce, sauerkraut and fries.

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Van der Helstplein 10 www.brezelenbratwurst.nl

Taiko is a sleek sexy Asian restaurant inside the glorious Conservatorium Hotel. The design of the restaurant is stunning, but the spectacular achievement of this Japanese oasis is clearly its top-quality kitchen. The remarkable chef, Schilo van Coevoorden, manages to infuse the complex Japanese cuisine philosophy into all of his dishes, and the plates are dressed up with frightful precision. Eating here is definitely one of the things you will want to do before you shuffle off this mortal coil. It is the best Asian food made by a non-Asian chef. Try the Forbidden soup, and you will fully understand our admiration for this man.

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Van Bearlestraat 27 www.conservatoriumhotel.com From: Must Eat Amsterdam by Luc Hoornaert (Lannoo Publishers)

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PART III EAT, DRINK & CHIC

ON THE MENU

Three of a kind to suit every taste. text Karin Engelbrecht

Oceania

Asia

Africa

BAKERS & ROASTERS

FOU FOW RAMEN

RAINARAI

This New Zealand-style café serves up homespun hospitality, ‘kiwi-twisted’ baked goods, classic brunches, and fresh fruit salads and juices. The menu includes the ‘Vege Brekkie’ with two organic free-range eggs, grilled halloumi, avocado, potatoes, mushrooms, homemade chilli jam and hot buttered toast.

While the menu also offers edamame, crispy chicken wings and gyoza, the house speciality is ramen soup; a generous bowlful of fresh Japanese noodles, sliced meat, soft-set boiled egg, crunchy seaweed and Asian greens in a fragrant house-made chicken, pork or vegetarian broth.

The ideal post-shopping stop.

This stunning location with high ceilings, bright windows, copper lamps and Sahara-coloured walls offers a taste of Algeria’s enchanting nomadic cuisine. Expect various warm and cold mezze (hummus, merguez sausages and veal kofta), flame-grilled fish and halal meats, harissa-spiked tajines with couscous, and flaky baklava.

Eerste Jacob van Kampenstraat 54; Kadijksplein 16 www.bakersandroasters.com

DROVER’S DOG This establishment offers a ‘flavour of Australia’ by way of all-day brunches with ricotta pancakes, eggs Benedict, organic muesli and excellent flat whites. Lunch brings homemade pies, beetroot burgers and Aussie treats, such as fruit Pavlovas and fluffy lamingtons, and dinner includes crunchy salt ‘n‘ pepper squid and succulent kangaroo steak.

Heemstedestraat 25; Eerste Atjehstraat 62 www.drovers-dog.com

LITTLE COLLINS Do brunch Melbourne-style with caramelised banana brioche French toast with lime curd and whipped coconut cream, or poached eggs with kale and lemon Hollandaise on sourdough toast. Their hangover cure: Cumberland sausage, bacon, roasted tomatoes and toasted cornbread washed down with a Kimchi Bloody Mary.

Eerste Sweelinckstraat 19/F www.littlecollins.nl

Elandsgracht 2A www.foufow.nl

THAICOON Yes, you’ll find the usual line-up at this Oost-based establishment, as well as little ambiance and laughable menu translations (‘sweat and sour pork’ anyone?), but what it lacks in originality and sophistication it makes up for in authentic Thai flavour. Some dependable old friends include stir-fried squid with basil, garlic and chilli, and beef and veg in oyster sauce.

Beukenplein 10 www.thaicoon.nl

PHO 91 The clue’s in the name. This hip hole-in-the-wall serves steaming bowls of pho, that healthy and delicious Vietnamese noodle soup, made with ingredients sourced from Amsterdam’s most famous street market, right on their doorstep. In addition to four varieties of pho, including meaty and vegan varieties, there are fresh rice paper rolls, noodle salads and plenty of gluten-, dairyand egg-free options.

Albert Cuypstraat 91 www.pho91.nl

Polonceaukade 40 www.rainarai.nl

MOZO You may never discover the secret blend of ras-el-hanout spices that forms the basis of many of the traditional tajines at this Moroccan restaurant, but all the fun is in the guessing. Try dzjaz, with slow-cooked chicken, green olives and preserved lemon, or the sweet-savory tahlia, made with veal that’s cooked in honey for five hours.

Van Woustraat 89 www.restaurantmozo.nl

IBIS Fans of Ethiopian cuisine’s sour, spongy injera pancakes, chilli-spiked stews and mushy legume-based salads should head to what some consider the city’s best East African eetcafé.

The house speciality includes five traditional dishes (doro wot, kitfo, tibs, sigawot and doro tibs) with a selection of side dishes and injera.

Weesperzijde 43 www.eetcafeibis.com

on the menu

43

SNERT

Peas porridge hot

A

msterdammers don’t eat their version of split pea soup ‘cold’ or ‘nine-daysold’, like in the classic English nursery rhyme. But, we do have a thing for one-day-old pea soup, which is known as snert in Dutch.

The resting time allows for the flavours to deepen and the soup to thicken. Traditionally, it’s served with slices of rookworst (Dutch smoked sausage) and rye bread topped with katenspek (a type of Dutch bacon that is first cooked, then smoked). It’s a local winter favourite, enjoyed as a family meal at home or as an après-skating treat.

The best place to try old-fashioned Dutch snert is at Oud-Zuid landmark La Falote, where they loving-

ly make the soup from scratch 365 days a year. Or try Moeders, a cosy West-side restaurant charmingly decorated with hundreds of pictures of mothers, which serves up all the nursery favourites for which Dutch mothers are famous.

LA FALOTE Roelof Hartstraat 26 www.lafalote.nl MOEDERS Rozengracht 251 www.moeders.com

Alternatively, make it from scratch at home. Try our recipe on: dutchfood.about.com/od/soups/r/ TraditionalDutchSplitPeaSoup.htm

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PART III EAT, DRINK & CHIC

pretty things

PRETTY THINGS Purses at the ready: these tempting stores will have you reaching for your credit card. text Elisah Jacobs

ALL THE LUCK IN THE WORLD

>

NEW IN TOWN

In addition to the shop in De Pijp (and another in the great shopping city of Utrecht) A.T.L.I.T.W has opened up a third store, this time in Amsterdam Oost.

Owned by mother-daughter team, Jane and Nina, this tempting shop is for those with a love for vintage and

secondhand treasures and accessories to cheer up the home. You'll find pastel-coloured tea towels from Dutch designer Mae Engelgeer and scarves from Bella Balou sitting alongside artsy wall stickers from Mimi Lou and ‘bug art’ from Miren van Alphen.

What's more, there's also the A.T.L.I.T.W label, which consists of dreamy accessories

and printed canvas totes, as well as colourful postcards designed by Jane herself. Oh, and there’s a coffee bar too.

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Linnaeusstraat 20 Gerard Doustraat 86 www.alltheluckintheworld.nl

45 northern exposure MEVROUW BOUWERS Lita Bouwers’s ‘experience shop’ is chock-full of hip clothing, footwear and accessories for guys and girls, as well as plenty of interior delights. Bouwers often travels to countries such as Denmark and Sweden to spot the latest trends and find new designers, which is why you’ll come across several Scandinavian brands, including the likes of DAGMAR and Mads Nørgaard, in the store. It’s a very tempting, must-visit shop, located near the centre of Amsterdam (and just a hop-skip away from the Heineken Brewery).

second-hand

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Stadhouderskade 92 www.mevrouwbouwers.nl

WINTERSALON

The US has Craigslist, and the Netherlands has Marktplaats (‘market place'). Julien Rademakers, fascinated by all the treasures he found on Marktplaats, started a blog, called Gevonden op Marktplaats (‘Found on Marktplaats‘), which is inspired by the popular online market place. And he takes things one step further with Wintersalon, an offline temporary store that features the most beautiful second-hand furniture and home accessories found on Marktplaats. This year, Wintersalon also showcases works by young design talent and you can now discover Gevonden op Marktplaats’s own brand, developed in collaboration with Mae Engelgeer: vintage furniture with a fancy new fabric. Open till the end of January.

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KNSM-laan 301 www.gevondenopmarktplaats.nl

the ultimate beauty experience

© DIM BALSEN

DE BIJENKORF'S BEAUTY WORLD SERVICES De Bijenkorf Amsterdam recently opened an entire renewed 1,200 m2 cosmetics department on the ground floor, with 25 counters and a treatment room. Also on hand are 200 make-up and skincare specialists especially dedicated to advising you on the tens of thousands of beauty products available from the store’s wide selection of luxury cosmetics and perfume brands. In March, the monumental store will also be one of the lucky few to introduce British brand Charlotte Tilbury. The store’s modernised windows and the use of gorgeous materials such as marble and glass contribute to the bright and luxurious atmosphere of Beauty World. Feeling pampered yet?

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Dam 1 www.debijenkorf.nl

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© EWOUT HUIBERS

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46

PART III EAT, DRINK & CHIC

When in Amsterdam…

After two decades here, native New Yorker Lauren Comiteau is still working out how to ‘go Dutch’.

PASSPORT WARS: (DON’T) SAY CHEESE

S

Lauren Comiteau is a journalist and writer who has been covering the Netherlands for TIME magazine, CBS Radio and others since 1996. She lives in Amsterdam with her two daughters.

o there we were, my youngest daughter and I, adjusting our stools and our hair for our latest passport photos. We both needed new US passports, I informed the photographer, which have different requirements from Dutch ones. ‘Say kaas!’ I told my daughter.

‘Oh, no – don’t,’ cautioned the photographer.

‘The Americans don’t let you smile in passport photos.’

Seriously? The home of the eternally optimistic rejects a little tooth on its citizen’s most prized document, the one they will be flashing at officials worldwide for the next decade?

We took our sad-looking mug shots to the US Embassy, where I asked the official behind the counter why the US was so smile-stingy. ‘Oh, no,’ he said. ‘That’s not us. It’s the Dutch who won’t let you smile.’

‘Not true!’ said my photographer when we were back a few weeks later to renew my daughter’s Dutch passport, where a slight grimace graces her face.

Actually, as an Australian working in the US Embassy told me, no one is allowed to smile in passport photos. ‘It distorts facial features, making it hard to identify the bad guys,’ she said.

That makes sense. After all, my passport photo is a veritable mug shot. But it doesn’t make it any more palatable, especially because at my age, my next passport photo in nine years and 278 days for sure won’t be any better.

It’s all about biometrics, the measurements between your various facial features that get screwed up when you screw up your face. As in… a smile. A quick survey of the Englishspeaking western world reveals that Canada seems to be the drill sergeants of the passport photo world, advising its citizens to keep ‘a neutral facial expression: eyes open and clearly visible, mouth closed, no smiling.’ Her Majesty’s Passport Office in the UK advises the same, minus the no smiling. The Americans, I’m happy to report, also prefer a neutral facial expression, but do allow for ‘a natural smile.’

I wish my passport photographer knew about the natural smile option for Americans. He does seem to have been right about the Dutch, though, whose advice falls into their legendary grey area. ‘Applicants may not smile broadly or open their mouths – which does not mean that they have to look surly or sullen.’

Luckily, if you’re in Amsterdam, you can head to Studio Westerpark, where the very accommodating Leon told me that his full-service photo studio will get you a hair and make-up stylist and then professionally shoot you into passport photo paradise.

Other than that, I think my next best hope comes from Dutch innovation. Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport developed its own iris scan, Privium, that’s 100 percent accurate, if a bit Big Brotherish, and makes passports – and their attending miserable photos – obsolete.

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TRIP AROUND THE WORLD Exotic shopping & dining in the heart of Amsterdam text Elisah Jacobs

Slovenia, Poland, Czech Republic

HARVEST AND COMPANY Their industrial designs, vintage furniture and interior goodies were mostly found in old factories in Eastern Europe but have been renovated and are now ready to use and fabulously unique. Also try Woodies at Berlin in Amsterdam Noord.

Asia (China, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Korea)

HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY Inspired by Asian local markets, this colourful place is filled with Asian flavours. The open kitchen allows you to admire the chef’s magic while eating your Siu Mai dim sum (Chinese), Bun Chao meatballs (Vietnamese) or Massaman Neau curry (Thai).

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Tweede Helmersstraat 96 www.harvestandcompany.com Ms van Riemsdijkweg 51 www.woodiesatberlin.nl

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Bilderdijkstraat 158 www.happyhappyjoyjoy.asia

Vietnam, Spain, New Zealand, Australia

FOODHALLEN The former tram depot is a gastronomy trip around the world in itself. Viêt View serves Vietnamese street food; Wild Moa Pie has authentic pies from New Zealand and Australia; and Jabugo Bar Iberico will fulfill your wildest Spanish cured ham fantasies.

France

BETTY BLUE Betty Blue is simply pastry heaven. They also serve breakfast and lunch with a French touch, and sell fashion and lifestyle goodies.

United States

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Snoekjessteeg 1-3 www.bettyblueamsterdam.nl

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Amsterdam

ROSE’S CANTINA Dinner at Rose’s Cantina feels like a night out in Mexico. Try the Chili Colorado nachos with guacamole, the pulled pork taco, classic quesadillas, the Rose’s enchiladas and of course dulce de leche for dessert.

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Morocco & Turkey

Spui 23 www.amfi.nl/byamfi

Denmark

Italy

Spuistraat 281 www.hay-amsterdam.com

HAY Inspired by Danish furniture from the ’50s and ’60s, HAY designs funky furniture, lighting and accessories with lots of pastel colours for that typical Scandinavian touch.

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MAURO GRIFONI This fancy fashion shop for men, women and kids is the little sister to the brand’s flagship stores in Milan, Verona and Padova.

Cornelis Schuytstraat 33 www.maurogrifoni.com

Mexico

Reguliersdwarsstraat 40 www.rosescantina.com

BY AMFI A platform for the students, teachers and alumni of the Amsterdam Fashion Institute, the shop fills its racks with a new iNDiViDUALS collection every season. Winter 2016 is all about cosy pyjamas, brushed wools and felted fabrics.

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Spui 12 www.abc.nl

RIKA Swedish designer Ulrika Lundgren makes designs that she’d like to wear herself.

Her signature look is a star symbol, popular as a print on bags, sweaters and dresses.

Oude Spiegelstraat 9 www.rikastudios.com

Bellamyplein 51 www.foodhallen.nl

ABC The American Book Center is the place to shop for English-language books and magazines. Try the ‘blind date’: buy a book based solely on the employees’s keywords and recommendations.

Sweden

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KIBOOTS The unique and sturdy boots from Kiboots are hand made with vintage kilims (rugs) found in Morocco and Turkey. They also carry a collection of bags and accessories like camera belts and knitted socks, jewellery, ponchos and even real rugs!

Utrechtesstraat 47 www.kiboots.com

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North/South Pole

Africa

ABYSSINIA AFRICAN GROCERY This supermarket brings African flavours, spirit and products into your home, including EastAfrican spices like berbere and bula, beers, tea, dabo kollo (fried cookies), Ethiopian kocho (African pancake), beauty products such as cocoa butter and African fashion.

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J.P. Heijestraat 186 www.abyssiniagrocery.nl

ICEBAR XTRACOLD This bar is made of 60 tons of natural ice and gives a new meaning to ‘room temperature’ (-10°C). But no worries: there are ponchos and warm mittens to help you hold your cocktails and beers, served in glasses made of ice. The coolest bar in town!

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Amstel 194-196 www.xtracold.com

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PART III

what’s in store

EAT, DRINK & CHIC

WHAT’S IN STORE Fashion-forward style – for him (M) and her (F)

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 text Elisah Jacobs

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GEKAAPT (M/F)

What started as a beachwear brand (owner Bart Koene started selling swimming shorts on a beach in St. Tropez in 1992).

Barts is adapting to the seasons and now tackling winter gear. Colourful hand-knitted hats, scarfs and beanies are designed to match your winter outfit and help you survive the Dutch weather in style. In addition to accessories for men and women, Barts also caters for kids, and its new shop recently opened up on the Haarlemmerdijk.

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Haarlemmerdijk 14 www.barts.eu

ONE PIECE (M/F) One Piece stands for a ‘one piece outfit’, (in Dutch: huispak), a fashionable jumpsuit-like pyjama, which you can wear out of bed - but preferably still at home (or not!). The onesies from One Piece exist in funky Nordic, army prints or completely covered with labels. Also to be found, and very handy for the season, are the rain suit onesies, including one with a marble print or another with short sleeves and/or legs. For men, women and kids. www.onepiece.com

© NANDA HAGENAARS

BARTS (M/F)

© CHASING SPACES

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Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 182 www.gekaapt.nu

HET KAUFHAUS (M/F) Completely broke after the holidays?

Kaufhaus offers second-hand fashion at reasonable prices. Find a new outfit, interior accessories or buy a vintage piece of furniture for the home. Nice to know: if you buy something, you help a good cause. Another fun part? They serve Berlin drinks, and there’s music too. The Kaufhaus also has shops in Utrecht and Arnhem.

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Eerste Sweelinckstraat 21 www.hetkaufhaus.nl

BEST KEPT SECRET (F)))

© JORIK VAN MECHELEN

After three successful ‘hijacks’ in Amsterdam West, pop-up store Gekaapt (translated: ‘Hijacked’) sets up shop for a few months in Magna Plaza, near the Dam. Located on the first floor of this monumental building, the shop offers fashion, interior accessories and gifts. Unfortunately, coffee bar Stek wasn’t part of the move, but café Daily in the Sissy-Boy store (in the basement of Magna Plaza) is just as fun.

Find the best kept secret in the middle of Kinkerstraat. This brand is an ode to British fashion and offers affordable fashion for women inspired by the latest trends in England. With lots of festive dresses, lace tops, swirly skirts, cute knits and gorgeous bags and shoes.

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Kinkerstraat 96 www.facebook.com/bestkeptsecretfashion

BON BON BOUTIQUE (F) Former model Bonne van der Ree is the brain behind Bon Bon Boutique, a jewellery brand where Bonne works with a base material called ‘gold fill’: a core of strong brass with a fancy gold layer. In addition to her online shop she also has an offline store where you can find her lovely jewellery consisting of rings, bracelets and necklaces (from geometric to boho chic).

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Rosmarijnsteeg 8 www.bonbonboutique.nl

YOU YOU (F)

BENDORFF (M) It’s easy for men to find a complete outfit at Bendorff (big sigh of relief!).

Go down the racks for printed cardigans from Cold Method, jeans from Kings of Indigo, watches from Timex, shoes from Clarks Orignals and coats from Greenland. Good to know: there are two stores to choose from in Amsterdam.

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Utrechtsestraat 99 Haarlemmerstraat 104 www.bendorff.nl

Owner Flo often travels the world to get inspiration for her lifestyle brand You You. She sells home accessories handmade by local craftsmen and women from around the world. Shop at You You for beautiful baskets, rug, Japanese ceramics and jewellery inspired by Cambodian dancers. www.youyou-amsterdam.com

PART IV

THE

jan & feb 2016

49

FESTIVALS/MUSIC/ CLUBBING/EXHIBITIONS/ STAGE/SPORTS/FAMILY/ GAY & LESBIAN

>

For complete listings, see www.iamsterdam.com

MARTIN ROEMERS / METROPOLIS

UNTIL 6 MARCH 2016 Huis Marseille, Keizersgracht 401 www.huismarseille.nl

© MARTIN ROEMERS

Perhaps it’s irony – or maybe destiny – that a photographer from the Dutch village of Oldehove, with barely 2,000 people in its registers, set out to capture in stills the essence of so-called megacities, those defined by the United Nations as having more than 10 million inhabitants. But that’s exactly what Martin Roemers does in Metropolis, his series of photographs that have taken him to 22 of the world’s 28 megacities so far, including Mumbai, Moscow, Beijing and Buenos Aires. Although Roemers says every megacity is a ‘theatre’ with its own unique stage and actors, what remains constant is his method of shooting them: always taken from high vantage points and using long exposure times.

The result? The blur, bustle and even the stillness and beauty of the world’s hordes of humanity.

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PART IV THE A-LIST

FESTIVALS & EVENTS FESTIVALS & EVENTS CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL Devoted to the enchanting world of chamber music, this festival is the brainchild of Dutch cellist Ella van Poucke and her brother, pianist Nicolas van Poucke. It once again unites international musicians to celebrate the centuries-old genre. until 1 Jan, Amstelkerk, www. kamermuziekfestivalamsterdam.com TANGOTRAIN Warm up the wintry days around the New Year with a week of dance at the TangoTrain. until 3 Jan, various locations, www.tangotrain.com THIS ART FAIR Between shopping the sales and spreading holiday cheer, don’t miss This Art Fair. It’s an eclectic art event featuring visual art, design, dance, video, light installations, workshops and music. until 3 Jan, Beurs van Berlage, www.hisartfair.com

AMSTERDAM HOTEL NIGHT Each January Amsterdammers are invited to experience their city through the eyes of tourists by enjoying an overnight stay in a local hotel. Grab a special discount deal for this night and enjoy a host of special cultural, culinary and festive programming at hotels around the city.

(Yes, you do need to show proof of residence in Amsterdam.)

16 & 17 Jan, various locations, www.hotelnacht.nl NATIONAL TULIP DAY It’s as synonymous with the Netherlands as windmills and cheese, but while the tulip remains one of Amsterdam’s most notable icons, few visitors get to experience the flower this early in the year – apart from at the Flower Market. But National Tulip Day should bring some much-needed colour to a cold January weekend, with visitors invited to a huge temporary tulip garden on Dam Square where they can pick their own beautiful bloom.

16 Jan, Dam Square, www.tulpen.nl

REALISME This annual art fair welcomes a huge range of renowned AMSTERDAM LIGHT galleries from the Netherlands FESTIVAL and abroad as they present The Amsterdam Light Festival (and sell) works by Dutch and returns to Amsterdam this international artists working festive season, (literally) putting in various mediums within the the beautiful city centre and its figurative and realistic genres. canals in the limelight. As well With lofty claims of being the as the illuminated artworks only art fair dedicated solely to around the city's canals, look figurative art, Realisme showout for an extensive side-procases established artists with gramme that will see a host of a respectable oeuvre as well as activities and events take place young up-and-comers breathing at museums, theatres, restaunew life into the genre. rants, shops and other locations 21-24 Jan, Passenger Terminal in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam, www.realismeamuntil 17 Jan, various locations, sterdam.com www.amsterdamlightfestival.

IMPRO AMSTERDAM com Featuring world-class improv MERCEDES-BENZ FASHIONactors from all over the globe, WEEK AMSTERDAM this international improvisation Held twice each year, this theatre festival celebrates its international fashion event 21st edition this year. Alongside brings together the cream of the main performances, there the international scene while are late-night shows, workalso reaching out to the general shops, IMPRO talks, an open public with its Downtown prostage and an afterparty to top gramming. The international it all off. As always, the festival event always does its utmost to welcomes performers and visiinvolve Amsterdam residents tors from all around the world. and visitors, organising unique 23-30 Jan, Compagnietheater, events at some of the city’s leadwww.impro-amsterdam.nl ing cultural locations.

RECORDPLANET’S RECORD 8-18 Jan, various locations, & CD FAIR www.fashionweek.nl Calling all vinyl (well, and plasWHISKY WEEKEND tic) lovers! This annual event AMSTERDAM promises hundreds of stands Peaty, oaky, creamy, smoky – offering a huge selection of LPs, those are just a few words to CDs and DVDs alongside an describe whisky like a pro at impressive collection of pop the latest edition of this anmerchandise. Whether you’re a nual event. Tickets include a DJ, collector or a regular music welcome whisky with souvenir fan looking for new (or old) glass and a bottle of water. Take inspiration, there’s sure to be a break from nosings and tastsomething for everyone. ings (expect a small surcharge 23 Jan, RAI Amsterdam, www. for the more exclusive whiskies) recordplanet.nl to light up a cigar in the baseJUMPING AMSTERDAM ment, sample whisky-friendly cheeses and other Scottish This international equestrian products, or simply take in the event is an annual highlight on traditional Scottish music. the Dutch sporting calendar 15 & 16 Jan, Posthoornkerk, that never fails to draw the www.whiskyamsterdam.nl world’s best riders – including Olympic and world champions.

The event includes show jump-

Choice festivals

CROSS-LINX FESTIVAL This annual, multi-city festival straddles musical boundaries by promoting refreshing combinations of indie, pop and classical music. Headliners at the 2016 edition include Neil Finn (Crowded House/Split Enz), who’ll be performing an orchestral concert with Wilco drummer and composer Glenn Kotche. American violin-wielding singer-songwriter Andrew Bird joins the fun, as does former REM guitarist Peter Buck, plus a host of other bands and classical ensembles.

26 Feb, Muziekgebouw/Bimuis, www.cross-linx.nl ing and dressage competitions, shows, evening entertainment, an exhibition area and a host of bars and restaurants.

28-31 Jan, RAI Amsterdam, www.jumpingamsterdam.nl FOOD SOUL FESTIVAL This tasty festival transforms the Kromhouthal in Amsterdam Noord into a massive restaurant offering a lip-smacking range of delicious food. A top quality mix of mobile kitchens are expected to roll up for a weekend of culinary fun, serving up dishes from all corners of the globe.

29-31 Jan, Kromhouthal, www. foodsoulfestival.nl OPEN DAY GERRIT RIETVELD ACADEMIE Whether you’re considering applying for this renowned art school in Amsterdam, or just wondering what it’s like to study there, the institution is hosting an open day. Go and take a look in the workshops, have a talk with teachers and students or have your portfolio evaluated.

29 Jan, Gerrit Rietveld Academie, www.gerritrietveldacademie.nl STUKAFEST This annual festival sees student’s rooms transformed into mini-theatres, hosting live music, shows, poetry, cabaret and dance performances. Please note that much of the drama/ spoken word programming will be in Dutch.

3 Feb, various locations, www. stukafest.nl/amsterdam

and tasty Asian foods.

6-13 Feb, various locations

shops and events or catch unusual performances, talks and sessions in venues, cafés, shops and other unique locations.

13 & 14 Feb, various locations, www.iamsterdam.com HOMEMAKERS’ FAIR Having sprung into life as an opportunity to sell various homewares to Dutch housewives, the modern-day version of the Homemakers’ Fair has thankfully diversified beyond vacuum cleaners and kitchen aids. These days, fashion, beauty, food & drink and entertainment all play leading roles at this huge event – and it just keeps getting bigger.

20-28 Feb, RAI Amsterdam, www.huishoudbeurs.nl BREAK A LEG Streetstyle dance festival featuring performances, a crew competition, one-on-one battles, showcases, DJs, live art and an urban art market. Enter your own crew or head along and watch the dancers battle it out in the hip-hop, krump and house categories. There are spots for the very young to teens and adults.

21 Feb, Meervaart, www.breaka-leg.nl

MONO JAPAN FITC AMSTERDAM Mono Japan is a cultural exhibition and fair specialising in all FITC stands for future, innovation, technology and creativity, things Japanese. Look out for and this event is geared towards the likes of ceramics, textiles, those working or interested in clothing, teas and sakes, while the fields of design and techthe cultural programme includes a host of workshops and nology and the numerous areas where they overlap. lectures, ensuring you can soak 23 & 24 Feb, Pakhuis de Zwiup real Japanese culture right jger, www.fitc.ca here in Amsterdam.

6 & 7 Feb, Lloyd Hotel, www.

NINE MONTHS FAIR monojapan.nl For five days, Amsterdam’s SOMETHING RAW FESTIVAL cavernous convention centre is transformed into a paradise for Something Raw is a cutting-edge modern dance festi- (prospective) parents. The Nine Months Fair welcomes parents val, hosted by Theater Frascati from all walks of life as they and De Brakke Grond. Each look for baby-related inspiraedition is a place where surpristion, from nursery decorating ing and impressive choreograideas to baby clothes and more. phies are premiered.

24-28 Feb, RAI Amsterdam, 9-13 Feb, De Brakke Grond/ Frascati, www.brakkegrond.nl www.negenmaandenbeurs.nl AMSTERDAM SALSA FESTIVAL It may still be a bit chilly outside, but you’re sure to feel the heat at this annual salsa event.

The festival features three days of dance workshops, performances by Dutch and international dancers and blow-out theme parties.

12-14 Feb, Rhone Congress & Party Centre, www.amsterdamsalsafestival.nl WONDERLAND FESTIVAL Valentine’s weekend isn’t only about romance as the Wonderland Festival serves up a menu of rumbling house and techno beats for those with a passion for dance music.

13 Feb, Amsterdam Studio’s, www.verknipt.org

SONIC ACTS ACADEMY Sonic Acts hosts a new programme at the intersection of art, music and science at several locations in Amsterdam. Over the course of three days, the Academy will invite artists, theorists, and scientists to expand on their research through lectures, concerts, film programmes, work presentations, masterclasses and workshops.

26-28 Feb, various locations, www.sonicacts.com

HELEMAAL MELKWEG This recurring event does exactly as the name (literally: Complete Melkweg) suggests, CHINESE NEW YEAR throwing open the whole of In 2016, Chinese New Year f this former dairy factory for an alls on 8 February. While it evening of music, performance, may still be a bit chilly outside, exhibition and cinema action. there’ll be plenty of partying to Special guests at this edition in24H OOST warm things up and celebrate clude the global sounds of Mala the dawning of the year of the 24H Amsterdam is an opportuVita, Mark Foggo’s Skasters, monkey. Festivities traditionally nity to enjoy the very best of all flamenco grooves from Canteca take place around the historic that Amsterdam is and has to de Macao and there’s more to be Nieuwmarkt neighbourhood offer. This winter edition takes confirmed. on the Saturday following the place around the neighbourSat 27 Feb, Melkweg, www. event, so look out for impromphoods in the east of the city. melkweg.nl tu parades, fireworks and hot Take part in special tours, work-

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jan & feb 2016

CLUBBING & NIGHTLIFE CLUBBING MYHOUSE X RADION AMSTERDAM The hippest new club in town jumped in the gap that Trouw left behind about a year ago.

Start the new year with a top notch local line up including ROD, Dekmantel Soundsystem, Makam, CInnaman, Serge (Clone Records), Aardvarck, Mark Du Mosch, Intergalactic Gary and Interstellar Funk.

Fri 1-Sat 2 Jan, Radion, 07:0007:00, €15

at. Philou Louzolo showcases a more eclectic African sound.

Fri 8 Jan, Canvas, 22:00, €12 STRANGE BEHAVIOUR Belfast resident Jack Hamill aka Space Dimension Controller appeared in the spotlight some six years ago with a gorgeous download only released on a small Irish label. He gets to play his beautiful beats and strings alongside Amsterdam’s Carlos Valdes and Nathan Surreal.

Fri 8 Jan, Closure, 23:0005:00, €12.50

Sat 30 Jan, Dhoem Dhaam Warehouse, 20:00, €14 DISCLOSURE CARACALTOUR It’s a true statement; Disclosure have been the dance-music-sensation-with-credibility of the past three years. What the tunes lack in the slightest hint of artistic value, the duo picks it up where Underworld, Basement

honchos and above all, party organisers. This will be a huge event for anyone interested in abstract nightlife entertainment.

Fri 5-Sun 7 Feb, Radion, 23:00-11:00 (on Sunday morning), €35 KLEAR 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY House/urban/garage event with

Choice clubbing

Mushroom and many others.

Sat 6 Feb, Heineken Music Hall, 22:00-07:00, €49.50 OUDE STIJL IS BOTERGEIL We’ll get it over and done with: the title translates as: Old School Dance Music Makes You Super Horny. If you agree, come dance to the gabba, hardcore and schranz beats of Frantic Freak, Skeeta, Md&a (live), Re-Charge, Apac and many others.

Sat 13 Feb, Dhoem Dhaam Warehouse, 22:00-08:00, €15

WONDERLAND FESTIVAL WAREHOUSE 07 INDOOR CAFÉ DE MARKTKANTINE Keeping it simple can lead to A festival inspired by Lewis the best results, especially with a Carroll’s famous book. Boogie You can do two things on New opportunities available on three Year’s Day: watch the ski jump- lengthy DJ set by the exceptional Move D from Germany, as he’s different floors, where the music ing broadcast or rave a little will be largely techno orientated. longer. De Marktkantine caters the man when it comes to atmospheric techno with an ambient DJs include Perc &Truss, Benny to people who go for option B twist - the type of music you Rodrigues, Tapesh and Wouter S. with local jocks Boris Werner need for a marathon session.

Sat 13 Feb, Amsterdam Stuplus Nuno Dos Santos B2B Reza Fri 15 Jan, OT301, 22:00dio’s, 22:00-08:00, €35 Athar playing smooth, druggy 03:00, €10 techno.

PAUL KALKBRENNER Fri 1 Jan, De Marktkantine, ENCORE The German techno superstar 09:00, €12 All types of hip-hop and R&B get is trying to fish from the same AWAKENINGS NEW YEAR’S played at the weekly urban event pond as Afrojack, Calvin Harris SPECIAL of the city. Special guest tonight and David Guetta while soundis Kevin Gates. ing much more techno.

An absolute banging and killer Sat 16 Jan Melkweg 00:00 Thu 18 Feb, Heineken Music line-up by Awakenings, the CHCG 05:00, €14.20 Hall, 20:00, €37 godfather of Amsterdam’s techno organisers. Our favourite DJ for Despite proto acid house being around from the early 1980s, COSMODROME JORIS VOORN BIRTHDAY tonight is Londoner Blawan, a Chicago’s DJ Pierre is frequently cited to be the first acid proBASH DJ-ing tonight is young Berlin techno artist with a bass music ducer. Try making acid (music not drugs!) by abusing a Roland based house music producer Everybody can be friends with background and best known for 303 drum computer.

When the machine sounds like a pig, you Max Graef whose passion for Dutch big room techno don his dark floor filler ‘Why They know you’ve done it right. Same thing happened (possibly to hip-hop and jazz is clearly audiJoris Voorn (as in, come to his Hide Their Bodies Under My his own surprise) when Pierre produced ‘Acid Tracks’ using his ble in his adventurous DJ sets. birthday party). The music will Garage’.

Joined by Amsterdam’s Tim be very loud!

Fri 1 Jan, Gashouder, 22:00Phuture moniker. Essential clubbing.

Jules of the Lumberjacks in Hell Fri 19 Feb, Paradiso, 23:30, 08:00, €39.50 Sat 23 Jan, Canvas, 22:00, €12 disco crew. €30 POP YA COLLAR: CHRIS Fri 22 Jan, Canvas, 22:00, €12 METRONOME BROWN 10 YEARS IN MUSIC REGGAE VIBRATIONS BUSINESS ANNIVERSARY Local improv-punks The Ex and Club night dedicated to the variThe Hague-based anarcho-acid He may bear a disputable repous sub-genres of reggae: dancehouse musicians Unit Moebius utation, he’s also likely to be hall, roots, dub, digidub... will play an ultra rare analog the best dancer since Michael Fri 22 Jan, Paradiso, 22:00, live set which is totally meant to Jackson (also of disputable repu€10 freak you out. And we mean that tation). Shake off your hangover in a positive way. while dancing to Chris Brown LAWLESS Fri 19 Feb, OT301, 23:00tunes and 1990s R&B spun by Interesting club night headlined 03:00, €10 Smp, La-No, Hardtog, Kenzo

by Tyree Cooper. Also spinning Alares and Syjes.

CHUCKIE are Don Rimini (Trax Records, Fri 1 Jan, Bitterzoet, 23:00France), Titia and Rebelle.

That one DJ who dares to mix it 04:00, €10 Fri 22 Jan, Radion, 22:00, €15 all up: hip-hop, R&B, bubbling, JEFF MILLS DAVE CLARKE PRESENTS HARDCORE CLASSICS house, gabba, German schlager WHIP IT Jeff Mills is the absolute BLA BLA WAREHOUSE music, dancehall and what not: Distorted 140 BPM and faster king of the harder side Tonight sees UK bred EDITION Amsterdam’s own DJ Chuckie. beats coming from the veterans of techno. This man from Amsterdam resident Dave The industrial sound of techno Fri 26 Feb, Escape, 23:00of the Dutch gabba scene: Buzz 05:00, €17.50 Fuzz & Gizmo, Bass D and MC – works perfectly in a warehouse Detroit - nicknamed ‘The Clarke play the electro clasehm – Da Mouth of Madness… environment so shouts to Bla Bla Wizard’ due to his supersics he fell in love with during for picking this location. DJs Ada SECRET CINEMA & EGBERT Sat 2 Jan, The Box, 21:00, fast mixing style (there his teen years. Expect heavy Kaleh, Daniel Sanchez, NIma Techno veteran Secret Cinema €22.50 have been reports of Mills analog breakdance cuts Gorji and Sander Ellerman.

– who had a huge hit in the mid throwing down his records from the US underground.

AWAKENINGS NEW NEW Sat 23 Jan, Cruquiusgilde 1990s with his ‘Timeless Altiafter playing them to gain This is an absolute must for YEAR’S SPECIAL Warehouse, 22:00, €15 tude’ track – goes back to back time for his next mix) anyone interested in the real with his much younger comrade January 2nd falls on a Saturday CHALI 2NA AND THE FUNK Egbert (live) this year, which means that if does so much more than thing as Detroit Keith Tucker HUNTERS Fri 26 Feb, Melkweg, 00:00you love techno, partying for the bringing fast beats, bass and Tommy Hamilton will Canadian DJ duo The Funk 05:00, €18 third consecutive night is manlines and hi hats together. also perform live.

Hunters grew up on hip-hop datory. DJs Dixon, Job Jobse, Fri 19 Feb, De MarktkanFri 26 Feb, Melkweg, 23:00HORIZON and soul and that’s reflected in Sven Väth and Maceo Plex prestine, 23:00, €15 03:00, €19 The influential French DJ Ivan ent 10 hours of house and techno their house-y DJ sets where they combine 4/4 rhythms with warm Smagghe (formerly known as if you just can’t get enough. melodies and vocals.

Jaxx and Leftfield have left it: a fine delegation of local eclectic Ivan Rough Trade, back in the Sat 2 Jan, Gashouder, 22:00Fri 29 Jan, Paradiso, 23:00, they make Chicago, garage and DJs: FS Green, The Flexican, days when he was working in 08:00, €39.50 €12.50 acid house influenced beats with Full Crate, Vic Crezee and Siroj. the Paris branch of the British PRCPTN: LATE NEW YEAR a wink to the past, yet sounding Sat 13 Feb, De Marktkantine, record store chain) was one of QUEST 4 TRANCE very now.

22:00, €15 the key players in the bombasBig room techno in the breakfast ANNIVERSARY EDITION Fri 5 Feb, Heineken Music tic early 2000s electro clash lounge of a hotel. DJs Alexander TRANCE NATION Besides Gabba, there’s hardly Hall, 20:00, €35 scene. These days his taste is Koning, Boudewijn Böhre and any style of dance music that’s In its heydays trance was more a bit more sophisticated and Mike Ravelli.

LOTGENOTEN 3 YEAR more distinctively Dutch than important to the Dutch economy subtle – he regularly teams up Sat 2 Jan, Canvas, 22:00trance. Quest 4 Trance celebrates ANNIVERSARY WEEKENDER than tulips. This is a great oppor- with Andrew Weatherall of the 08:00, €12 the europhoric genre with DJs Over the past three years, Lottunity to look back with some of Sabres of Paradise. Expect HOTEL TROPIQUE Misja Helsloot, CStone, El Haag, genoten have been operating as the biggest names of the genre minimal electronic stuff.

Manuel Le Saux, Jorn van Deyntravel agents (for trips to raves spinning tonight: Paul OakenSat 27 Feb, Canvas, When DJs play African music, hoven and many others. abroad), unusual art gallery head fold, Ferry Corsten, Infected 23:00, €12 it’s usually Fela Kuti-style afrobe-

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PART IV THE A-LIST

MUSIC/POP & JAZZ POP & JAZZ NEW COOL COLLECTIVE Let some New Cool Collective ease any lingering party headaches. The long standing nujazz collective have been playing the Dutch scene for more than 20 years. This performance sees them joined by Mark Reilly and Matt Bianco with whom they just released EP The Things You Love.

Sat 2 Jan, Paradiso, 19:30, €17.50

PARADISO CHOIR DAYS It may be a modern-day pop temple but Paradiso was originally a church. So it’s fitting that every January the entire venue gets turned over to every type of choir imaginable (from home and abroad), resulting in approximately 140 performances over the weekend. For the price you certainly can’t go wrong.

Sat 16 & Sun 17 Jan, Paradiso, 11:30, €3

NEW ROTTERDAM JAZZ ORCHESTRA & KYPSKI Scratch turntablist and six-time MICHIEL SCHEEN BLUE Dutch DJ champion Kypski has LINES SEXTET been challenged by the New Welcome in 2016 with this Rotterdam Jazz Orchestra to free-flowing sextet. For the a duel. See the vinyl virtuoso occasion, jazz pianist Michiel battle, blend and break with the Scheen is joined by an extended 12-piece outfit for the ultimate version of the Blue Lines Trio to old meets new jazz event. traverse the impromptu world of Sat 16 Jan, Bimhuis, 20:30, improvisation. €18 Sat 2 Jan, Bimhuis, 20:30, €18 THE ANALOGUES – BENJAMIN HERMAN & MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR ANTON GOUDSMIT While some Beatles tribute Saxophonist and guitarist rebands will focus on the early spectively, Benjamin Herman works or the biggest songs, The and Anton Goudsmit have Analogues prefer to take it on played together for years in nuone album at a time with a fojazz ensemble New Cool Collec- cus on the later, more complex tive (see above). However, this works. Here they’ll play the performance will be just them as Magical Mystery Tour with a a duo, playing a more strippedfull pop orchestra. down set.

Mon 18 Jan, Royal Theatre Sun 3 Jan, Bimhuis, 16:00, Carré, 20:00, €17-€32 €18 SIXTO RODRIGUEZ SUGAR MOUNTAIN: NEW Immortalised in the excellent MADRID, BRENT BEST, CORB documentary of his death, deLUND spite being well and truly alive A night of alt country, folk and (too late for a spoiler alert?), roots music, Sugar Mountain Rodriguez revisits his classic presents New Madrid, Brent folk songs from albums Cold Best and Corb Lund. From Fact, Coming to Reality and Best’s gristly vocals, to the psych everything in between. country of New Madrid and Thur 21 & Fri 22 Jan, Royal Corb Lund’s traditional acoustic Theatre Carré, 20:00, €27-€65 country, grab a drink and enjoy FRED WESLEY some classic moments of AmeriGENERATIONS cana and folk.

Thur 7 Jan, Paradiso, 19:00, Catch three jazzy generations €15 in one show as trombonist Fred Wesley (James Brown, ARTVARK & NTJAM ROSIE Parliament-Funkadelic) teams Saxophone jazz quartet Artvark up with Tony Match (41, drumhave teamed up with singer mer) and Leonardo Corradi Ntjam Rosie for a slinky and (21, hammond organ). As you’d steamy night of jazz and soul. expect from Wesley, it’s gonna Rosie sings in English, Dutch get funky. and Bulu, a Cameroonian lanFri 22 Jan, North Sea Jazz guage.

Club, 21:00, €21-€25 Thur 7 Jan, Bimhuis, 20:30, HOZIER €15-€18 Hozier made a big splash with SOUL BROTHERS his hit single ‘Take Me To Bringing the music of James Church’, about marriage equalBrown, Marvin Gaye, Earth, ity, which became the anthem Wind & Fire, Kool & The Gang and led the charge for Ireland to and Stevie Wonder to Amstervote in favour of same-sex mardam are the Soul Brothers with riage. After a run of increasingly their show Let’s Celebrate. Exlarger sold out theatre and club pect a funky soul party. shows in town, he’s now stepFri 15 & Sat 16 Jan, Royal ping up to arena level.

Theatre Carré, 20:00, €17-€32 Mon 25 Jan, Heineken Music Hall, 20:00, €32.50 JASON ISBELL ELLIE GOULDING Alt-country star and former Drive-By Truckers lead singer British dance pop star Ellie Jason Isbell released his Goulding comes to the Ziggo fifth solo record Something Dome off the back of her 2015 More Than Free in July to great record Delirium. The album, acclaim. Romantic, lonesome the artist says, was a conscious and truthful, the record reached decision towards a more direct #6 on the US Billboard charts. pop sound.

Popular in Europe too, tickets Tue 26 Jan, Ziggo Dome, are pretty tough to come by.

20:00, €28-€36 Thur 15 Jan, Paradiso, TAME IMPALA 20:30, €12.50 The psyche-rockers from Perth,

Australia return to Amsterdam in support of their third LP Currents. Dreamy and atmospheric but still rocking, as on tracks ‘Eventually’ and ‘Nangs’.

They’ll be supported by fellow Australians and Madchester proponents Jagwar Ma. Fri 29 Jan, Heineken Music Hall, 20:00, €34

all over again. Following a successful run in London’s West End, this tribute act brings Beatlemania back to Amsterdam with over 40 Beatles hits played against a backdrop of memorable footage from the past 60 years.

Sat 30 Jan, RAI Theatre, 20:15, €31-€39.50

follow-up Not to Disappear for January.

Mon 1 Feb, Paradiso, 20:30, €20 MUTEMATH Drawing inspiration from a broad sweep of time and sound that includes everyone from The Police to DJ Shadow, New Orleans alt-rockers Mutemath exhibit a little bit of everything in their kaleidoscopic sonic outlay.

Mon 1 Feb, Melkweg, 20:30, €15

SUEDE TRIBUTE TO THE ROLLING STONES Following a break up and reformation, the classic ’90s Britpop British tribute band ‘The Stones’ rockers are back. Forming in pay homage to their near-name1989, their self-titled debut sakes, specialising in their hits album in 1993 won the prestifrom the ’60s.

MARC RIBOT gious Mercury Music Prize. New Sun 31 Jan, RAI Theatre, album Night Thoughts comes 20:15, €31-€39.50 Acclaimed guitarist Marc Ribot, out in January. who’s performed with the likes of Tom Waits and Elvis Costello, returns to the Amsterdam stage.

Unusually, this one is a solo show, permitting him to let rip in any way he fancies.

Wed 3 Feb, Bimhuis, 20:30, €17-€20

Choice pop & jazz

COLIN BLUNSTONE He’s probably best known for his work with British rock bands The Zombies and the Alan Parson’s Project, but Blunstone is still going strong. And with a full life devoted to music, expect a wealth of classics and solo surprises to appear at this show.

Thur 4 Feb, P60, 21:00, €22.50

LIANNE LA HAVAS This British soul songstress just gets bigger and better. Adored by everyone from Prince to President Obama, her delicate but powerful vocal delivery has been enchanting audiences around the world. It’s only a few months since her last sold-out show in Amsterdam for her record Blood, but this time she’s set for the grandeur of the city’s premiere classical venue.

Mon 29 Feb, Royal Concertgebouw, 20:00, €43

LINDI ORTEGA The Nashville-based, Toronto-born country songstress released her sixth studio album Faded Gloryville mid-2015. A blend of Dolly Parton’s twang and the rawer soul of Emmylou Harris, she’s toured with a mixed bag of artists, but at this point in her career she’s really standing out on her own and growing a mixed international audience.

Sat 6 Feb, Paradiso, 20:00, €12

Fri 29 Jan, Paradiso, 20:30, €36 LOVE... THE BEATLES Clap your hands, rattle your jewellery and relive the floppyhaired magic of the Fab Four

HINDS Hinds are an all-girl garage band from Spain who make jangly lo-fi pop.

Singing in English and Spanish, they’ve been hyped by the likes of The Guardian and NME, and musicians like The Black Keys or Primal Scream.

Following a run of successful singles and sweaty gigs, their debut record Leave Me Alone is released early January.

Sat 27 Feb, Bitterzoet, 21:00, €11 DAUGHTER Atmospheric indie trio Daughter, out of North London, began in 2010. They released their first album If You Leave in 2013 following three EPs. Stay tuned as the band announced its

FOALS British rockers Foals shook off their progressive elements in favour of a heavier direction on latest record What Went Down.

Last year they played a brutal and sweaty sold-out show in Melkweg and now they’re back with a venue upgrade.

Thur 2 Jan, Heineken Music Hall, 20:00, €32 IMAGINE DRAGONS Making a big splash with their hit ‘Radioactive’ in 2012/13 and debut album Night Visions, the Las Vegas rockers have backed it with 2015’s Smoke + Mirrors and lead single ‘I Bet My Life’.

Fri 5 Feb, Ziggo Dome, 20:00, €29-€39 B-MOVIE ORCHESTRA Get set for a cinematic and theatrical trip with the 12 members of this film-fan group. Their love of erotica, horror, crime, sci-fi and classic westerns is always apparent, blazing and dancing a trail onstage while movie scenes play out behind them.

Sat 6 Feb, Tolhuistuin, 20:30, €15 JASON DERULO R&B pop star Jason Derulo has enjoyed a huge array of hits in recent years, including ‘Talk Dirty’, ‘Trumpets’ and ‘Wiggle’.

In his relatively short career he’s amassed over 50 million records sold and released four albums, the latest being Everything is 4.

Tue 9 Feb, Heineken Music Hall, 20:00, €41.25 WOLF ALICE Four-piece indie band from London, Wolf Alice have been playing together since 2010. Led by dual vocalists Ellie Rowsell and Joff Oddie, there are elements of indie, shoegaze and folk to their debut LP, the confidently titled My Love is Cool.

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jan & feb 2016

MUSIC/POP & JAZZ / CLASSICAL ROYAL CONCERTGEBOUW Fri 8 Feb, Muziekgebouw aan ORCHESTRA & JEAN-YVES ’t IJ, 20:15, €36 THIBAUDET NETHERLANDS PHILHARPianist Jean-Yves ThibaudetMONIC ORCHESTRA – GRIEG plays Beethoven’s Emperor AND NIELSEN Concerto and his ouverture for The orchestra plays Grieg’s The Creatures of Prometheus, famous piano concerto and plus the Masonic Funeral Music Nielsen’s Symphony no. 2, also and the Jupiter Symphony by known as The Four TemperaMozart. ments. But the evening opens Wed 6, Thur 7 & Sun 10 Jan, with Brahms’s Academic FestiRoyal Concertgebouw, 20:15 val Ouverture – the composer (Sun 14:15), €30-€126 was good friends with both LUNCHTIME CONCERT Grieg and Nielsen.

Today’s free Lunchtime Concert Mon 11 Jan, Royal Concertgebouw, 20:15, €20-€49 in Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw features a public rehearsal by the Concertgebouw AMSTERDAM SINFONIETTA & WENDE Orchestra.

At the beginning of each year, Wed 6, 20 Jan; 17 Feb, Royal Amsterdam Sinfonietta tours Concertgebouw, 12:30, free with a programme featuring BRODSKY QUARTET & LORÉ pop, jazz or world music artists.

LIXENBERG – TREES, WALLS, This year, the chamber orchesCITIES tra teams up with Dutch singer Wende.

The quartet and the mezzosoWed 13 Jan, Royal Concertgeprano present the Dutch prebouw, 20:15, €22-€45 miere of Trees, Walls, Cities, a song cycle about city walls and IVES ENSEMBLE – WHAT war for which several composers A BALL wrote a piece on a chosen poem The Ives Ensemble dedicates for Lixenberg. The nine coman evening to swing and Latin posers hail from eight different dances, which swept across Eucities. The programme also in-

Choice classical ©JOHAN PERSSON

VILLAGERS global entertainers, so expect an exuberant performance.

Villagers are an indie-folk band Thur 25 Feb, Paradiso, 20:30, from Ireland led by Conor JOHN ESCREET TRIO & EVAN €17.50 O’Brien. Formed in 2008 PARKER following the break-up of his MASSIVE ATTACK British pianist, improvisor and previous band The Immedinow Brooklyn resident John Originators of the trip-hop ate, Villagers and O’Brien are Escreet will perform with his sound, Massive Attack haven’t expecting their fourth record drummer Tyshawn Sorey and released a record since 2010’s Where Have You Been All My double bassist John Hebert in Heligoland, but there have been Life? in January. collaboration with saxophonist Tue 16 Feb, Tolhuistuin, 20:30, rumours that they’re recording Evan Parker, a founding father again with erstwhile band mem€19 of the British avant-garde. Exber Tricky, as well as rappers LEMAITRE pect the unexpected.

Run the Jewels, and promised Fri 12 Feb, Bimhuis, 20:30, that new material will see the This Norwegian indie dance €20 outfit are named after Belgian light of day this year. Either way, get set for a bass-heavy trip. priest Georges Lemaitre who JAZZ ORCHESTRA OF THE Thur 25 Feb, Heineken Music proposed the Big Bang Theory.

CONCERTGEBOUW & FUSE Hall, 20:00, €46 Similarly, the duo create their Amsterdam’s groovy jazz giants own big bang, mixing dance eleHALSEY team up with ‘unusual string ments with live instrumentation ensemble’ Fuse (as they describe American pop singer-songwritfor a jazzy house blend. themselves) in this expressive er, Halsey, real name Ashley Wed 17 Feb, Melkweg, 20:30, concert. The gig is the first Nicolette Frangipane, grew up €13.50 instalment of the ‘Rhythm listening to her dad’s Notorious THE FRONT BOTTOMS Changes’ series, pairing top talB.I.G and Slick Rick records and ents with the Jazz Orchestra of her Mum’s Cure and Nirvana The Front Bottoms recall felthe Concertgebouw in search of albums, which she says has low Americans The Mountain surprising sounds. informed her own take on the Goats, with their emotional Fri 12 Feb, Muziekgebouw aan electro pop sound. semi-acoustic indie rock and ’t IJ, 20:15, €27.50 Fri 26 Feb, Melkweg, 20:30, vocalist Brian Sella ranting €15 similarly to lead Goat John LADIES OF SOUL Darnielle… just a little less GRIMES Following successful sold-out esoteric… shows in 2013 and 2014, the The young Canadian singer and Thur 18 Feb, Sugarfactory, Ladies of Soul are back. The musician released her latest 19:30 €10 Dutch stars Trijntje Oosterhuis, record Art Angels in November.

EZRA FURMAN Edsilia Rombley, Glennis Grace, A darling of the experimental Berget Lewis and Candy Dulfer Shambolic garage pop inspired indie scene, her music often are the ladies who’ll be revisiting mixes blissed-out and ethereal

by The Velvet Underground, a broad selection of soul and The Ramones and Spectorpop’s vocals with electronica, pop and pop classics over two nights. elements of R&B. doo-wop, the Chicago native Fri 12 & Sat 13 Feb, Ziggo Sun 28 Feb, Paradiso, 21:30, released his latest record PerDome, 20:00, €35-€50 €22 petual Motion People in July to great critical acclaim.

ANGEL HAZE TINDERSTICKS Sun 21 Feb, Paradiso, 20:00, Backed by a heady mix of EDM Indie rock outfit Tindersticks €11 and hip-hop, Angel Haze is have always been left of centre, THE MUSIC OF SIMON & a rapper from Brooklyn. Her incorporating orchestral eleGARFUNKEL rhymes have fired rapidly across ments with cinematic scope for two records, 2014’s Dirty Gold a baroque-pop vibe, grounded Revisit the classic pop and folk and 2015’s Back to the Woods, as by vocalist Stuart A Staples’ songs of Simon & Garfunkel well as a series of mixtapes. deep baritone. Expect their 11th with the appropriately named Sat 13 Feb, Melkweg, 19:30, studio album The Waiting Room Simon & Garfunkel Revival €12.50 in January.

Band. Singers Michael Frank Mon 29 Feb, Royal Theatre and Guido Reuter imitate the SHEARWATER Carré, 20:00, €26-€36 duo convincingly.

Led by multi-instrumentalist Mon 22 Feb, Royal ConcertgeEN VOGUE and singer Jonathan Meiburg, bouw, 19:35, €32-€42 this US art rock band is incredThey were one of the biggest JEREMY LOOPS ibly prolific, releasing an album female R&B acts of the ’90s, almost every year since forming South African singer-songwriter paving the way for groups like in 2001. More impressively, Destiny’s Child and TLC. Now Jeremy Loops has a surf-folk their sound can vary drastically they're back to remind you vibe for fans of Mumford & on each release, with the unique Sons and John Butler Trio. His where it all started. En Vogue voice of Meiburg being the unit- debut album Trading Change is had global hits with tracks like ing force.

‘Free Your Mind’, ‘My Lovin’ out now.

Sat 13 Feb, Tolhuistuin, 19:30, and ‘Give It Up Turn It Loose’ Tue 23 Feb, Melkweg, 19:00, €15 singing about love and female €12.50 empowerment.

TENNESSEE STUDS NATHANIEL RATELIFF & THE Mon 29 Feb, Paradiso, 20:30, NIGHT SWEATS Named after the much-covered €35 Jimmy Driftwood country tune, Taking his folk rock sound and this bluegrass and country band embedding a great deal of soul, who call Amsterdam home will Rateliff moves away from folks be launching their album with CLASSICAL like Bon Ivor and Bill Callahan an afternoon knees up, so come for something upbeat and vital NEW YEAR CONCERT one, come all.

– which explains how he got Sun 14 Feb, Paradiso, 15:30, signed to the Stax label, home to The Pianola Museum celebrates €8.50 soul legends Otis Redding and its player pianos with the tradithe Staple Singers. tional New Year’s matinee, this HALF MOON RUN Wed 24 Feb, Paradiso, 20:30, year featuring Nino Gvetadze.

From Montreal Canada, Indie €17 Fri 1 Jan, Pianola Museum, four-piece Half Moon Run come 15:00 AMSTERDAM KLEZMER to Amsterdam with their latest BAND PUMEZA MATSHIKIZA – album Sun Leads Me On. The SCHUMANN record sounds like they’ve spent They may be unlikely looking long summer nights in the Queparty animals but this lot cerGet ready for a romantic Janubec countryside, sitting around tainly know how to entertain ary evening as the soprano percampfires listening to Radiowith their vibrant take on tradiforms Lieder by Schumann. head, Neil Young and Travis. tional klezmer with contempoTue 5 Jan, Royal ConcertgeTue 16 Feb, Paradiso, 20:30, rary twists. In 20 years they've bouw, 20:15, €30-€47 €20 gone from street buskers to Thur 11 Feb, Paradiso, 20:30, €15

FEAR IN MUSIC AND PAINTING This concert highlights works that were inspired by paintings: Henri Dutilleux’s Timbres, espaces, mouvement, inspired by Van Gogh’s ‘The Starry Night’; Im großen Schweigen by Alphons Diepenbrock, composed to a text by Nietzsche and appearing to be a description of Munch’s most famous portrait, ‘Scream’, as well as Mark-Antony Turnage‘s Three Screaming Popes, which harks to Francis Bacon‘s deformed figures.

Thur 14 Jan, Royal Concertgebouw, 21:15, €23-€42.50 cludes works by Puccini, Javier Alvarez and Osvaldo Golijo.

Thur 7 Jan, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, 20:15, €29.50 PIERRE-LAURENT AIMARD – BEETHOVEN AND STOCKHAUSEN In a rather daring combination, the piano grandmaster Aimard brings together two masterpieces by Beethoven and two works by one of the most controversial composers of the 20th century: Karlheinz Stockhausen.

NORWEGIAN CONNECTIONS This programme from the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra highlights the connections between Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg and the Englishman Frederick Delius, who considered Norway his spiritual home. Of Grieg‘s oeuvre, the orchestra performs the first suite and Solveig‘s Song from Peer Gynt. Elgar is also on the programme with his Enigma variations. The concert features soprano Sally Matthews.

Sat 30 Jan, Royal Concertgebouw, 20:15, €20-€49 rope in the early 20th century.

Composers such as Stravinsky, Aldo Clementi, Karl Amadeus Hartmann and, later, Wolfgang Rihm and Joël Bons were inspired by the new sounds and interpreted them with their own version of ragtime and waltzes.

Thur 14 Jan, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, 20:15, €29.50 BRUCKNER’S EIGHTH The Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra performs Bruckner’s powerful Eighth Symphony;

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PART IV THE A-LIST

MUSIC/CLASSICAL heroes and their successors.

Thur 28 & Fri 29 Jan, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, 20:15, €36

MUSIK UND WINE STELLA CHO Music and wine, that is, both The South-Korean cellist Stella of the German kind. Violinist Cho performs Beethoven’s Cello Emi Ohi Resnick, cellist Pamela Sonata no.4, Janácek’s PohádSmits and pianist Maarten ka, or Fairy Tale, and Bartók’s den Hengst perform works Rhapsody, followed by pianist

by Johan August Halvorsen, Fabian Müller with Brahms’s Beethoven and Mendelssohn.

Three Intermezzi and Beetho- After that, an interval, followed ven’s Appassionata. by a wine tasting. The evening Sun 17 Jan, Royal Concertge- culminates in a performance of bouw, 14:30, €28.50/€36 Schubert’s monumental Piano Trio no. 1.

LUNCH CONCERT Sat 30 Jan, Zuiderkerk, 20:00, Free monthly performance in €16.50 collaboration with the NationASKO|SCHÖNBERG – aal Muziekinstrumenten Fonds.

HEAVENLY Thur 21 Jan & 25 Feb, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, 12:30, free The ensemble is going for an unusual combination for this NETHERLANDS CHAMBER concert: on the programme are CHOIR – BACH AND experimental works by the AusBRAHMS trian composer Beat Furrer as Conducted by Hartmut well as Mahler’s Symphony no.

Haenchen, the Netherlands 4, performed in the ensemble Chamber Choir sings two mo- version by Erwin Stein – a pupil tets by Bach, Kodály’s Matra of Schönberg.

Pictures and the LiebeslieThur 4 Feb, Muziekgebouw der-Walzer by Brahms in a varaan ’t IJ, 20:15, €29.50 ied and inspiring programme.

BACH CHOIR AND ORFri 22 Jan, Royal ConcertgeCHESTRA OF THE NETHERbouw, 20:15, €22-€58 LANDS – MOZART REQUIEM NETHERLANDS CHAMBER The Bach Choir and Orchestra ORCHESTRA & LUCAS of the Netherlands perform JUSSEN – MOZART AND Mozart’s stirring and heartBARTÓK breaking Requiem. Pieter Jan Mozart wrote his sunny and Leusink conducts. entertaining Piano Concerto no.

Fri 5, Sun 21 & Sat 27 Feb, 17 for his talented pupil Babette Royal Concertgebouw, 20:15 Ployer, who, at its premiere, (Sun 14:15), €50-€85 was almost the same age as NETHERLANDS CHAMBER tonight’s soloist Lucas Jussen.

ORCHESTRA – SHOSTAKFurther on the programme are OVICH AND BRITTEN Bartók’s trio Contrasts and his Divertimento for string orchesThe Netherlands Chamber tra and Mozart’s Symphony Orchestra pays homage to the no. 40. friendship between ShostakovFri 22 Jan, Muziekgebouw ich and Britten with a concert aan ’t IJ, 20:15, €36 featuring Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, AMSTERDAMS BACH CON- (which he wrote for his partner, SORT – BACH IN ITALY: the tenor Peter Pears), ShostaSTABAT MATER kovich's Requiem for Strings The Amsterdams Bach Consort and Herbert Howells’s Elegy. performs Bach’s Tilge, Höchster, Sat 6 & Sun 7 Feb, Royal Conmeine Sünden, a German-lancertgebouw, 20:15 (Sat)/14:15 guage variation of Pergolesi’s (Sun), €20-€49 famous Stabat Mater, followed by the Stabat Mater by Sicilian NEDERLANDS FILMORKEST – BEST OF HOLLYWOOD autodidact Emanuele d’Astorga.

The orchestra plays much-loved Sun 24 Jan, English Reformed film soundtracks, including Church, 15:15, €25 the music from Gone with the Wind, Star Wars and The Lord CAPPELLA AMSTERDAM – of the Rings.

MARIA’S ELEGIES Sun 7 Feb, Muziekgebouw aan Each year, Capella Amsterdam ’t IJ, 15:00, €18 invites a young, talented conductor to put together a concert AMSTERDAM SINFONIETTA & JEAN-GUIHEN QUEYRAS – programme. This year, it is LARCHER Maria van Nieukerken, who is dedicating ‘her’ evening to ex- The Austrian composer Thomploring various facets of elegies, as Larcher compositions are from big religious or worldly rooted in tradition whilst being themes to intimate, personal meditative and emotional. Toemotions. The programme in- night’s piece, a world premiere, cludes elegies by Ton de Leeuw, was composed especially for Darius Milhaud, Fauré, Jaakko the Amsterdam Sinfonietta Mäntyjärvi and Knut Nystedt. and the renowned French Wed 27 Jan, Muziekgebouw cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras. aan ’t IJ, 20:15, €29.50 Larcher’s Mumien is also on the programme, as are works NETHERLANDS WIND

by Alban Berg, Friedrich Cerha ENSEMBLE – CUBA and Hugo Wolf.

The Netherlands Wind EnsemThur 11 Feb, Muziekgebouw ble goes on a quest for the roots aan ’t IJ, 20:15, €36 of Cuban music, with a programme featuring old musical

CONCERTGEBOUW ORCHESTRA & MATTHIAS GOERNE – MAHLER Matthias Goerne’s warm, expressive baritone makes him an ideal interpreter of Mahler’s songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn. His solo performance is preceded by Beethoven’s much-loved Seventh Symphony, conducted by Manfred Honeck.

Fri 12 & Sun 14 February, Royal Concertgebouw, 20:15 (Fri) & 14:15 (Sun), €25-€100

no. 2 with a solo performance

by Alexei Volodin.

Sun 14 Feb, Royal Concertgebouw, 11:00, €20-€26

turing Wolf ’s Italian Serenade, Haydn’s Cello Concerto, Berg’s Sonata and Dvocák’s Serenade.

Sat 20 Feb, Royal Concertgebouw, 20:15, €32/€40

ANNE SOFIE VON OTTER & KRISTIAN BEZUIDENHOUT – MATANGI QUARTET – LIEDER WITH HARPSICHORD BEETHOVEN IN AMSTERDAM The famous Swedish mezzosoprano teams up with the This spring, all of Beethoven’s harpsichordist for an evening string quartets will be perof classic lieder; among them formed in a series of concerts are songs by Schubert and the held in various historic locations romantic Swedish composer throughout Amsterdam.

Adolf Fredrik Lindblad. A Sun 21 Feb, Amstelkerk, 15:30, beautiful solo cantata by Haydn €25 ELIAS STRING QUARTET & and several works by Beethoven JONATHAN BISS are also on the programme, and FRANZ WELSER-MÖST & THE CONCERTGEBOUW Bezuidenhout plays two piano The British string quartet is ORCHESTRA joined by the American pianist solos by Schubert and Mozart.

Mon 15 Feb, Muziekgebouw The famous Austrian for a performance of Brahms’s aan ’t IJ, 20:15, €40 conductor visits the Concertgebeautiful piano quintet and bouw Orchestra with a Viennese Beethoven's Piano Sonata no.

NETHERLANDS CHAMBER programme featuring works 13 (known as Quasi una fantaORCHESTRA & GORDAN

by Schubert, Mahler and both sia). Britten’s String Quartet no.

NIKOLIC– EINE KLEINE Strausses.

1 is also on the programme.

NACHTMUSIK Thur 25 & Fri 26 Feb, Royal Sat 13 Feb, Muziekgebouw aan The chamber orchestra and Concertgebouw, 20:15, €25-€89 ’t IJ, 20:15, €33

Choice classical

© THOMAS LENDEN

Marc Albrecht conducts.

Sat 16 & Sun 17 Jan, Royal Concertgebouw, 20:15 (Sat), 14:15 (Sun), €20-€49

AN EVENING OF TODAY 2016 Annually, the Nieuw Ensemble dedicates an evening to the music of the present by collaborating with today’s brightest young composers. The 2016 edition features world premieres of works by Carmen Vanderveken, Darragh KearnsHayes, Seán ó Dálaigh, Haukur Þór Harðarson, Lam Lai from Hong Kong and Rick van Veldhuizen.

Thur 18 Feb, Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ, 20:15, €29.50 CONCERTGEBOUW ORCHESTRA – ESSENTIALS The orchestra plays Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, whose last movement has been described as ‘pure 19th-century pop music’, and is often used in film and TV. Manfred Honeck conducts.

Sat 13 Feb, Royal Concertgebouw, 21:00, €23€50

violinist Gordan Nikolic play a dreamy programme featuring Mozart’s catchy Eine kleine Nachtmusik, his Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra, Vaughan Williams’s Fantasia on Greensleeves, Debussy’s Danse sacrée et danse profane and Biber’s Battalia.

Mon 15 Feb, Royal Concertgebouw, 20:15, €20-€49

SHOSTAKOVICH’S SIXTH SYMPHONY BUSCH TRIO The Royal Concertgebouw OrThe young London-based chestra performs Shostakovich’s Israeli-Dutch trio comes to Sixth Symphony, plus parts of the Royal Concertgebouw for his Suite for Variety Orchestra a Sunday matinee featuring and a piano concerto by GerMendelssohn’s Piano Trio no.1 shwin (with soloist Jean-Yves and Schubert’s Piano Trio no. 2.

Thibaudet). Andris Nelsons Sun 14 Feb, Royal Concertgeconducts. bouw, 14:15, €25-€40 Wed 17 & Thur 18 Feb, Royal NFM SYMPHONY Concergebouw, 20:15, €30ORCHESTRA – THE €126 NUTCRACKER SUITE AMSTERDAM SINFONIETTA A fairy-tale-like Valentine’s & JEAN-GUIHEN QUEYRAS Day: The orchestra from Due to popular demand, the orWrocław in Poland performs Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite chestra reprises its collaboration with the cellist for a concert feaand Chopin’s Piano Concerto

NETHERLANDS RADIO PHILHARMONIC – BRUCKNER’S NINTH Bernard Haitink conducts Bruckner’s Symphony no. 9, the composer’s last – and unfinished – work. Not believing in various composers’s attempts to bring the work to closure, and neither happy with Bruckner’s own suggestion of using his Te Deum as an ending, Haitink has chosen to leave the symphony unfinished and use Bruckner’s adagio as the finale.

Sat 27 Feb, Royal Concertgebouw, 14:15, €50/€57 ADDRESSES Amstelkerk Amstelveld 10 www.amstelkerk.net Bimhuis Piet Heinkade 3 www.bimhuis.nl Bitterzoet Spuistraat 2 www.bitterzoet.com De Duif Prinsengracht 756 www.deduif.net Heineken Music Hall ArenA Boulevard 590 www.heineken-music-hall.nl Melkweg Lijnbaansgracht 234A www.melkweg.nl Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ Piet Heinkade 1 www.muziekgebouw.nl North Sea Jazz Club Pazzanistraat 1 www.northseajazzclub.com Paradiso Weteringschans 6-8 www.paradiso.nl Royal Concertgebouw Concertgebouw 10 www.concertgebouw.nl Royal Theatre Carré Amstel 115 /125 https://carre.nl Sugarfactory Lijnbaansgracht 238 www.sugarfactory.nl Tolhuistuin IJpromenade 2 www.tolhuistuin.nl Vondelkerk Vondelstraat 120 www.stadsherstel.nl Ziggo Dome De Passage 100 www.ziggodome.nl

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jan & feb 2016

STAGE Choice theatre

presents a personal and complex vision of his homeland today, performed by Israeli dancers with haunting vocal performances by members of the Israeli Opera. It promises to be a powerful and emotional journey of extremes, exploring the struggles of the individual twisted up in themes of national identity and wider society.

Fri 29 & Sat 30 Jan, Stadsschouwburg, 20:30, €10-€40 © ROY BEUSKER

be joined by modern daredevil performances. Artists include the likes of juggling trio Sarkozi and world renowned clown Fumagalli, while the show is directed SHOT OF IMPROV

by Italian ringmaster Tommy Cardarelli.

Shot of Improv sees the entire until Sun 3 Jan, RAI AmsterBoom Chicago cast take to the dam, various times & prices, stage, so the laughs are guaranteed to keep on comin’. Complete- www.wintercircusamsterdam.nl ly different each week, it’s a show THE GLASS MENAGERIE that starts big and never slows The premiere of The Glass down.

Menagerie in 1944 resulted in every Sat, Boom Chicago almost instant fame for Tennessee NEW KIDS ON THE GRACHT Williams. Not only did it become an American classic, it is regardExperience the fresh new energy ed as one of the greatest plays at the Boom Chicago comedy theatre. This show features three new worldwide. Here it’s performed

by Toneelgroep Amsterdam – all actors, two Boom powerhouses, performances are in Dutch but one musical director and an improvising technician. Together with English surtitles on the dates below. they create scenes, songs and Thur 7 & 14 Jan, Stadsschouwlightning-fast, audience-fuelled burg, 20:30, €10-€36 improvisation. every Wed, Fri & Sat, Boom PHIL NICHOL & Chicago DAVE FULTON EASYLAUGHS Part of the monthly Comedytrain International series at This international comedy group Toomler, it’s the turn of Dave Fulperforms a hilarious, hi-octane, ton (UK), an intense storycompletely improvised show teller with a surprisingly laidback at the CREA Café every Friday manner, and the always-energetic night. There’s also an early bird Phil Nichol (Canada). show, guest performers from Sun 10 Jan, Toomler, 20:30, €15 around the world, various formats, themes and open podiums.

SWAN LAKE every Fri, CREA Café, 20:00 & It’s been called the ‘ballet of all 21:00, €5-€10 ballets’ and not without good reaBEST OF BOOM 2016 son. With its pure romanticism, classic theme of good vs. evil and After more than 20 years of Tchaikovsky’s timeless composilaughs and cultural silliness in tions, ‘Swan Lake’ Amsterdam, the Boom Chicago epitomises the genre. This is a colcomedy crew presents ‘Best of laboration between the Ukrainian Boom’. This highlights package State Opera and combines the troupe’s sharpest Ballet Theatre. sketches and trademark improviMon 11 Jan, Royal Theatre Carsation for a two-hour show. ré, 20:00, €15-€39 every Tue & Thur, Boom Chicago THE WINTER’S TALE WORLD CHRISTMAS CIRCUS The Winter’s Tale is Shakespeare’s timeless tragicomedy of obsession Featuring only the crème de la and redemption, reimagined here crème of the circus world, the in a new production that’s co-diinternationally renowned World rected by Rob Ashford and KenChristmas Circus returns to this neth Branagh. Judi Dench plays former circus theatre for another Paulina, while Branagh plays magical seasonal run. One of the Leontes. Please note, the performost acclaimed circus festivals mance takes place in London, in the world, it features countless broadcast in one of Amsterdam’s international stars. top cinemas. until Sun 3 Jan, Royal Theatre Carré, various times and prices, Thur 14 Jan & Thur 11 Feb, Pathé Tuschinski, 20:00 www.carre.nl

THEATRE, DANCE & COMEDY

ANNE It’s your last chance to catch this long-running production, which explores Anne Frank’s life before her family went into hiding, giving an impression of what life was like in the annex and provides an insight into what happened after the family was discovered. Although this grand production is in Dutch, a dedicated translation system is available in multiple languages.

Until 31 Jan, Theater Amsterdam, various times & prices

ARIODANTE Händel’s baroque masterpiece is an intimate opera bristling with warmth and humanity: the search for true love is thwarted by intrigues and clashing religious and political interests. This production was nominated for best New Production at the International Opera Awards 2015.

Sun 17, Wed 20, Sat 23, Mon 25, Thur 28, Sun 31 Jan, Wed 3 Feb, Dutch National Opera and Ballet, €16-€142

HENRY ROLLINS It’s been a few decades since Henry Rollins first made a name for himself fronting LA punks Black Flag. In the years since he’s turned his hand to radio, TV, spoken word and, of course, comedy, enrapturing audiences with his intense physique and passionate delivery. This time he returns with his ‘Charmingly Obstinate’ show.

Thur 28 Jan, Paradiso, 20:00, €20

SLEEPING BEAUTY This fairy-tale ballet by Tchaikovsky is one of the greatest treasures ever produced by the Russian Imperial Ballet and almost 125 years after its premiere, it is still regarded as the most demanding and brilliant example of the pure classical ballet style. This time it’s produced by the Ballet and State Opera of Tartarstan.

Sun 31 Jan, Meervaart, 14:30, €35 HOUSE DANCE FOREVER This international dance battle pits top talents from the urban and hip-hop dance scenes against each. A sister contest of the Summer Dance Forever festival, this one-day event is about super tunes, big beats and cool dance moves.

Sat 6 Feb, Paradiso, 14:00, €15 MATA HARI Sometimes, real people’s lives and stories become so famous as to render them near-mythical. So it happened with Mata Hari, exotic dancer in Paris and World War I spy. As befits a legend, she is the focus of this large-scale production by Dutch National Ballet, choreographed by artistic director and choreographer Ted Brandsen to new music by Tarik O’Regan, one of today’s leading British composers.

Sat 6, Sun 7, Fri 12, Sat 13, Sun 14, Wed 17, Thur 18, Sat 20, Sun 21, Tue 23, Thur 25 & Fri 26 Feb, Dutch National Opera and Ballet, 20:15 (Sun 14:00), €18-€92 JUSTE DEBOUT 2016 International dance contest with rounds happening across the world. Amsterdam is just one of these locations as top dancers compete to make it to the finals in Paris. Expect plenty of popping, locking, house, hip-hop and experimental dance moves and lots of energetic tunes to drive the dancers.

Sun 7 Feb, Paradiso, 14:00, €15

and light-hearted, dealing with tumultuous and unhappy family JIM JEFFERIES WINTER CIRCUS the trials and tribulations of the life and the rejection of the locals AMSTERDAM The comedy of Australian stand- Queen of Naples and her love life he is supposed to govern. In up Jefferies draws big audiences complete with rivalling suitors Dutch with English surtitles on A seasonal circus experience around the world, but he certainly and cross-dressing intrigue. the dates below. featuring a mixture of old and isn’t afraid of shocking or shying Sun 17 Jan, Royal Theatre Carré, Thur 21 & 28 Jan; 4 Feb, Stadssnew performance techniques – away from risky content. Alco14:00, €36-€106 chouwburg, 20:00, €20.50-€33 acrobatics and plate spinning will 3: THE GARDEN holism, sexism, drug use, religion advert ISABELLE BEERNAERT – BIG TOWN, 15 YEARS OF and sexuality are all frequent topChoreographer Nicole Beutler UNDER MY SKIN DON’T HIT MAMA ics in his rants and stories. explores the long-standing utoThur 14 & Fri 15 Jan, Heineken Beernaert’s new choreography Dance company Don’t Hit Mama, pian desire for a return to nature Music Hall, €35-€45 plays with the idea of a higher established in 2000 by Nita Liem and simplicity in a production force or desire captivating her and Bart Deuss, have performed that takes inspiration from a wide KEVIN HART characters. The production uses at the Stadsschouwburg on two range of influences: pre-Socratic A star of stage and screen, Ameri- music by Yann Tiersen and Miles previous occasions: with Zwanennatural philosophers, the bible, can comic Kevin Hart has starred Davis as well as French chansons meer Bijlmermeer II (with young Hieronymus Bosch, Einstürzende in spoof movies such as in the and world music. dancers from the Bijlmer and Neubauten and the utopian artist Scary Movie series and Epic MovTue 19 Jan, Royal Theatre dancers from the Dutch National community Monte Verità. ie. His trip to Amsterdam is sponCarré, 20:00, €18-€36 Ballet) and War & Peace (with Mon 8 Feb, Stadsschouwburg, sored by Comedy Central, seeing dancers from the Netherlands 20:30, €10-€32.50 DE STILLE KRACHT Hart present his acclaimed ‘What and Senegal). Now the dance COSÌ FAN TUTTE now?’ tour on a giant scale.

This production, by Ivo van Hove group’s 15th birthday is being Sat 16 & 30 Jan, Ziggo Dome, and his Toneelgroep Amsterdam, celebrated with the spectacular De Nederlandse Reisopera 20:00, from €49 is part of a series of adaptations ‘Big Town’. performs Mozart’s much-loved of novels by Louis Couperus. De Tue 26 Jan, Stadsschouwburg, ensemble opera.

PARTENOPE stille kracht (‘The Hidden Force’) 20:30, €10-€30 Fri 12 Feb, Royal Theatre Carré, While Händel’s Partenope has is set in the Dutch colony of Java 19:30, €16-€71 MAN OF THE HOUR the structure of an opera seria – a and tells the story of a Dutch 7, 14 JAN | SURTITLED IN ENGLISH ‘serious opera’ – it is humorous official who is struggling with a Israeli choreographer Itzik Galili

THE GLASS MENAGERIE

56

PART IV THE A-LIST.

GAY & LESBIAN

BALLET BUBBLES The Dutch National Ballet’s Junior Company presents a new programme in which the youngest dance professionals can display their enthusiasm and talent to great advantage.

There is a strong emphasis on the links with the resident choreographers: Hans van Manen, Krzysztof Pastor and Ernst Meisner. Such tours are a fantastic way to meet the stars of tomorrow.

Sat 13 & Sun 14 Feb, Meervaart, 19:30/14:30, €13-€19 HIERONYMUS B Modern dance and visual arts merge in the latest dance production by the Dutch choreographer Nanine Linning. ‘Hieronymus B’ celebrates the oeuvre of the famous Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch in a total work of art combining dance, video art, opulent costume and stage design with both historic and contemporary music.

Sun 14 Feb, Stadsschouwburg, 20:30, €10-€40 NICK THUNE Nick Thune is a stand-up comedian and actor from Seattle.

He’s known for his absurdist views, deadpan wit and offers a unique style of storytelling mixed with one-liners, ensuring growing success on stage and on various US chat shows.

Sun 14 Feb, Toomler, 20:30, €15 DMNT The choreographer Ugo Dehaes has been working on themes from his immediate surroundings for many years. When he saw how someone he loved was starting to ail in his brain and body, and how the family reacted with great distress, he felt he had to seek out the beauty of forgetting and the inability to control one’s own movements.

Tue 16-Sat 20 Feb, De Brakke Grond, 20:30, €7-€14 BREAK A LEG Streetstyle dance festival featuring performances, a crew competition, one-on-one battles, showcases, DJs, live art and an urban art market. Enter your own crew or head along and watch the dancers battle it out in the hip-hop, krump and house categories. There are spots for the very young to teens and adults.

21 Feb, Meervaart, advert

THE GLASS MENAGERIE 7, 14 JAN | SURTITLED IN ENGLISH

www.break-a-leg.nl JOSIE LONG Although not a massive TV name, Josie Long’s a leading light in the alternative comedy scene in the UK, enjoying a host of successful tours, as well as some weird and wonderful film projects. Her early work was a tad more whimsical than now, embracing politics and positive activism. But ‘positive’ is a great buzzword for Long, for all her tales of heartbreak or woe, you’ll come away feeling brighter.

Sat 21 Feb, Toomler, 20:30, €15 KHOVANSHCHINA Continuing its exploration of the Russian canon, the Dutch National Opera presents a new production of Modest Mussorgsky’s five-act opera, directed by Christof Loy. Khovanshchina, or ‘The Khovansky Affair’, deals with a revolt against Peter the Great led by Prince Khovansky, and, by extension, the rise and fall of a noble Russian family.

The opera was left unfinished in Mussorgsky’s lifetime; out of the several existing completions, the DNO has chosen the one by Shostakovich. The soloists include Dmitry Ivaschenko, Orlin Anastassov and Anita Rachvelishvili. Performances continue in March.

Sat 27 Feb, Dutch National Opera and Ballet, 18:30, €20-€176 ADDRESSES Boom Chicago Rozentheater Rozengracht 117 020 423 0101 www.boomchicago.nl Delamar Theater Marnixstraat 402 0900 33 52 627 www.delamar.nl Dutch National Opera & Ballet Amstel 3 020 625 5455 www.operaballet.nl Meervaart Meer en Vaart 300 020 410 7777 www.meervaart.nl Melkweg Lijnbaansgracht 234A www.melkweg.nl Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ Piet Heinkade 1 www.muziekgebouw.nl Paradiso Weteringschans 6-8 www.paradiso.nl Royal Concertgebouw Concertgebouwplein 10 www.concertgebouw.nl Royal Theater Carré Amstel 115/125 0900 2525255 www.carre.nl Stadsschouwburg Leidseplein 26, 020 624 2311 www.stadsschouwburg amsterdam.nl Theater Amsterdam Danzigerkade 5 www.theateramsterdam.nl Toomler Breitnerstraat 2 020 670 7400 www.toomler.nl Ziggo Dome De Passage 100 www.ziggodome.nl

REGULAR EVENTS MELLOW MONDAY Recharge after your busy weekend with free foot and shoulder massages, free snacks, free detox scrubs, and dry and steam saunas.

Every Mon, Sauna NZ, 19:00, €19,50, under-26s €10, men only NAKED SWIMMING The Marnixbad pools contain much less chlorine than most – which is good news since you’ll be exposing your sensitive bits.

Every Tue, Marnixbad, 21:15, various prices

trance. Sat 30 Jan, Dhoem Dhaam Warehouse, 20:00, €14 LOTGENOTEN 3 YEAR ANNIVERSARY WEEKENDER Over the past three years, Lotgenoten have been operating as travel agents (for trips to raves abroad), unusual art gallery head honchos and above all, party organisers.

This will be a huge event for anyone interested in abstract nightlife entertainment.

Fri 5-Sun 7 Feb, Radion, 23:00-11:00 (on Sunday morning), €35 BEAR NECESSITY Bear Necessity started as a bear party, but has become more a general gay dance party for men. This party celebrates their 8 year anniversary!

Sat 6 Feb, Club Air, 23:0006:00, €20

(Z)ONDERBROEK Guys: Every Friday night and every first Saturday of the month, drop all your pretences and dance without pants at Club Church in Amsterdam.

OUDE STIJL IS BOTERGEIL The dress code is strictly enWe’ll get it over and done forced: briefs and jocks are with: the title translates welcome; swimming trunks, as: Old School Dance Music boxers, sports shorts or going Makes You Super Horny. commando are also permitted.

Sat 13 Feb, Dhoem Dhaam Board shorts, Bermudas or other streetwear prohibited. Warehouse, 22.00-08.00, €15 Every Fri night & first Sat WONDERLAND of the month, Club Church, FESTIVAL 22:00-05:00, €10 INDOOR A festival inspired by Lewis Carroll’s famous book. Boogie opportunities available on ONE-OFF three different floors, where EVENTS the music will be largely techno orientated. DJs include NUDE CLUB Perc &Truss, Benny Rodrigues, Tapesh and Wouter S. Nude Club Amsterdam is a Sat 13 Feb, Amsterdam nude gay cruise and play parStudio’s, 22.00-08.00, €35 ty once a month on Sunday afternoon. Dress code: shoes ADDRESSES only. Safe only.

Amstel Fifty Four Sun 3 Jan & 7 Feb, The WareAmstel 54 house, Doors open 15:00, €10 www.amstelfiftyfour.nl GAY MOVIE NIGHT Nurse your hangover in the dark, while enjoying a screening of the gems of gay cinema.

Wed 6 Jan & 3 Feb, Pathé de Munt, 21:00, €10 GARBO FOR WOMEN Single ladies strut their stuff at this regular ladies-only meet-up.

Sat 16 Jan & 20 Feb, Strand West, 18:00, €8

Church Kerkstraat 52 www.clubchurch.nl Eden Amsterdam Manor Hotel Linnaeusstraat 89 www.lgbtqoosterpark.blogspot.com Engel van Amsterdam Zeedijk 21 www.engelamsterdam.nl Hotel Arena 's-Gravesandestraat 5 www.hotelarena.nl Lellebel Utrechtsestraat 4 www.lellebel.nl Marnixbad Marnixplein 1 www.hetmarnix.nl Club NYX Reguliersdwarsstraat 42 www.clubnyx.nl Paradiso Weteringschans 6-8 www.paradiso.nl Pathé de Munt Vijzelstraat 15 www.pathe.nl Prik Spuistraat 109 www.prikamsterdam.nl The Queen’s Head Zeedijk 20 www.queenshead.nl Saarein Elandsstraat 119-HS www.saarein2.nl Sameplace Nassaukade 120 www.sameplace.nl Sauna Nieuwezijds Nieuwezijds Armsteeg 95 www.saunanieuwezijds.nl Strand West Stavangerweg 900 www.garboforwomen.nl Taboo Reguliersdwarsstraat 45 www.taboobar.nl Theater Amsterdam Danzigerkade 5 www.theateramsterdam.nl The Warehouse Warmoesstraat 96 www.warehouseamsterdam.com

Highlight gay

HORSEMEN & KNIGHTS Big willy gay sex party.

Dress code: naked or underwear. Drop ’em and if you measure up, entrance is free.

Sat 17 Jan & 21 Feb, The Warehouse, 15:00, €8 LADZ The winter-white edition of the gay dance party for lads, scallies, gabbers, sneaker- and sportswear boys. DJs play the harder styles of dance music.

Sat 30 Jan, Club Church, 22:00-5:00 QUEST 4 TRANCE ANNIVERSARY EDITION Besides Gabba, there’s hardly any style of dance music that’s more distinctively Dutch than

© TEAM PETER STIGTER

STAGE

AMSTERDAM FASHION WEEK This growing fashion event is ten full days of glitz and glamour which bring together the cream of the international design scene while also reaching out to the general public with its new Downtown programming, chock-full of fun, unique events at some of the city’s leading cultural locations. Try your luck at the Catwalk training session for newbies at Jaz Hotel, or admire icons of fashion photography at FOAM. Fri 8-Mon 18 Jan, Westergasfabriek and various other locations, www.fashionweek.nl

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EXHIBITIONS & MUSEUMS advertorial ASIA IN AMSTERDAM – EXOTIC LUXURY IN THE GOLDEN AGE The Rijksmuseum shares the senBLACK AND WHITE: THE sations experienced when exotic DRESSCODE OF A LIFETIME wares were first brought from the It’s the most classic colour pairing East by Dutch merchants at the in fashion, but how did these two end of the 16th century. In the opposite tones come to be such a early Golden Age, Dutch ships chic combination? From the 18th sailed the globe, and young men century to the present day, discov- risked their lives to become rich in er how black and white took over in the East Indies. They brought our wardrobes and the historical back designs and materials that influences that shaped the clothes had never been seen before in Euwe wear today. rope. Amsterdam played a central Museum of Bags and Purses, role in the story: the capital city until 3 Jan became the marketplace for luxury Asian goods. This exhibition ADDITION: PIETER AND presents the beautiful artefacts MARIEKE SANDERS and the history behind them, GUIDED TOUR AT ARTIS ROYAL ZOO In 2013, art collectors Pieter including porcelain, lacquerware, Are you curious about the catacombs of the Aquarium, or have and Marieke Sanders gifted the ebony, ivory and silk. you always wondered why the floor of the elephants stable is Stedelijk Museum in AmsterRijksmuseum, until 17 Jan round? Take a look behind the scenes with a guide at Artis dam more than 100 artworks by Royal Zoo. The tour is offered in Dutch and English.

MICHELANGELO ANTONIONI contemporary artists. Now, for – IL MAESTRO DEL CINEMA Saturdays and Sundays at 15:00, starting at Monkey Island, duthe first time, a selection of work MODERNO from their donation will be shown ration 90 minutes. Reservations for activities are not required. in dialogue with the Stedelijk’s Explore the perfectly framed existing collection. world of director Michelangelo UPATED PRICES Stedelijk Museum, until 3 Jan Antonioni in this exhibition.

Artis Royal Zoo is open every day. Updated prices apply from As one of the first directors to 1 January 2016. Tickets are €17 for children aged 3 to 9, and VAN DE POLL BIJ VAN LOON prioritise mise-en-scène as a way €20.50 for adults.

Come face to face with generato complement narrative and tions of one of Amsterdam’s most reveal characters’ state of mind, ‘BRUSHES’ AWARD WINNERS Rembrandt’s role in it. famous noble families in this Antonioni is regarded as one of IN THE RIJKSMUSEUM Rembrandt House Museum, engrossing portrait collection. the foremost innovators of film until 31 Jan Immortalising the Van de Poll from the last century. The exhibiThe Rijksmuseum is exhibiting family in paint from the 16th cen- tion is accompanied by screenings original prints by the winners MIRÓ & COBRA. THE JOY OF tury onwards, portraits by various of Antonioni’s films and special of the Penselen (Brushes), the EXPERIMENT artists reveal the many faces of programmes.

Paletten (Palettes) and the Vlag the high-ranking individuals who EYE Film Museum, until 17 Jan The first major exhibition of Joan en Wimpels (Flag and Pennants) Miró’s work in the Netherlands in awards. These awards honour the played their important roles in WHEN I GIVE, I GIVE MYSELF 59 years shows more than 80 of the city over the centuries. most beautifully illustrated chilhis artworks amidst the context Museum van Loon, until 10 Jan Inspired not by Vincent van dren’s books of the past year. of the CoBrA movement, an Gogh’s paintbrush, but by his pen, Rijksmuseum, until 6 Mar WE MAY HAVE MET BEFORE international group of post-war this exhibition takes the artist’s ANISH KAPOOR artists. As such, the exhibition An exhibition of the work of seven famous letters as its starting & REMBRANDT contemporary Chinese artists, point by asking 20 contemporary also features 60 works by various CoBrA artists, including Karel compiled by the internationally Dutch and international artists Works by the celebrated British Appel, Asger Jorn, Constant and renowned Chinese curator Feng to create an artwork in direct artist Anish Kapoor can be seen Pierre Alechinsky.

Boyi. response to one of the painter’s in the Rijksmuseum’s Gallery of CoBrA Museum, until 31 Jan FOAM, until 17 Jan handwritten missives. The reHonour. In such a grand setting, sulting exhibition offers a fresh these extraordinary visceral works 81 THINGS WHICH I PAUL BOGAERS: MY LIFE IN insight into issues that were enter a visual dialogue with THOUGHT I FORGOT THE BUSH OF GHOSTS important to Van Gogh during Rembrandt’s late works.

Flemish artist Jasper Rigole Works by Dutch photographer his lifetime, and demonstrates Rijksmuseum, until 6 Mar collects other people’s memories.

Paul Bogaers created within the that the painter is still inspiring ISA GENZKEN - MACH DICH Films, photos and objects, so past five years. During this period, the next generation of artists, 125 HÜBSCH! called memory documents found his work has developed from years after his death. in thrift shops, flea markets and two-dimensional photo combiVan Gogh Museum, until 17 Jan The first comprehensive retroother places. He archives them nations to the three-dimensional spective of Isa Genzken’s work – REVEALED in his fictional institute: The domain of assemblage, sculpture one of the most influential artists International Institute for the and installation, in which photogRevealed is a compelling photo of the last 40 years. With work Conservation, Archiving and raphy plays a vital role. exhibition that takes an intimate encompassing sculpture, instalDistribution of Other People’s FOAM, until 17 Jan look at the world’s greatest modlation, film, video, painting, work Memories. ern artists at work as they reveal on paper, collage and photograPRIX DE ROME De Brakke Grond, until 31 Jan themselves to the photographer. phy, Mach dich Hübsch! offers a The Prix de Rome is the oldest Look out for striking images dedynamic framework for GenzROME. THE DREAM OF and most prestigious award in the picting Rene Magritte, Marc Chaken’s unorthodox vision of the EMPEROR CONSTANTINE Netherlands for artists under the gall, Fernando Botero, Joan Miró, world around us. The exhibition In partnership with the Vatican age of 40. Taking place every two Jean Cocteau, Francis Bacon and occupies both the upper galleries Museums, the Capitoline Muyears, catch the contemporary many more. of the new wing and half of those seums and the National Roman of the Stedelijk’s historic building, artworks of the 2015 nominees.

Sofitel Legend The Grand, until Museum, this impressive collecDe Appel arts centre, until 17 Jan 19 Jan encouraging you to lose yourself tion shows how Christianity grew in Genzken’s world.

MUNCH : VAN GOGH PHILIPPE APELOIG – USING in imperial Rome, from being a Stedelijk Museum, until 6 Mar TYPE minor religious community to beThe two influential artists Edcome a major world religion. The DANA LIXENBERG – IMPERIAL vard Munch (1863-1944) and Enter the typographic world of COURTS, 1993-2015 story is illustrated by treasures of Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) Paris-based designer Philippe are renowned for their emoApeloig. His mastery of typogra- Roman art and architecture from A series of black-and-white photo tionally-charged paintings and phy is such that he is able to play a the 4th century AD and onwards. portraits and landscapes photoDe Nieuwe Kerk, until 7 Feb drawings, their personal and subtle and well-chosen game with graphed at the Imperial Courts innovative style and their lives full characters and fonts. housing project in Watts, Los AFTER THE WAR WAS OVER of hardship. Despite the many Stedelijk Museum, until 24 Jan Angeles. The series spans more Some 150 photographs by the striking parallels in their work than 20 years, from 1993 to the A RICH TRADITION. TWO renowned American Magnum and artistic ambitions, they have present.

CENTURIES OF NETHERphotographer Leonard Freed, never before been brought togethHuis Marseille, until 6 Mar LANDISH PRINTMAKING which offer an impression of Jewer in one exhibition, ensuring that FROM PRIVATE COLLECTIONS ish Amsterdam in the 1950s and MARTIN ROEMERS – this temporary presentation at METROPOLIS the Van Gogh Museum is a real Via more than 80 prints, the mu- show the recovery of Jewish life in the decades following the war. blockbuster exhibition. seum showcases the remarkable Photographer Roemer explores Jewish Historical Museum, Van Gogh Museum, until 17 Jan development of printmaking in modern life in megacities, letting until 14 Feb the Netherlands in the 16th and us immerse ourselves in these 17th centuries, as well as extreme, urban worlds. His atmo-

Highlight Artis

ARTIS, ©RONALD VAN WEEREN

TEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS

spheric photographs consist of agglomerations and are taken with long exposure times, meaning traffic and people merge to become blurred, swirling currents.

Huis Marseille, until 6 Mar FRANCESCA WOODMAN – ON BEING AN ANGEL This a retrospective exhibition showcases works from the exceptional oeuvre of American photographer Francesca Woodman (1958–1981). She started taking photographs when she was just 13 and, up until her suicide at the age of 22, primarily took self-portraits, using photography as a form of expression to profile herself.

FOAM, until 9 Mar SIXTIES – A WORLDWIDE HAPPENING Take a trip back in time at this celebration of 1960s culture. Exploring themes that characterised a decade, the exhibition includes legendary objects and worldfamous work by fashion designers, photographers and architects.

The exhibition also introduces major artists from Africa, Asia and Latin America whose work remains little known in Europe.

Tropenmuseum, until 13 Mar TRANSMISSION A photography exhibition reflecting the life of Amsterdam citizen Miep. Transmission features photographs by Koos Breukel and Milette Raats which tell a complex story about transgender life.

Amsterdam Museum, until 13 Mar GERMAINE KRUIP: GEOMETRY OF THE SCATTERING Dutch artist Germaine Kruip reveals the invisible in Amsterdam’s Oude Kerk. In cooperation with curator Krist Gruijthuijsen, they’ve selected a host of works by a variety of artists – some created specifically for this church space, others adapted.

Oude Kerk, until 27 Mar THE COLONIAL WAR 1945-1949 The Dutch Resistance Museum turn its attention to the horrific events that occurred in the Dutch East Indies during WWII. Dutch Resistance Museum, until 3 Apr VINCENT VAN GOGH, 400 DAYS IN AMSTERDAM Experience some personal insights from the famous Dutch artist, who spent time living in Amsterdam studying theology before concentrating on painting.

The exhibition includes letters to his brother Theo, describing the city around him, as well as two oil sketches of Amsterdam.

Amsterdam City Archives, until 17 Apr AMSTERDAM PARK Experience stunning in-the-air photos of Amsterdam’s numerous parks, captured by artist Jeroen Hofman.

Amsterdam City Archives, 28 Jan-17 Apr SETH SIEGELAUB: BEYOND CONCEPTUAL ART An exhibition looking at the life and work of Seth Siegelaub. Often

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A-LIST. PART IV THE A-LIST

EXHIBITIONS & MUSEUMS billed as the ‘father of Conceptual Art’, he was a seminal influence on curators, artists, and cultural thinkers, internationally and in Amsterdam, where he settled in the 1990s.

Stedelijk Museum, until 17 Apr ZONDE Seven artists are invited to reflect upon the seven deadly sins.

Each month sees a different artist present works inspired by their designated sin.

Biblical Museum, until 30 Apr STREET COUTURE The ‘Street Couture’ style is all about mixing and matching: high-end fashion combined with street fashion, sports with pop culture, and Dutch with European design. The exhibition brings together couture classics from the museum’s collection with street fashion from various parts of the world.

Museum of Bags & Purses, until 8 May SASKIA NOOR VAN IMHOFF A solo exhibition by Dutch artist Saskia Noor van Imhoff (1982), with her installation taking direct inspiration from the Stedelijk’s collection.

Stedelijk Museum, 13 Feb-8 May SECRET LOVE, SEXUAL DIVERSITY IN CHINA This art exhibition explores the state of social acceptance of LGBT people in today’s China.

Contemporary artists have played an important role in the shift in awareness and growing social acceptance of sexual diversity, and the fight for equal rights.

Tropenmuseum, until 8 May SPANISH MASTERS FROM THE HERMITAGE Subtitled The World of El Greco, Ribera, Zurbarán, Velázquez, Murillo & Goya, this grand exhibition of Spanish art and artefacts includes more than 60 superior paintings and a rich collection of graphic works and applied arts masterpieces. As well as the grand masters, it features paintings by their pupils and later painters, up to and including Picasso.

Hermitage Amsterdam, until 29 May DWDD POP-UP MUSEUM This exhibition elevates various regular guests of the popular Dutch talk show De Wereld Draait Door to curators, letting each of them pick a favourite work from the archives of 11 Dutch museums.

Allard Pierson Museum, 29 Jan-31 May

PERMANENT EXHIBITIONS ANNE FRANK HOUSE Prinsengracht 263 is where Anne Frank lived in hiding with her family during WWII. BODY WORLDS Captivating visitors the world over, the oft-controversial

exhibition of human specimens including wholebody plastinates, organs and translucent body slices.

EYE FILM MUSEUM Cinematography museum with an internationally renowned collection of films covering the whole history of cinema.

showing how the engineering marvel was built on swampland during the 17th century.

HORTUS BOTANICUS For nearly four centuries, Amsterdam’s Hortus Botanicus has regaled visitors with its lush greenhouses and exotic plants.

It is one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world.

Choice exhibits

17th-century canal house attic dates back to the Reformation, when Catholics were not permitted to practice their faith in public.

REMBRANDTHUIS (REMBRANDT HOUSE) The place that Rembrandt called home for nearly 20 years boasts an impressive collection of drawings, paintings and etchings by the Old Master himself as well as by his contemporaries.

RIJKSMUSEUM Visit the state museum and embark on a journey through Dutch art and history from the Middle Ages and Renaissance right up until the 20th century.

HET SCHEEPVAART MUSEUM (NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM) The National Maritime Museum comprises a series of small exhibitions exploring various elements of maritime life. Moored outside is the Amsterdam, an exact replica of a famous Dutch East India Company ship.

GRAFFITI. NEW YORK MEETS THE DAM An exhibition dedicated solely to New York and Amsterdam graffi ti from the 1980s, showing how a young generation changed the street scene 30 years ago, and how their influence is still very much evident in music, fashion and art today.

Amsterdam Museum, until 24 Jan

KONINKLIJK PALEIS (ROYAL PALACE) The Koninklijk Paleis (Royal Palace) on Amsterdam’s Dam Square is one of three palaces still in use by the Dutch royal family. When the palace is not being used by the royal family, it is open to the public.

STEDELIJK MUSEUM The museum’s permanent collection is now on display in the beautifully restored historical building. Half of the ground floor is reserved for the best pieces from the design collection.

© ERWIN OLAF

REMBRANDT’S NAKED TRUTH Based on the latest research, Rembrandt’s Naked Truth features 17th-century nude studies that have never before been brought together in such large numbers. It will be the first time that Rembrandt’s frank approach to drawing nudes will be examined in depth and brought to the attention of a wide audience. Expect more than 50 objects collected from around the world.

Rembrandt House Museum, 12 Feb-16 May

CATWALK An exhibition dedicated to some 100 spectacular examples of Dutch fashion, dating from 1625 to 1960.

Look out for vibrantly coloured French silk gowns and luxurious velvet gentlemen’s suits of the 18th century, classically-inspired Empire dresses and bustles of the Fin de Siècle culminating in 20th-century French haute couture

by Dior and Yves Saint Laurent.

Rijksmuseum, 20 Feb-15 May

GEELVINCK HINLOPEN HOUSE A decadent canal-side mansion showcasing 17th-century patrician wealth. Highlights include ornamental gardens and sumptuous themed salons.

HOUSEBOAT MUSEUM Located in the Hendrika Maria, a former freighter moored on the Prinsengracht, the Houseboat Museum gives a fun insight into life on Amsterdam’s canals – a uniquely Dutch way of life.

HET GRACHTENHUIS (MUSEUM OF THE CANALS) A tribute to the Canal District, with multimedia exhibitions

ONS’ LIEVE HEER OP SOLDER (OUR LORD IN THE ATTIC) This clandestine church in a

TROPENMUSEUM The ‘Museum of the Tropics’ has eight geographically-themed permanent exhibitions and an ongoing series of temporary presentations, including both modern and traditional visual arts and photographic work.

WILLET-HOLTHUYSEN MUSEUM The only completely period furnished canal-side house in Amsterdam has a remarkable collection of Golden Age art and silverware.

ADDRESSES 3D Print Canal House Asterweg 49 www.3dprintcanalhouse.com Allard Pierson Museum Oude Turfmarkt 127 www.allardpiersonmuseum.nl Amsterdam City Archives Vijzelstraat 32 www.stadsarchief.amsterdam.nl Amsterdam Museum Kalverstraat 92 www.amsterdammuseum.nl Anne Frank House Prinsengracht 263-267 www.annefrank.org De Appel arts centre Prins Hendrikkade 142 www.deappel.nl Museum of Bags & Purses Herengracht 573 www.tassenmuseum.nl Biblical Museum Herengracht 366-368

www.bijbelsmuseum.nl Body Worlds Damrak 66 www.bodyworlds.nl De Brakke Grond Nes 45 www.brakkegrond.nl Cobra Museum Sandbergplein 1 Amstelveen www.cobra-museum.nl Diamond Museum Amsterdam Paulus Potterstraat 8 diamantmuseumamsterdam.nl Dutch Press Museum Zeeburgerkade 10 www.persmuseum.nl Dutch Resistance Museum Plantage Kerklaan 61 www.verzetsmuseum.org EYE Filmmuseum IJpromenade 1 www.eyefilm.nl FOAM Keizersgracht 609 www.foam.org Geelvinck Hinlopen House Keizersgracht 633 www.geelvinck.nl Van Gogh Museum Paulus Potterstraat 7 www.vangoghmuseum.nl Het Grachtenhuis (Museum of the Canals) Herengracht 386 www.hetgrachtenhuis.nl Hermitage Amsterdam Amstel 51 www.hermitage.nl Hollandse Schouwburg Plantage Middenlaan 24 www.hollandscheschouwburg.nl Hortus Botanicus Plantage Middenlaan 2A www.dehortus.nl Houseboat Museum Prinsengracht 296K www.houseboatmuseum.nl Huis Marseille Keizersgracht 401 www.huismarseille.nl Imagine IC Frankemaheerd 2 www.imagineic.nl Jewish Historical Museum Nieuwe Amstelstraat 1 www.jhm.nl Micropia Artisplein, Plantage Kerklaan 38 www.micropia.nl/en Museum Van Loon Keizersgracht 672 www.museumvanloon.nl De Nieuwe Kerk Dam Square www.nieuwekerk.nl Ons’ Lieve Heer Op Solder (Our Lord in the Attic) Oudezijds Voorburgwal 40 www.opsolder.nl Rembrandt House Museum Jodenbreestraat 4 www.rembrandthuis.nl Rijksmuseum Jan Luijkenstraat 1 www.rijksmuseum.nl Royal Palace Amsterdam Dam square www.paleisamsterdam.nl Het Scheepvaartmuseum (National Maritime Museum) Kattenburgerplein 1 www.hetscheepvaartmuseum.nl Stedelijk Museum Museumplein 10 www.stedelijk.nl Tropenmuseum Linnaeusstraat 2 www.tropenmuseum.nl Willet-Holthuysen Museum Herengracht 605 www.willetholthuysen.nl

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KIDS & FAMILY VENUES AMSTERDAM DUNGEON The Amsterdam Dungeon brings 500 years of dark history to life with 11 shows, seven actors and one terrifying experience!

Rokin 78, www.the-dungeons. nl. Open daily 11:00-17:00 (last tour); €22, ages 4-15 €18 AMSTERDAMSE BOS This huge park and forest is one of Amsterdam’s super secrets despite being three times the size of New York’s Central Park.

Visitor Centre, Bosbaanweg 5, Amstelveen, www.amsterdamsebos.nl, various times & prices ANNE FRANK HOUSE This is the hiding place where Anne Frank wrote her diary during World War II. Quotations from the diary, photographs, films and original objects – including Anne’s diary.

Suitable for children over ten.

Prinsengracht 263-267, www. annefrank.org. Open Mon-Sat 09:00-22:00, Sun 09:0021:00; €9, ages 10-17 €4.50 ARTIS ROYAL ZOO Admire the tropical fish in the Aquarium and travel through time in the Planetarium. See giraffes resting amongst the zebras and wildebeests. Surround yourself with hundreds of fluttering butterflies in the Butterfly Pavilion or stroll through the historical park with its centuries-old trees and a multitude of plants.

Plantage Kerklaan 38-40, www. artis.nl. Open daily 09:0018:00; €20,50, ages 3-9 €17 BLEEKMOLENS RACE PLANET Burn off some steam and rubber at this indoor go-karting track.

Minimum age for karting is eight years old. Helmets and protective clothing are included.

There’s also a large playground, bowling alley and restaurant.

Herwijk 10, www.raceplanet. com. Open Mon-Fri 13.0023.00, Sat & Sun 12.00-23.00; various packages available COBRA MUSEUM OF MODERN ART In addition to presenting interesting exhibitions of modern and contemporary art, the museum also offers a free Children’s Studio.

Sandbergplein 1, Amstelveen, www.cobra-museum.nl. Open Tue-Sun 11:00-17:00; adults €9.50, ages 6-18 €6; Children’s Studio, Sun 11:0014:00, free HORTUS BOTANICUS A refuge from the bustle of the city, highlights include a palm and a butterfly greenhouse, four beehives, temporary exhibitions and a café.

Plantage Middenlaan 2A, www. dehortus.nl. Open Mon-Sat, 10:00-17:00; €8.50, ages 5-14 €4.50 HET TWISKE This nature reserve and recreational area is situated in the-

north of Amsterdam between Zaanstad and Purmerend. In addition to large playgrounds, a beach and plenty of green space, you can rent canoes, row or pedal boats, and sailboats. www.hettwiske.nl

Highlight kids

KINDERKOOKKAFÉ The ‘Kids Cook Café’ is a delightful and unique restaurant located by the Vondelpark.

Children (ages five to 12) do everything to help run the restaurant, including cooking, serving, bartending, tidying up and running the register.

Vondelpark 6b, www.kinderkookkafe.nl. Open daily 10:0017:00; various prices DE KLIMMUUR Rock climbing in the centre of Amsterdam.

Dijksgracht 2, www.deklimmuur.nl. Various times & prices LOVERS POWERZONE Strike it big at one of the six glow-in-the-dark bowling alleys or pit yourself against the enemy on the laser tag battleground.

De Ruyterkade 153, www.loverspowerzone.nl.

Various times & prices MADAME TUSSAUDS AMSTERDAM The collection of wax figures include the gorgeous Brad Pitt, the outrageous Lady Gaga and the brilliant Einstein.

Dam 20, www.madametussauds.nl. Open daily 10:0018:30; €22, ages 5-15 €18, under-5s free MIRANDABAD SWIMMING POOL Subtropical swimming pool complex with a beach, palm trees, several indoor pools, and wave machines. Other amenities include squash courts, a solarium and a restaurant.

De Mirandalaan 9, www.mirandabad.nl. Various times & prices PANCAKE BOAT A cosy boat, all-you-can-eat pancakes and a view of Amsterdam’s waters make the Pancake Boat a great activity for all ages.

Ms van Riemsdijkweg opposite nr 38, www.pannenkoekenboot. nl. Various times & prices HET SCHEEPVAARTMUSEUM (NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM) This nautical museum has a variety of exhibitions designed just for kids, including the recently opened ‘Life on board’.

Kattenburgerplein 1, www. scheepvaartmuseum.nl. Open daily 09:00-17:00; €15, ages 5-17 €7.50, under-5s free SCIENCE CENTER NEMO NEMO introduces young and old to science and technology.

Oosterdok 2, www.e-nemo.nl.

Open daily 10:00-17:30; €15, under-4s free STEDELIJK MUSEUM The Stedelijk Museum offers a renovated Family Lab in which young and old are encouraged

WOESTE WESTEN PLAYGROUND An outdoor playground where kids can explore, dig, climb, play in the sand, and check out the frogs and bugs.

Westerpark, www.woestewesten.nl, playground supervisor is present Mon & Tue 12:0018:00, Wed-Sun 11:00-18:00

EVENTS

ICE*AMSTERDAM ICE*Amsterdam presents a unique ice-skating experience on Amsterdam’s Museumplein, with the Rijksmuseum as a phenomenal backdrop. Young or old, whether you’re an ice dancer or a first-timer, you’ll love the atmosphere of this rink, as tourists mix with locals.

Until 28 Feb, Museumplein, www.iceamsterdam.nl

HET FANTASTISCH KINDERFILM FESTIVAL Leave the Frozen costumes at home as the Fantastisch Kinderfilm Festival is set to dazzle young audiences with a host of fun film programming. Look out for amazing animations, creative storytelling and other lively activities to keep the kids happy. Do keep in mind that most of the films will be in Dutch.

Mon 29 Feb-Thur 10 Mar, EYE Film Museum, www. fantastischkinderfilmfestival.nl

AMSTERDAM LIGHT FESTIVAL The Amsterdam Light Festival returns to Amsterdam, putting the beautiful city centre in the limelight.

As well as the illuminated artworks around the city’s canals, look out for an extensive side-programme that will see a host of activities and events take place at museums, theatres, restaurants, shops and other locations.

Until 17 Jan, various locations, www.amsterdamlightfestival.com

to learn about artists and techniques and create bold artwork.

Museumplein 10, www.stedelijk. nl. Open Mon-Wed, Sat & Sun 10:00-18:00, Thur 10:0022:00; €15, children free

There’s something for every age and interest.

Mr Visserplein 7, www.tunfun.nl. Open daily 10:00-18:00; ages 1-12 €8.50, accompanying adults free

TROPENMUSEUM JUNIOR Tropenmuseum is renowned for its efforts in child-friendly exhibitions. In the Junior building, interactive exhibits introduce children to new cultures in a playful way.

Linnaeusstraat 2, www.tropenmuseum.nl. Open Tue-Sun 10:00-17:00, Mondays during public and school holidays 10:00-17:00; €12.50, ages 4-18 €8, under-4s free

VERZETSMUSEUM JUNIOR A Junior building shows young visitors (9-14 years) how four peers lived during wartime.

Verzetsmuseum, Plantage Kerklaan 61, www.verzetsmuseum.org. Open Tue-Fri 10:00-17:00; Sat-Mon 11:0017:00; €8, ages 7-15 €4.50, under-7s free

TUNFUN An indoor paradise for children under 12. Kids can enjoy hours of fun in a huge 4,000m2 indoor playground.

WIND ‘N’ WHEELS This large-scale urban ’land yachting’ park is set up on Zeeburgereiland.

Wind ‘n’ Wheels, Zuiderzeeweg 1, www.windnwheels.nl. Various times & price

SUNDAY MARKET Artists, designers and craftspeople flog their wares and delicious food & drink is on offer to fuel your shopping frenzy. There is always some form of entertainment or crafty workshop on and plenty of kids clothing and toy stalls to browse through.

Sun 3 Jan & 7 Feb, Westergasfabriek, www.sundaymarket.nl WORLD CHRISTMAS CIRCUS Featuring only the crème de la crème of the circus world, the internationally renowned World Christmas Circus returns to this former circus theatre for another magical seasonal run. It's one of the most acclaimed circus festivals in the world and features countless top stars of the ring from around the globe.

Until Sun 3 Jan, Royal Theatre Carré, various times and prices, www.carre.nl WINTER CIRCUS AMSTERDAM A seasonal circus experience featuring a mixture of old and new performance techniques – acrobatics and plate spinning will be joined by modern daredevil performances. Artists include the likes of juggling trio Sarkozi and world renowned clown Fumagalli, while the show is directed by Italian ringmaster Tommy Cardarelli.

Until Sun 3 Jan, RAI Amsterdam, various times & prices, www.wintercircusamsterdam.nl PARADISO CHOIR DAYS It may be a modern-day pop temple but Paradiso was originally a church. So it’s fitting that every January the entire venue gets turned over to every type of choir imaginable, resulting in approximately 140 performances over the weekend. For the price you certainly can’t go wrong.

Sat 16 & Sun 17 Jan, Paradiso, 11:30, €3 JUMPING AMSTERDAM This international equestrian event is an annual highlight on the Dutch sporting calendar that never fails to draw the world’s best riders – including Olympic and world champions. The event includes show jumping and dressage competitions, evening entertainment and a host of bars and restaurants.

28-31 Jan, RAI Amsterdam, www.jumpingamsterdam.nl

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PART IV THE A-LIST.

GALLERIES POWERED BY AMSTERDAM ART WWW.AMSTERDAMART.COM

1. ME AND YOU: MARIO TESTINO AND ED VAN DER ELSKEN

For this exhibition Mario Testino made a selection from Van der Elsken’s work and combined it with his own.

The selection zooms in on the photographer as flâneur, who is out to capture unforgettable moments. ‘I always need to find that unique moment, not the perfect one,’ says Testino.

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UNTIL 5 MARCH Annet Gelink Gallery Laurierstraat 187-189

2. ANDREW MOORE: DIRT MERIDIAN AND CUBA

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Ten years in the making, ‘Dirt Meridian’ is an extraordinarily powerful survey of the American heartland captured from a low aerial perspective. Technically innovative, the images were taken with a camera attached to a low-flying aircraft, piloted by a local crop-duster.

UNTIL 6 FEBRUARY Alex Daniels – Reflex Gallery Weteringschans 79 A

3. SI TU SORS, JE SORS

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Figures are always present in Van Lankveld’s paintings.

That they are ambiguous, not obvious at the first glance, is intentional: most important is first to see the painting as such. Her fascinating compositions seem to refer to the work of artists such as Matisse and Magritte but definitely remain ‘Van Lankveld’.

UNTIL 28 JANUARY Annet Gelink Gallery Laurierstraat 187-189

4. BORDERS

Building on their shared nomadic background, Lev Ilizirov and Leonid Tsvetkov engage in a conversation in which they explore the existence of territorial, social and conceptual boundaries. They are particularly interested in the blurring of them.

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UNTIL 23 JANUARY Van Zijll Langhout Brouwersgracht 161

5. MYSTIQUE NARRATIVES

Born into an artistic family and raised on stories, Ventura has a natural gift for narrative. Each of his pictures is its own little mystery, in which the atmosphere, characters and details urge for closer examination. Death and vanishing are recurring themes in his work.

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23 JANUARY – 5 MARCH Flatland Gallery Lijnbaansgracht 312-314

FILM FAVOURITES THE HATEFUL EIGHT

In Tarantino’s eighth feature (Kill Bill 1 & 2 count as one), eight people seek shelter in an isolated cabin. But who will survive? Think Reservoir Dogs in the Wild West in a blizzard, starring, among others, Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Bruce Dern and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Original score by Ennio Morricone.

Directed by: Quentin Tarantino Release: 7 January

LOUDER THAN BOMBS Isabelle Huppert wouldn’t be my first pick to play Jesse Eisenberg’s mom, but she’s not a wrong fit either. Both actors excel in playing highly intelligent and slightly anti-social narcissists. Having her be dead even before the film has started – and just showing her through flashbacks – though, sounds like a missed opportunity.

Directed by: Joachim Trier Release: 14 January

THE DANISH GIRL

For years it seemed that casting companies didn’t know what to make of Eddie Redmayne (and his delicate bone structure). But Redmayne and his cheekbones are a perfect fit for the leading role in the biopic The Danish Girl, about real-life artist Lili Elbe (formerly known as Einar Wegener).

Directed by: Tom Hooper Release: 14 January

JANIS: LITTLE GIRL BLUE

Being a rock legend and having a troubled past seem to be part of the job description. Janis Joplin – an insecure girl with a big voice and a big heart – certainly meets those criteria. One of the saddest moments in this documentary by Amy Berg (Deliver us from evil)? Being voted Most Ugly Man on Campus by her classmates.

Directed by: Amy Berg Release: 21 January

SPOTLIGHT

Aside from his tragically flawed previous picture (The Cobbler), director/actor Tom McCarthy (The Station Agent) usually has a good eye for simple, strong and evocative stories. His latest, Spotlight, about the uncovering of a massive scandal within the Catholic Church, certainly has

the drama. But will it also have heart?

Directed by: Tom McCarthy Release: 28 January

THE REVENANT

On the heels of his highly original and darkly comic personal melt-down drama Birdman, director Alejandro González Iñárritu now returns with The Revenant, a good, old-fashioned revenge story set in the 1820s, with Leonardo DiCaprio as righteous avenger. Also with Tom Hardy and Domhnall Gleeson.

Directed by: Alejandro González Iñárritu Release: 28 January

HAIL, CAESAR!

When it concerns the Coen Brothers, I’m definitely more a Fargo kind a gal, where things are funny because they’re just so sad. But it’s hard to find fault with the trailer for their latest comic outing, from the ridiculous plot – a big Hollywood star (George Clooney at his thickest) gets kidnapped – to the excellent cast (including Ralph Fiennes, what took them so long?). How can this not be good?

Directed by: Joel & Ethan Coen Release: 18 February

ANOMALISA

As far as weird but endearing films go, Anomalisa bests them all. No wonder: The movie is written (and co-directed) by Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotlless Mind). It’s a bittersweet love story with puppets, all of which, except the leading man (David Thewlis) and lady (Jennifer Jason Leigh), are voiced by Tom Noonan.

Directed by: Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson.

Release: 25 February

ZOOLANDER 2

‘There must be more to life than being really really really ridiculously good-looking.’

Cosmically clueless supermodel Zoolander (Ben Stiller) and his equally oblivious sidekick Hans (Owen Wilson) spring back into action when their arch-nemesis Mugatu (Will Ferrell) escapes from prison.

Also with Penélope Cruz, Kristen Wiig and a controversial cameo by Benedict Cumberbatch.

Directed by: Ben Stiller Release: 11 February

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jan & feb 2016

SPORTS Highlight sports

DUTCH CHAMPIONSHIP Friday of the month, this free SHORT TRACK SPEED group running event is open to SKATING both recreational and more seVONDELPARKLOOP rious sportsters. Beginners can It’s no secret that the Dutch A sporting event for the whole join in the 40-minute run at a love skating and this year the slower tempo and there’s also family, the Vondelparkloop cream of the nation’s speed the standard one-hour run. (‘Vondelpark Run’) weaves skating crop are heading to 9 Jan & 13 Feb, Olympic through the famous park in Amsterdam in hope of beStadium, 19:30, www.friday- coming the Dutch champion.

Amsterdam, following the nightrun.nl main pathways to distances of Short track includes races over up to 10km. Part of the charm shorter distances, typically of the event is its accessibility, ICE SKATING AT JAAP EDEN high on drama and scares as If you’re serious about your so even if you don’t fancy a collisions and falls drasticalice-skating, the picturesque run, come along and support ly affect the results of each rinks around the city centre those taking part. Following sprint. last year’s successful illuminat- probably aren’t big enough for 2 & 3 Jan, Jaap Eden IJsed run, the special 10km ‘Light you. The Jaap Eden IJsbaan is baan, www.schaatsen.nl the city’s main ice rink, hosting the Night’ makes another DUTCH CHAMPIONSHIP daily skate sessions from Ocappearance on the eve of the MARATHON SKATING tober through March. As well main event. The Vondelparkas an indoor arena, there’s a loop is the first event in the Following on from the short JUMPING AMSTERDAM ‘Rondje Mokum’ (Amsterdam 400-metre outdoor track, plus track speed skating sprint This international equestrian event is an annual highlight the rink is home to the city’s Circuit) – a series of seven races, the marathon sessions ice hockey team, the Amstel running competitions held are an entirely different beast. on the Dutch sporting calendar that never fails to draw Tijgers. throughout the year.

Here, the skaters from each the world’s best riders – including Olympic and world until 20 Mar, Jaap Eden IJs16 & 17 Jan, Vondelpark, class take to the ice in one champions. The event includes show jumping and dresbaan, www.jaapeden.nl www.vondelparkloop.nl race, pacing themselves over sage competitions, shows, evening entertainment, an marathon distances. First past exhibition area and a host of bars and restaurants.

ICE*AMSTERDAM FRIDAY NIGHT SKATE the post wins.

ICE*Amsterdam presents a Get your skates on for the 3 Jan, Jaap Eden IJsbaan, 28-31 Jan, RAI Amsterdam, www.jumpingamsterdam.nl weekly Friday Night Skate, an unique ice skating experience www.schaatsen.nl on Amsterdam’s Museuminstitution in Amsterdam! DeTATA STEEL CHESS your mates and invite them and white shirt and for their plein, with the Rijksmuseum parting from the Vondelpark, TOURNAMENT along for a knight at this pretty legacy of Dutch and European as a phenomenal backdrop. the skating routes take in all seaside town. victories. The football winter Young or old, whether you’re areas of the city.

This tournament is one of the 15-31 Jan, Wijk aan Zee, break ends on 23 January, an ice dancer or a first-timer, every Fri, Vondelpark Pamost prestigious events in the www.tatasteelchess.com seeing the team back in league you’ll love the atmosphere of vilion, 20:30, www.fridayinternational chess calendar, (and possibly European) this rink, as tourists mix with nightskate.com attracting the very best chess AJAX action. locals. It is surrounded by a grandmasters in the world FRIDAY NIGHT RUN They’re Amsterdam’s top foot- 23 & 26 Jan; 7, 21 & 28 Jan, lovely Christmas market.

– along with thousands of ball club, known around the Amsterdam ArenA, www.amuntil 28 Feb, Museumplein, Organised by the Phanos athamateur players, visitors and world for their distinctive red sterdamarena.nl www.iceamsterdam.nl letics association every second online viewers. So check with

© DELVOYE FOTOGRAFIE

EVENTS

COMING SOON TO THE CITY: THE I AMSTERDAM BRAND STORE Q: If Amsterdam were a store, what would it look like?

A: Just like the I amsterdam brand store, a new window to the city, which opens on 17 February in the north entrance of Amsterdam Central Station.

Discover Amsterdam.

Start in the I amsterdam Brand Store.

For a preview, visit iamsterdam.com/store

VISITOR INFORMATION

jan & feb 2016

VISITOR INFORMATION

Find u s @ iamst erda .com m

I amsterdam Visitor Centres are your one-stop shops for everything you need to know about the city.

I AMSTERDAM VISITOR CENTRES FOR INFORMATION AND TO BOOK EXCURSIONS, VISIT ONE OF THE VISITOR CENTRES IN AMSTERDAM: Tel: +31 (0)20 702 6000 Open Mon-Fri 09:00-17:00 info@iamsterdam.com www.iamsterdam.com http://twitter.com/Iamsterdam

LAST MINUTE TICKETS Enjoy discounted theatre tickets on the day of performance.

Check the Last Minute Ticket Shop and buy tickets at: www.lastminuteticketshop.nl

I AMSTERDAM VISITOR CENTRE CENTRAL STATION* Stationsplein 10 (across from Central Station) Open daily (check opening times on: iamsterdam.com/visitorcentres) I AMSTERDAM VISITOR CENTRE SCHIPHOL AIRPORT Schiphol Airport, Arrivals 2 at Schiphol Plaza Open daily 07:00-22:00 I AMSTERDAM STORE IJ-hal (inside Central Station) Opening 19 February 2016

SPECIAL OFFER FOR I AMSTERDAM CITY CARD HOLDERS! Purchase the Amsterdam & Region Day Ticket for a special price of €10. Combine the 24-hour public travel pass with the I amsterdam City Card and make good use of both products! This offer is availabe at the I amsterdam Visitor Centres at Stationsplein and Schiphol Airport.

THE AMSTERDAM & REGION DAY TICKET This ticket entitles you to unlimited travel in Amsterdam and the surrounding region – day and night – on bus, tram and metro for 24 hours. Within the region are great tourist attractions including historic Haarlem, the fortified towns and castles of the fortress stretch, historical country estates along the River Vecht and the peaceful Amstel River countryside – and of course, your journey to and from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. A ticket costs just €13.50 and can be purchased from the I amsterdam Visitor Centres or from GVB, EBS and Connexxion ticket points.

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CLOSING

BEYOND

A’DAM

Get out of town for these don’t-miss attractions beyond the city limits.

beyond amsterdam

‘YOU MUST BE READY TO BURN YOURSELF IN YOUR OWN FLAME; HOW COULD YOU RISE ANEW IF YOU HAVE NOT FIRST BECOME ASHES?’ FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE, THUS SPOKE ZARATHUSTRA

text Anne de Vries

I SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE ‘Why not mix great artwork by painters like Jan van Scorel with a famous children’s game?’ is what the Frans Hals Museum must have thought when they came up with a new expo called I Spy With My Little Eye. During the exhibition, the ‘Golden Age museum’ is focusing on unnoticed details of their tiles, ornaments and, of course, their collection of paintings.

Visitors will be challenged to look through each other’s eyes and will start to develop a sharp eye for the unseen. The question left to ask is: Do you dare to compete with your sixyear-old and find the key to a world of hidden stories?

Until 13 March Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem www.franshalsmuseum.nl

GETTING THERE: Trains from Amsterdam Central to Haarlem leave every 7 minutes; hop on bus 3 (to Schalkwijk) and get off at Frans Hals Museum.

Travel time: 30 minutes

DANCING DINNER Find a spot at the 120-metre long table and enjoy a delicious fullcourse dinner while admiring the talented dancers spin around your main course and installation art fly over your head at the Winterparade. During this magical event, the dinner table won’t just be a place to eat your food; it will also be the stage to theatrics, dancers, musicians, artists, and waitresses – known as candy girls. The special evening comes to an end with an exclusive silent disco that will make you test your dance skills on the table, something the organisation very much encourages.

7-9 January Grote of St. Bavokerk, Haarlem www.tafelvandeidee.nl

GETTING THERE: Trains from Amsterdam Central to Haarlem leave every 7 minutes. Then it’s a 10 minute walk to Grote Markt.

Travel time: 30 minutes

COLD WINTERS Every year, Amsterdammers cross their fingers that the winter will be cold, with frozen canals and beautiful white sceneries.

If that doesn’t happen, Teylers Museum’s new exhibit on the reality of 19th-century Dutch winters can come a close second.

Works from artists such as Schelfhout and Apol, Mauve, Breitner and Van Gogh, depicting beautiful icy landscapes and delightful scenes of skating and sledding on frozen lakes and canals, are accompanied by paintings showing the harsher side of the season, like impassable ice drifts, as well as more abstract images by Witsen and Mankes.

Until 6 March Teylers Museum, Haarlem www.teylersmuseum.nl

GETTING THERE: Trains from Amsterdam Central to Haarlem leave every 7 minutes; from Haarlem Central hop on bus 4 (to Spaarnwoude) and get off at Turfmarkt.

Then it’s a 6 minute walk. Travel time: 30 minutes

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‘IF YOU TREAT GLASS RIGHT, IT DOESN’T CRACK. IF YOU KNOW THE PROPERTIES, YOU CAN MAKE THINGS; THE COLOUR OF DUSK AND NIGHT AND LOVE. BUT YOU CAN’T CONTROL PEOPLE LIKE THAT AND I REALLY, REALLY WISH YOU COULD. I WANT THE WORLD TO BE GLASS.’

‘IN THE DEPTH OF WINTER I FINALLY LEARNED THAT THERE WAS IN ME AN INVINCIBLE SUMMER.’

© ELSE BERG-MYSTIEKE VIJVER

ALBERT CAMUS

GLASSTASTIC

KIRCHNER’S PARADISE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ROTTERDAM Twelve days, 2,000 film professionals, and 450 movies from 60 different countries. For the 45th time, Rotterdam will turn into film heaven by offering a broad genre of feature films, documentaries, short films, exhibitions, performances and more. After a few movies, Q&A sessions allow you to enjoy drinks and snacks, while asking some sharp questions to filmmakers and actors, and join in mind-blowing debates. End an inspiring night by busting a move on the dance floor during the daily afterparties at the Schouwburg.

27 January until 7 February De Doelen & Stadsschouwburg Rotterdam www.IFFR.com

GETTING THERE: Trains to Rotterdam Central, then it’s a 6 minute walk to Schouwburgplein.

Travel time: 1 hour and 15 minutes

As four German expressionists got inspired by Nietzsche’s philosophy Die Brücke – the bridge between the past and the future – a new artistic movement of the same name was born. The group had an interest in primitive art and expressing emotion in high-keyed colours. The Singer Laren museum in the picturesque village of Laren is celebrating its 60th anniversary by displaying the work of founding member Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, one of the 20th centuries most important artists of the movement. After a nervous breakdown, the expressionist isolated himself in the mountains of the Swiss Alps and created his very own paradise, which he captured in his paintings.

Until 10 April Singer Laren, Laren www.singerlaren.nl

GETTING THERE: Take a train to Amsterdam Amstel, and from there, the bus 320 to Ziekenhuis Ter Gooi. Then it’s a 20 minute walk.

Travel time: 1 hour

It can be useful to protect you against cold windy weather, or to hold your precious Chardonnay; but it can also be turned into amazing art: the beautiful material of glass.

During a new exhibition in the Nationaal Glasmuseum, Jeroen Maes (artistic director of the Belgian glass museum, het Glazenhuis) selected works by five internationally known artists who all explored a different view on the material.

Be ready to have your mind blown by Brad Coppings’s lifesize glass canoe, on which he travelled 150 km; expressive art with a Mexican heritage from the brothers De La Torre; and Richard Meitner’s glass art with a humorous yet serious message.

Until 6 March Nationaal Glasmuseum, Leerdam www.nationaalglasmuseum.nl

GETTING THERE: Trains to Utrecht Central leave every 15 minutes; hop on bus 85 (to Leerdam) and get off at Owensstraat.

Travel time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

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CLOSING

THEN AND NOW

then & now

PICNIC AT THE AMSTERDAMSE BOS Tracing the city’s history, one image at a time.

text Marie-Charlotte Pezé

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NEXT ISSUE

KING’S DAY Celebrate the King’s birthday, orange-style



FIVE DAYS OFF © JEROEN HOFMAN

The very best in the fields of electronic music, art and media art



© JOHAN VIVIE

4-8 March www.5daysoff.nl



ROZE FILMDAGEN

Amsterdam City Archives www.stadsarchief.amsterdam.nl

CINEDANS

The top-draw festival of LGBTQ film



10-20 March www.rozefilmdagen.nl

15-20 March www.cinedans.nl

© MARK OKOH

The festival at the intersection of dance and film



The work of the Amsterdam City Archives isn’t all about dusting and preserving old manuscripts before presenting them to the public. Documenting today for the generations of the future is also an important and, certainly, astronomical task. A combined effort with the Amsterdam Funds for the Arts is to commission photographers to capture the city that lives around us now, as in this photograph

by Jeroen Hofman which is part of a monumental series on Amsterdam parks.

Amsterdammers are really fond of their collective backyards, which are known for their natural landscaping and wildlife (ducks, herons and green parakeets abound, as do turtles). The city parks are not just patches of green: they are all very much at the heart of the residents’s daily life, like running or biking laps, firing up barbecues (rain or shine), and enjoying the slew of cultural events that regularly take place in them. This beautiful spring scene brightened by cherry blossoms and happy family picnics was photographed in the Amsterdamse Bos from the height of a cherry picker: a serene landscape with incredible details that tell many stories – including on the importance of electronic devices!

MAR & APR 2016

27 April

ARCHIVING THE PRESENT

AMY WINEHOUSE An intimate exhibition about the rock icon at the Jewish Museum 29 Feb-4 Sept www.jhm.nl

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CLOSING

ON THE WAY

OUT

We asked people leaving Schiphol Airport for their Amsterdam advice.

text & photos Marie-Charlotte Pezé

on the way out

ADAM EBREY, 27, WORKS AT BARCLAYS BANK IN LONDON ‘We went to the Supper Club, and it’s well worth the expense. The food is delicious, of course, but the atmosphere especially is very particular.’

LIANNE TAN, 25, STUDENT FROM BILZEN IN BELGIUM (IN TOWN FOR A BADMINTON TOURNAMENT) ‘Amsterdam is simply great for shopping, especially with all the little shops in the Nine Streets.’

YOSHIHIRO IWASAKI, 45, IN THE OFFSHORE ELECTRICITY BUSINESS IN BAYREUTH GERMANY ‘My favourite pastime in Amsterdam is walking around. This time I visited the neighbourhood of Zuid; it’s so beautiful with the old mansions and leafy streets.’

LOUISE AND MARY RONAN, FROM IRELAND, PROJECTIONIST AND BOX OFFICE MANAGER

PAOLO PINFARI, 30, EXPORT MANAGER FROM ITALY ‘You just cannot no go to the Rijksmuseum. It’s the must-see of Amsterdam.’

‘If we had one piece of advice: don't come when it's raining and windy! And we’re from Ireland, so we know that stuff. Apart from that, the canal cruise along the Amsterdam Light Festival installations was just brilliant.’

editor-in-chief Bart van Oosterhout art director & basic design Loes Koomen designer Zlatka Siljdedic copy editor Marie-Charlotte Pezé proofreader Julia Gorodecky contributors Lauren Comiteau, Karin Engelbrecht, Leda Georgiades, Catalina Iorga, Elisah Jacobs, Bregtje Schudel, Russell Shorto, Mark Smith, Anne de Vries, Monique Wijbrands/Saltystock listings EdenFrost (Tamar Bosschaart, Steven McCarron & Sarah Gehrke), Christiaan de Wit cover illustration Elise van Itterson

January - February — Language no problem — For complete overview: operaballet.nl

Dutch National Opera

Dutch National Ballet

ARIODANTE

MATA HARI

Georg Friedrich Händel — One of the best of the Baroque

Ted Brandsen — The woman, the diva, the mystery

17 January – 3 February

6 – 26 February

Dutch National Ballet

Dutch National Opera

JUNIOR COMPANY

KHOVANSHCHINA

13 – 14 February Meervaart theatre, Amsterdam

27 February – 20 March

Ballet Bubbles — Ballet talent on stage!

Modest Musorgsky — Rise and fall of a noble Russian Family

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