For the production Vertical Blue (2026/2027) Dutch company Body of Art/ Annemijn Rijk is looking for female identifying dancers.
The audition is open for dancers with strong, technical dance skills, a capability to contribute to the artistic process via improvisation and creative assignments and dancers/performers who can sing and/or are comfortable with use of their voice. A strong dance background is desired, but performers from mime and/or performance are also welcome to apply, if they have a strong stamina. The audition is also open for interns.
About Vertical Blue
Inspired by the phenomenon of freediving, where divers can dive up to 125 meters deep in a single breath, Rijk, together with the performers and with a lighting design, creates the production Vertical Blue: A performance about physical exertion, unpredictability, surrender and dealing with discomfort. Four powerful yet serene dancers guide the audience during their free fall into the depth.
The dancers move and sing the audience into the depth like sirens. With every meter they move, they peel themselves away; the deeper we go, the greater the pressure, the softer they become. We turn inward. Our heartbeat slows. Simultaneously with the blue light that slowly fills the spaces around and above the stage, creating a depth perspective, watching becomes meditating. The four performers appear vulnerable; they work hard, but are also serene and stable. They are broken open, and they do not resist. In Vertical Blue, they share their deepest selves with the audience, under the pressure of the vibration of the music, the light, and the eyes of others. Underwater, it’s quiet. What lies within us, what knowledge reveals itself, in the depths of the ocean? Vertical Blue is an immersive dance experience about being able to surrender under pressure.
About Body of Art/ Annemijn Rijk
In recent years, choreographer and philosopher Annemijn Rijk has dedicated herself to creating productions in the ‘Grey Space’. She defines this space and methodology as the place where artist, audience, and artwork, through embodied interaction, collectively bring a work to life. This has resulted, among other things, in the disorienting stage performance Yellow Horizon and the sensory installation The Lab. In both works, the audience was approached in an immersive way, questioning their own perception. How is our perception structured, and who or what determines how we interpret the reality we perceive? The work of Body of Art doesn’t just take place on stage or in the mind’s imagination, but is completed by the audience’s physical, sensory experience.
About the role as a performer
The productions of choreographer and philosopher Annemijn Rijk are highly sensorial and are focused on bringing to life an experience in the body of the audience. The performers in the work of Body of Art therefore function as guides. They carry the responsibility of guiding the audience into a sensorial, theatrical ritual thereby opening up their own bodies, functioning both as a conductor and as a present example. Presence, transparency and the understanding of this guiding role are important skills to master in embodying this specific type of work. If you desire to be on stage and to be seen as a performer, this style of work might not satisfy your artistic endeavors.
When: December 16th, 2025 10:00-17:00
Where: Location to be announced to selected candidates
Deadline for application: December 1st
Open for: Dancers who are based in The Netherlands
How to apply: Send in your CV, a short motivation and video footage of your dancing to annemijn@bodyofart.nl with email subject ‘Audition Vertical Blue’ and your name.
Payment for each dancer is calculated based on the CAO and Fair Practice Code.
Vertical Blue will be produced in the weeks listed below, in Utrecht. Availability during these weeks is required. If you are unavailable for some dates, please indicate this in your application.
March 30 to April 3, 2026
April 20 to 24, 2026
June 8 to 12, 2026
July 27 to 31, 2026
August 17 to 21, 2026
Montage: September 7, 8, 9, and 10, 2026 (Tilburg)
Premiere: September 11, 2026 (Tilburg)