Studio Boekman

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Photo: Fabian Calis

Studio Boekman is Dutch National Opera & Ballet’s performance platform for creative and experimental theatre. This is where new ideas come to life and where we programme performances featuring never-before-told stories. At Studio Boekman, we offer a welcoming and inclusive space for everyone.

We have three themes under which our activities are organized: New Perspectives, Next Generation, and Digital Culture.

Oscar Starink en Sangwon Park tijdens NextSteps

New Perspectives

New voices tell new stories.

Next Generation

Youth performances and space for young talent.

Digital Culture

Digital developments in opera and ballet.

Experience opera and ballet at Studio Boekman

Studio Boekman is a meeting point for opera, ballet, and audiences; for legacy and innovation; for creators and social partners; and for people of all ages and cultures. Experimentation, diversity, and talent development are essential. We examine the future of ballet and opera through (youth) performances, context programmes, club nights, labs, and much more. Who or what is on stage? Who are the people in the audience? What undiscovered talents, cultural traditions, and untold stories can we highlight?

Experience opera and ballet at Studio Boekman

Studio Boekman is an intimate level-floor stage with an adjacent theatre café, where visitors are greeted with a warm, informal, and inclusive welcome. Studio Boekman is intended for young people in the broadest sense, including toddlers, teenagers, and young adults, as well as anyone with a young mind. Through partnerships, we strengthen ties with communities in Amsterdam and beyond.

We work together to broaden our audience, for example, by including visible representation of these populations in our programming. We also apply lower ticket prices for the performances in Studio Boekman. By doing so, we hope to make Studio Boekman a welcome and accessible meeting point for everyone.

Studio Boekman: the creative wellspring for opera and ballet of tomorrow.

The eponym: Emanuel Boekman

We are marking the transformation of this space from a reception room to a theatre by giving it a new name. The name maintains a reference to Jewish politician and scholar Emanuel Boekman, and at the same time recognises the historical significance of the land upon which the venue is built.

De naamgever: Emanuel Boekman

As the councillor responsible for education and the arts in Amsterdam (from 1931 to 1940), Boekman sought to give all the city’s inhabitants the opportunity to enjoy the arts. Emanuel Boekman had a considerable influence on the arts policies that came into effect in post-war Netherlands but he did not live to see the impact of his work. When German troops occupied the Netherlands in 1940, he and his wife chose suicide to escape the threat of the nazi regime.

The reference to Boekman is therefore also an acknowledgement by Dutch National Opera & Ballet of the Jewish heritage of the site on which our theatre is built: up until the Second World War, this district was home to a lively Jewish community.