ABOUT THE100HANDS

MOJRA VOGELNIK-ŠKERLJ 

Artistic leader / maker

Mojra (SI) has a degree and professional background in architecture. Parallel to that she developed a specific common sense performative quality and physical technique through intensive study of capoeira, international contemporary dance courses and personal research in the field of improvisation. Upon relocating to the Netherlands in 2010 she directed her professional focus towards performing, creating and teaching internationally.

Within The100Hands she is the one that during concept development keeps 'digging' till we come to the core of an idea. She keeps track of the line in overall vision and she is exceptional in coaching and fine-tuning of the performers.

Presently she is focusing on the use of space within a performance, the use of contemporary psychology in creative processes as well as in organization structure, and environmentally responsible production design. Besides she studies a traditional form of Hatha yoga, which affects her perspective on observation, creation and study in general.

JASPER DŽUKI JELEN

Artistic leader / maker

Jasper (NL/SI) has a degree in dance and a background in martial arts and theatre. For a decade he was one of the core members of intentional dance company Arch8/Erik Kaiel, performing award winning works, while conducting his own research in the field of partnering and location performance. Jasper's strength lies within the physicalization of concepts into scenes and working methods. His creativity is versatile and extends from movement into the use of wording and sound. With sensitivity to psychological nuances and with the necessary humor he combines these performative elements into unexpected situations. In the developmental stages of work he designs the strategies for the creative team to play an active role in the creation of movement, text and collective dialogue.

JADE VAN DEN HOUT

Co-creative performer

Jade is active as a performer, teacher and novice/starting maker. Shifting between various activities but always returning back to dance, a curiosity for interaction and being human. She finished her dance education at Fontys school for Fine and Performing Arts in Tilburg and followed up her physical development through Fighting Monkey practice, which she got in touch with towards the end of her study. 
She has been a part of The100Hands since 2014, where she has grown from a trainee into a co-creating dancer and assistant. This relationship has shaped her development as a performer and encouraged her to start creating. In DaybyDay - one of her initiatives - she carries out 24-hour research projects aiming to create more room for new local meetings. 
Jade is inspired by people, finds resources in writing and nature, and has a wish to keep on exploring life through dialogue and embodiment.

'I’ve had some of the most precious meetings within the work of The100Hands, getting to know the audience on stage, starting with not knowing and ending with kinship.'

BRYAN ATMOPAWIRO

Co-creative performer

Bryan was born in the Netherlands and has Javanese, Surinamese and Dutch-Indonesian roots. His initial interest in movement began in ball sports. Elements of play and team dynamics still influence him in his everyday life and his physical practice.
After studying at the Fontys school for Fine and Performing Arts in Tilburg, he started to develop his performativity with a focus on youth - from babies to toddlers. He discovered this young audience by chance, but he keeps experiencing a continuous fascination for the directness and honesty with which they react: wobbling on the chairs, swaying along to the music or shouting with delight. 
With The100Hands he dances in nearly all performances. Generally he enjoys being among the audience the most, their faces visible and the closeness palpable - which is typical for The100Hands. Furthermore he increasingly takes on the role of a rehearsal director/producer on the floor, as well as ensures good communication between the team of dancers and the organization team. Working with The100Hands inspires him to keep connecting playfully with his intuition and vulnerability as a powerful compass.

I hope to offer my audience a space in which they feel safe, and where they feel they have a choice. From that place, I hope to bridge the distance between performer and audience by making them participants.

ALKIS BARBAS

Performer

Alkis is a Greek artist coming from a mixed background in dance and theater. He has finished a Bachelor's program in dance and choreography at the ArtEZ University for the Arts in Arnhem and since then is based in the Netherlands. Two themes that feed his inspiration are: playfulness - in perception, in story-telling and representation of life, and what the body has to say. He explores them through his performing work as well as in leading workshops. Besides dancing, Alkis is growing as a facilitator of The Work that Reconnects (by Joanna Macy), weaving tools and experiences of both roles (dancer and facilitator) for mutual benefit.
Alkis has been performing in productions of The100Hands since 2020 and continues to grow in the open and respectful atmosphere that characterizes the rehearsals of the company. Alongside other performers, he brings into the work his own physical language, which is influenced by street theater, urban dance, contact improvisation, folk dances, and martial arts.

'During the shows, our audience members often get surprised by the aliveness of the experience they are offered and they forget to try and 'understand' the artwork. This is a gift to me as a performer, and I have experienced it strongest within the work of The100Hands.'

NATHALIE SCHMIDT

Performer

Nathalie was born and raised in the Netherlands. She started at the age of sixteen at the MBO Show Allround course at Rijn IJssel in Arnhem and continued her studies at Fontys Hogeschool voor de Kunsten, Contemporary Urban Program, where she graduated in 2022. 
From a young age, Nathalie has expressed herself primarily in the physical form rather than verbally, regardless if it was in her daily life communication or in her choice for various sports activities. In a natural way, she had a strong unconscious connection to that personal bodily expression.
Today, Nathalie always brings this nonverbal communication back into her dance. She strives to have a nonverbal dialogue with the audience, in order to make them feel and experience what she herself is experiencing in that moment. Nathalie is one of the four dancers in the performance ‘Out of the Box’, which is currently on tour.

'Working with The100Hands means, among other things, to erase the boundary between 'we are the dancers and you are the audience'. We are collectively one unit of the performance.'

MYRTHE MARCHAL

Performer

Myrthe graduated as a professional dancer at Fontys school for Fine and Performing Arts. During her studies she started a complementary physical research within the martial arts, through which she developed specific techniques, movement patterns, vocabulary and physical responsiveness, that she now integrates in her contemporary dance style.
Besides development as a performer, Myrthe is also exploring different training methods, such as 'free weight body work'. In the unpredictability of partnering and interactive work of The100Hands Myrthe has a multitude of chances to apply the combined knowledge in a variety of physical situations. 
As a part of the close team of The100Hands dancers, Myrthe brings a sharp and strong physical quality to challenge many, together with an attentive listening and creative response to whatever is being worked on. The collaborative and sincere connections with her colleagues as well as with the audience is the source of her (work) drive.

ALISON DUARTE

Performer

Alison was born in Portalegre, Portugal but his roots reach further south to Angola. His first touch with dance was through electro dance style from where he continued into battles, hip-hop culture and freestyle. In 2014 he was accepted into Escola Superior de Dança in Lisbon, in 2017 he was selected for an Erasmus exchange program at Fontys school for Fine and Performing Arts in Tilburg, where he became a regular student of the Contemporary Urban department and in 2019 obtained his Bachelor diploma. 
Right after his graduation Alison performed in 'We Shall Return' by Rohiet Tion Poe Gie, a piece that combines hip-hop elements with contemporary dance physicality and has been a springboard for his own development as professional dancer. In addition he has been performing for Holland based company Backbone and in 'Romeo et Juliette' opera in Opernhaus Zürich.
He is currently part of The100Hands' 'Out of the box' as well as collaborating on some of Jade van den Hout's new work. Apart from performing Alison is still a part of the hip-hop dance culture, going to dance battles, cyphers and developing his teaching.

ESTHER SLOOTS

Costume designer

Esther is a Dutch costume designer, scenographer and theater maker, who completed her studies at the Maastricht Academy of Dramatic Arts. Since her graduation in 2019, she is, among other things, a passionate and inspiring costume designer by The100Hands. She works in close connection with the artistic team in creating costumes, which reinforce the vision of the company and allow the dancers to fully express themselves. She is regularly advising also on set design. 
Dance has always had a special place in her heart: as a child she danced freely and without hesitation everywhere - it inevitably shaped her into the person she is today. In her work she is deeply fascinated with what drives people to express and create. She is continuously in search of freedom and playful manifestation of herself and her designs.
The collaboration with The100Hands is an essential part of her artistic journey and professional practice as it gives her the chance to continuously explore her own signature. The delicate balance between esthetic and functional is a continuous search. A quote that resonates deeply with her in relation to the work is: "Dance is the language in which the unspeakable speaks, and costumes are the colors that bring that language to life. 

PAUL DIJKEMA

Business Director

Paul has been active in the financing and organization of contemporary performing arts (dance, music, theater) for 40 years, mostly as business manager or director at producing institutions, but he has also functioned as an independent consultant, director, subsidizer and policy developer. What he enjoys most about this work is being able to nurture performing arts practice from strategic choices, and thereby create preconditions for the development of artistic talent. He often collaborated on the creation of new initiatives, or with young creators and performers, but also often worked on the further development or repositioning of longer established institutions. He got to know Jasper and Mojra within previous working circles, in which the bond was formed that led to the current collaboration. 

'To travel to Breda from Amsterdam for this collaboration is very much prompted by the very unique character of the work of The100Hands and even more the open, personal and trustful nature of the collaboration with all the people involved in the work.'

LUCIENNE WOUTERS

Production

Lucienne graduated from St. Joost Art Academy, illustration, and continued her studies within the program General Cultural Studies at Tilburg University. Next to that she built a diversity of experiences working on managing and coordinating functions, which she in 2022 brought together in the role of production worker at The100Hands. Besides having a warm heart for the (performing) arts and culture, she is also a real foodie - her other professional occupation. 
While continuously searching for solutions, she makes great use of her Breda network to bring different strings together. The trust that soon developed within the company, is also her drive.

'Every production brings new challenges, but together with the whole team - office and the dancers - we always manage to move the audience - and that's what we do it for.'

NAOMI SWINKELS

Marketing & Communication

Naomi studied International Media & Entertainment Management and obtained a diploma as a producer. Due to her broad interest within the field, this did not lead directly to a job as a producer but to various assignments in coordination, marketing and production within Breda. After doing these assignments alongside her work as a barista for an extended period of time, she started working fully as an independent entrepreneur in 2021. Her work and her heart have always been within the cultural and social sector because of its purpose, the importance of connecting and story-telling – all of which appeals to her strongly. 
Within The100Hands Naomi works as the PR master: she takes care that everyone 'out there' knows what The100Hands are up to. She designs various marketing products, keeps social media, website and newsletters alive and manages any other marketing tasks that come along.

ABEL TON

Musician

Abel is a jazz guitar student at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts at Fontys in Tilburg. Besides developing a strong basis in jazz- and classical guitar for his studies, Abel also explores different ways of performing with different disciplines. Abel believes in no boundaries between art forms. Through free improvisation as well as composition, Abel explores this boundaryless area of artistic expression. With his wide array of effect pedals Abel endlessly creates new sound textures for any type of energy. In the context of The100Hands Abel supports the performance ‘Exchange Project’ with live music and sound effects.

ARTHURMUSIC

Composer

Music has been a part of Arthur’s life from a young age and he played in several rock- and crossover bands. Soon after he started composing and releasing music, independent and in co-production. We have structural cooperation with ArthurMusic for the composition of music for our performances.

AYDAN VELDT

Logistics & Technical support

Aydan is our young and energetic support for all things logistic and technical. He takes care of multiple of our performances with the audiovisual solutions company Show Alliance, based in ‘s Hertogenbosch, which he started with his good friend and classmate Robin after their studies at Sint Lucas in Eindhoven. 
They enjoy a good challenge, turning problems into solutions at every aspect of production for performances and events.
Because they know how important it is, they make sure to give the next generation of technicians a chance and help them with the development of their skills within the technical field.