Het Geluid (Maastricht), by makers Gable and Romy Roelofsen, will start a project on music theatre and community with partners including La Monnaie / De Munt in Brussels (Belgium). With this, Het Geluid is taking a step into the international world of opera.

Het Geluid: “In recent years we combined working in our own Limburg community with initial steps on the international music theatre stage. It is a huge gift for us to now be able to further explore and apply our locally acquired knowledge and experience in the field of community co-creation with an institute like La Monnaie / De Munt, as an opera house of world renown. We hope that this step will expand our knowledge and also help to share it with both the Dutch and the international field.”

Sevdaliza (Rotterdam) is a Dutch-Iranian singer, songwriter and producer. In collaboration with partners in the United Kingdom, Russia and Los Angeles, she incorporates new vocabulary from both classic and new media into her repertoire and performance practice.

Sevdaliza: “My work is described as genre-bending, and I aim to further pursue this process through the Fast Forward programme.”

Ensemble Klang (The Hague) is a collective of six musicians. Pete Harden is artistic leader, composer and performing musician. The ensemble will enter into a multi-year collaboration with the New York-based Bang on a Can (USA) to pursue their interest in artistic qualities and organisational practice. Part of the programme entails preparing for a duo-concert by the two ensembles.

Pete Harden: “As a composer and performer, the possibility to work through an extended period with Bang on a Can through the Fast Forward programme represents a real dream. For Ensemble Klang, too, it represents a great chance to learn from, and embrace, their special skillset. Their musicianship, communication with an international audience, and longevity are elements to which we really aspire.”

Opera director Jorinde Keesmaat (Amsterdam) spent time working in New York during Fast Forward I. Her focus then was mainly on producing. Through the opportunities that this stay opened up, she is now taking a subsequent step through a residency programme with National Sawdust.

Jorinde Keesmaat: “National Sawdust is a very special group of people promoting the position of female and non-binary artists, and who also apply a fresh perspective to music theatre by creating room for stories that need to be told. Through a shared focus on gender issues and the position of women in the art world – both in narratives and on the work floor – we can achieve a fertile exchange on the basis of equivalency.”

Lisa Verbelen (Amsterdam) is one of the members of BOG. Under the banner of this collective, she creates solo music theatre productions, including the performances ONE and ALL. Lisa’s goal is to further develop her musical voice and to investigate (political) content/significance and vocal techniques.

Lisa Verbelen: “I shall reside in the Middle East for a number of research periods to draw inspiration from Arabic music, particularly regarding the different use of voice and different musical scale, and from the emotional character of song.”

As a choreographer with roots in academic dance and with an occupational practice in contemporary dance, Stephen Shropshire (Maastricht) is making a new step into the world of ballet. He will work with the Sao Paolo Ballet Company (BRA), Hong Kong Ballet Company and English National Ballet (ENG).

Stephen Shropshire: “I’m really looking forward to further developing my work as a choreographer in collaboration with these three renowned international ballet companies. Fast Forward offers me a unique opportunity to engage in new artistic research, production and academic exchange.”

Pia Meuthen (‘s-Hertogenbosch) is a choreographer and the artistic leader of Panama Pictures. The company creates performances at the intersection of dance and circus. The techniques and acrobatics of the circus are incorporated into artistic dance productions. The technical possibilities and developments of this approach will be investigated further as part of the Fast Forward programme. Pia will work with specialised production houses in Montreal that have extensive knowledge of complex rigging and of working at great heights.

Pia Meuthen: "We wish to further develop both artistic and technical knowledge with Panama Pictures. The collaboration with these Canadian partners offers lots of possibilities."