2009 Dance Valley Update, The Senses of Dance Valley

PURMEREND, JUNE 29TH – It’s a standard ritual at Dance Valley: someone who tries to push his mobile phone through his ear with one hand, while trying to block out the music by sticking the other hand into his or her other ear while shouting “Where are you?”. Usually what comes next is that searching glance: “At the robot!” “At the tipi village!” “At the pirate ship, where are you?”

Thanks to all the creations on this year’s edition of Dance Valley, these lost visitors will probably find it even more difficult to find back their lost friends. A big group of artists, decor builders, theater makers and performers have been preparing themselves for months, giving their special projects shape. From a special dome, equipped with a trapeze for executing daring performances, to attractive hostesses completely dressed in candy… Dance Valley will host more creative extremes than ever before.

Joanna Peacock

Both the Mainstage and A State Of Trance will host special performances by Joanna Peacock and her crew. Peacock will bring trained stunt people, original acts and beautiful costumes to Dance Valley, where she will use the newest and most innovative theater techniques. These creations / performers will not only be seen at the two stages, but during “walk-a-bouts” as well. One of her creations will combine long, feminine costumes with stilts and a lot of bamboo to create a futuristic and romantic desert tribe. Together with her performers, Peacock will climb each stage at least once. Want to see more? Check out www.joannapeacock.com for more examples.

Bassline Circus will be giving a great number of performances and shows during Dance Valley as well. First of all, they’ll build a dome with a 30 meter radius. This will not only be their domain for a lot of their shows and stunts, but for the crew of Onderstroom vs Carnivale as well. Bassline will also perform on different locations of the festival area during the day.

Not all performers will be as wild. Take, for example, the Deodames, who will battle all unpleasant aroma’s with different types of deodorant. And what about the Grimegrietjes? These ladies will make sure all the washed out mascara disasters can be solved immediately and discretely. They are also the ones you turn to for a complete makeover.

You’ll probably also meet the sugar sweet ladies Kouwgomroze (chewing gum pink) while they are handing out candy, chewing gum and lollipops. If they aren’t around, surely the ladies from Fish & Hips are: they’ll give you candy in the most strange shapes, like little fish, worms and much more.

Just when you think you found a safe spot on the dance floor… it would be quite possible that you’ll run into the ClubClowns. These mysterious, clownesque types know how to energize the public.

There will also be a parade, consisting of a motly crew of wagons, stilts, strange animals and cool vehicles. You’ll surely be surprised when you see this crew pass by on the dance floor!

But whatever you do… watch out for the special smoke machine car! It’ll approach unnoticed, stand still and then produce enough smoke to blind everyone! But when the smoke is gone, you’ll notice the car is as well. Searching for a new spot to surprise the next group unexpecting visitors…

Creative jack-of-all-trades Zender not only designed the flier for this year’s Dance Valley: he will also host The Rendez Vous area! Here you’ll find a combination of music and life art-in-progress. The special decor, shaped like a pyramid, will be painted and edited all day long by a group of renowned street-artists. Check www.therendezvous.nl

Back by popular demand! The weird but adorable Gary Global is yet again present at Dance Valley, this time with Gary’s Galaxy. Submerge yourself into a sea of intergalactic craziness, unexpected clichés, surprising performances and an energizing experience. This is also the place to drop by for customized t-shirts and tattoos. Are you without fear? Then you’ll want to drop by as well to check out the mysterious area that will arise here. All together this should give you enough reason to climb that steep mountain!

Dum Dum Trailer Park is a cooperation between Triomf Productions and Boemklatsch! In Utrecht they’ve been performing for years with great success during their monthly clubnight at Tivoli. But for this year’s Dance Valley, they’ll finally bring their thing to the open air so expect a lot! In any case, here you’ll find the Karaoke Caravan, James Pomp’s Croquette bar, the VJ Caravan, a lot of trashy figures and a seriously good line-up.

What Is Happening Here will again present one of the most creative areas found at Dance Valley: a mix of music, art and theater. The theme of this year is Cirque Atlantique. That will means pirates and Vikings with three completely decorated boats including crows nest’s, lighthouse, parrots and beautiful mermaids. Overal there will be 40 artists who will be performing at the What Is Happening Here stage, and ofcourse the WIHH attractions will be back as well. Can you still remember them? The Gladiator! The bellyslidetrack! The Acrobats! For a special preview of what to expect here, check out www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1b5jxBDrs4. www.wihh.com

The Renaissance Area will be decorated with special LED swings. These high-tech swings will have animated LED lights all over them, swinging high above the partying crowd. They’ll be used all day long by a group of performers and acrobats as moving stages.

The robot that marked the highest point of the festival last year will make its return to mark the playground of Artificial Happiness. The highest point of Dance Valley is a perfect location for this spectacular theater performance, a show full of love and crazy stuff that will last all day. A sweet electronic dreamscape, mixed live with angelic choirs, a desert flute, a harp, singing animals, futuristic hippies, robots and much more. Want to check out a preview of this? Surf to their myspace at http://www.myspace.com/artihappy.

On a side note, that robot will be one of the first things rising above the festival while it’s being built. It will also be lit every night to guard the area against intruders and other scum. Don’t believe it? Come and check out the build up of Dance Valley for yourself…

VIP stages are a first for this year’s Dance Valley. If you buy a VIP ticket you won’t get access to one but two VIP stages, situated at the Mainstage and Armin van Buuren’s A State Of Trance. Here you’ll find private bars, lounge chairs, hostesses, a quality restroom and a perfect view of the show, the crowd and the whole festival. As a VIP you’ll also have access to free parking spaces, your own entrance, a good supply of tokens and a lot more. Special customized VIP packages are available as well. For more information about the VIP packages, check www.dancevalley.com.

Another part of the festival that is getting a major makeover is the Dance Valley Market square. All stalls have been moved into tipi’s so that you can wander through this little shop village. Next to the CD’s, glowsticks and hand readers this is also the place to be, to get a massage (back, feet etc.), a haircut, let a visagist make you pretty or let a tarot reader predict your future. Also present this year are a couple of young designers and a few fashion shops who will be selling their own collections. Among them are:
- Hester Slaman. After she finished the course Monumental Art and Fashiondesign at the AKI in Enschede, Hester began designing her own clothes, lingerie and bags. www.hesterslaman.com
- Amber & Scarlet. Fashion with the purpose of letting every woman feel feminine, being both challenging as well as elegant and comfortable. Their collection is based upon then & now and now or never, with every piece being a “limited edition”. http://www.ydu.nl/designers/YOSHA%20by%20Scarlet%20Arrow%20and%20Amber%20Rose

Next to these fashion designers you’ll also find a multitude of shops, including:
- Open. Seven young fashion designers founded the Open Shop in the heart of Amsterdam and will also be at Dance Valley this year. Special but affordable clothes, bags, shoes, jewelry and belts.
www.openshopamsterdam.com
- Hanazuki. A unique combination of creative studio and boutique that will offer cusomized clothes, action figures, bags, accessories, fashion books and much more. www.hanazuki.com
- Djunk. Thè shop in Haarlem for clothes (both new and vintage), accessories and gifts will be presenting a special collection for Dance Valley. www.djunk.nl
- Lymor. Clothes and accessories shop for all seasons that sells handmade items from local designers, like the single piece dresses from Hester Slaman and the knitted couture pieces from Rvika Diatlowicki. www.lymor.nl

Feeling in a bit in a creative mood after all those creative professionals? Then head over to the Heineken Creative Meeting Point. This is the place to be to design your own clothes in the T-Shirt Work Lab or your own action figure in the Puppet Lab, all under the loving supervision of artists like Hanna Zouki. But as the name implies, the Heineken Creative Meeting Point is perfect spot to hook up with your friends as well, it will be marked clearly on all maps.

So next time you’re trying to push that phone through your ear while screaming “Where are you?!?”, try meeting them at this handy meeting point.

www.dancevalley.com.

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