02 Apr

21:00

Internationaal Theater Amsterdam

Leidsekade 97, Amsterdam

In this radical performance, choreographer Jan Martens uses the simple act of jumping to strip away the dancers' masks, revealing the raw, real person underneath.

Thu, 2 Apr 2026 21:00

Internationaal Theater Amsterdam, Amsterdam

Fri, 3 Apr 2026 19:00

Internationaal Theater Amsterdam, Amsterdam

THE DOG DAYS ARE OVER 2.0

More info & tickets

About the Performance

American photographer Philippe Halsman said, '...when you ask a person to jump, his attention is mostly directed toward the act of jumping and the mask falls so that the real person appears.' With THE DOG DAYS ARE OVER, Jan Martens took this statement as a starting point and revealed the person behind the dancer through the act of jumping.

In THE DOG DAYS ARE OVER, the dancer is defined as a pure performer, striving for perfection. By subjecting eight dancers to a complex, mathematical, dynamic, and exhausting choreography, performed in forced uniformity, they eventually make mistakes. And then their masks fall off.

Through its radical choreographic form, THE DOG DAYS ARE OVER questioned the audience's perception of dancers, choreographers, spectators, and the cultural policy of the time. Ten years later, these questions are still very relevant due to current political and social trends: Where is the thin line between art and entertainment? Who are we as an audience when we watch the dancers' suffering from the theater seats as if it were a bullfight in an arena? Is contemporary dance a striptease for the upper class? THE DOG DAYS ARE OVER shifts the viewer's position: from merely experiencing to active reflection.

Dancers in motion for THE DOG DAYS ARE OVER 2.0

About GRIP

GRIP is a dance organization from Antwerp that works without its own studio. Instead, they travel and collaborate with theaters, production houses, and residency spaces in Belgium and abroad. GRIP was founded in 2014 by choreographer Jan Martens and business manager Klaartje Oerlemans. Since 2023, four choreographers—Femke Gyselinck, Jan Martens, Cherish Menzo, and Steven Michel—share the artistic leadership. They do this in consultation with Oerlemans and artistic coordinator Rudi Meulemans.