De Vleeshal in Middelburg, the Netherlands, presented an exceptional dance project entitled Entree.

Entree gave visitors the opportunity to experience the impressive Gothic space of De Vleeshal as a dancer. Choreo-grapher Krisztina de Châtel had made a choreography especially for the public, in which everyone was invited to perform. The movements were simple, so participants did not need to be experienced dancers, limber or physically fit.

For the duration of Entree there were always people performing the choreography. Onlookers could join in and received help in learning the movements.

What made Entree special is that the boundary between performers and audience is removed. The title Entree emphasizes that everyone is welcome to participate and refers to making an entrance as a dancer by anyone who is interested in doing so. De Châtel alternates between working with professional dancers, nondancers, or a combination of the two. In Zooi (2005), for example, dancers performed alongside Amsterdam garbage men.

Entree continues along the lines of many other recent works by Krisztina de Châtel. In each of these choreographies she attempts to conquer the spaces in which they are performed and takes inspiration from the existing architecture and pieces of art. She has staged productions in the Van Gogh Museum, the Grote of St. Bavo Kerk in Haarlem and the Cobra Museum, and next year she will be Artist in Residence at the Academie van Bouwkunst in Amsterdam. Similarly, in the case of Entree, De Vleeshal serves not only as a location, but also as a source of inspiration and an essential part of the project.

For Entree, Krisztina de Châtel collaborated with artist Birthe Leemeijer. Leemeijer has previously realized projects in which the public played an important role, such as creating a perfume, L’Essence de Masten-broek, in cooperation with the inhabitants of the Dutch polder Mastenbroek. She helped in developing the concept of Entree and made the spacial design, in which the façade of De Vleeshal was made more transparent and therefore more inviting.

Concept: Krisztina de Châtel, Birthe Leemeijer, Rutger Wolfson – Choreography: Krisztina de Châtel – Spacial design: Birthe Leemeijer – Graphic design: Renate Boere. Our thanks go out to: Dance Centre Dazzle, Middelburg; Centrum voor Zorg en Reactivering ’t Gasthuis, Middelburg; Stichting Welzijn Middelburg, Stedelijke Scholengemeenschap Nehalennia, Middelburg.