Internationaal Danstheater says the government has made cuts too quickly, leaving organisations without alternative support
The Internationaal Danstheater had been bracing itself for bad news. In the end, its worst fears were realised.
On Wednesday, the Netherlands' Performing Arts Fund, which administers government funding to the fields of dance, theatre and music, announced its allocations and the Amsterdam-based theatre was left empty-handed.
The theatre, which for the past 50 years has specialised in dance productions that focus on different world cultures, had applied for €900,000 (£710,000), far less than the €2.8m budget it was previously allocated. However, on Wednesday it found out that it was getting no public subsidy at all.
The drastic cut was part of a Dutch government decision taken last year to slash the culture budget of €800m by 25 %.
As a result, from the start of 2013, countless theatres, museums and orchestras will see their funding either severely curtailed or, like the Internationaal Danstheater, cut off altogether.
For the theatre, which typically attracts audiences of around 80,000 people a year, the pulling of the plug feels premature, as the company has only just embarked on a significant restructuring, instigated by the same arts fund.
"It was a surprise," says the theatre's managing director, Sophie Lambo, "because we have been working together with the fund to renew the theatre as a company."
It had already cut staff from 54 employees to just three, with dancers and musicians only hired on a freelance basis for individual projects.
Lambo argues that since she and the new artistic director, Jan Linkens, have only been in their jobs for 18 months, they should be judged on the forthcoming, more contemporary, season.
She says the theatre should be able survive for the next couple of years, thanks to partnerships with other companies and a more commercial programme. Her intention is to then go back to the Performing Arts Fund to show how the theatre's vision has evolved.
In particular, Lambo complains about the speed with which the government has pushed through the cuts, making it particularly difficult for the arts world to adjust or find sponsors.
Of the 118 performing arts organisations in the Netherlands, around 70 will get no public funding at all. Lambo says this will mean that the Dutch arts will lose a lot of diversity, with the more experimental and avant-garde organisations struggling to survive.
"I think that the companies that are not subsidised and don't have partners, will already start to shut down their businesses this year."