Leontien Wiering, business director of Amare, poses for the photographer at the barre (the beam on which ballet dancers do their exercises) in a gigantic dance studio overlooking the Nieuwe Kerk on the Spui. The long half of the space is just window, a sea of light falls in. This is where the world's top dancers stand every morning to do their daily exercises. If you look up from the street, you'll catch a glimpse of it. A look behind the scenes of dance city The Hague.

Leontien Wiering in one of Nederlands Dans Theater's dance studios overlooking the city.

The new theatre Amare is like a diorama. You look right through it, through this creative mini-village in the middle of the city. The spaces between the striking pillars - shaped like tuning forks - are all windows onto the inside of the building, where people learn, create, train and practice. On a good day, 6,000 people walk around here, says Wiering.

Students of the Royal Conservatoire, office staff, musicians, dancers, audiences, visitors to the restaurant. "It's a city within a city." And it's not a closed world, as the old Royal Conservatory was, for example, anyone can walk through it. It is super transparent, says Wiering. "That was one of the architects' main principles. Daylight flows in abundantly everywhere."

Brasserie Amare

Amare is a building for the whole city, where the door is open all day long. "You can sit here to work or have a drink at Brasserie Amare," he says. And you might just bump into a band giving away a free gig or dancers performing in the hall. "We are going to organise all kinds of things in the public spaces. Our programmers are working hard on that. You can stop by for a special programme or be surprised if you're around here."

'You can sit here to work or have a drink at Brasserie Amare'

The building should be buzzing. Amare is set up as a place where people meet, where cross-pollination can take place between the conservatoire students, house companies Residentie Orkest and Nederlands Dans Theater and other groups performing here. "You already notice that's happening," says Wiering, even before the official opening, glowing. "How that works? Very simply. You just bump into each other. And that's where it happens."

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Wiering took over as business director of the theatre under construction two years ago. She came in 'at the best moment', she says. When the building (55,000 square metres, 'seven football pitches') that for a very long time existed only on paper was taking shape. The first plans for Amare, then called the Education and Culture Complex (OCC), date back to 2009. For a long time, there was a lot of political opposition to the new building. Understandable, thinks Wiering. "It is an enormous investment."

'The complex that is both stage and learning school and creative breeding ground is unique in the Netherlands'.

Now she hopes Amare will become the pride of The Hague. The complex, which is both stage and learning school as well as a creative breeding ground, is unique in the Netherlands, she knows. Also special: the wide range of dance performances. Amare will put the city even more on the map as a dance city. "We have a theatre hall built especially for dance, you don't have that anywhere else." That dance hall, with gold-coloured seats, is built so that the focus is entirely on the stage. "So that you are completely immersed in the performance."
A big difference from the spectacular concert hall, where the audience is seated all around. The seats can be taken out for standing concerts. "This will give The Hague a middle hall for pop concerts, so larger acts can also come here." Without seats, it will fit 2,500 people.

Royal Conservatoire

The Royal Conservatoire, which houses 1,000 students on its top three floors, also has its own theatre hall. In addition, Amare has a fourth, smaller hall, the Amare Studio, the rehearsal hall of the Residentie Orkest where smaller performances can also take place. Anyone wanting a look behind the scenes can join one of the guided tours, which take place throughout the year. The halls are acoustically decoupled. "One hall can have a fat pop concert, while people in the other hall watch a very hushed dance performance."

Holland Dance Festival

The past two years have been 'very busy', says Wiering, and also 'very beautiful'. On the one hand, building a completely new theatre - 'how many directors go through that?' - and on the other, keeping the temporary Zuiderstrandtheater running. Attention had to be divided among hundreds of things, but the programme for the first season is no less so.

The halls are acoustically decoupled. "One room can have a fat pop concert, while people in the other room are watching a very hushed dance performance," he says.

This season, for instance, Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker will come solo and with a ballet by her company Rosas. They have not been seen in The Hague for a long time. In February, highlights from international dance will pass by during the Holland Dance Festival. And that is just a small selection from the programme, which offers something for everyone: from a classical concert to a musical for the whole family.

Antwerp

Meanwhile, Wiering was photographed. At the spot where her career began, at the ballet barre. She trained as a dancer and danced in Antwerp for several years. Her dream was a spot at the Nederlands Dans Theater or the National Ballet. When it turned out that that was only for few, she decided to tap into another talent - she was always a handy fixer. Her first job was producer at Korzo Theatre in The Hague. After that, she worked in various places around the country. Among other things, she was director of the Nederlandse Dansdagen (Dutch Dance Days) in Maastricht and director of dance education in Amsterdam.

Jan Zoet

And now she is back in The Hague to direct the Netherlands' most modern theatre together with general director Jan Zoet. In that grand theatre, she is the connector. The seeds for that were sown in her dance career, she thinks. "A dancer is never alone. In the end, you create that performance together." Just as the students, visitors, musicians and dancers make Amare together.

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