Awards

There is a distinction between competing for a prize through a competition and receiving an award as an honour for services or abilities (oeuvre prize). Sometimes artists can apply or be invited, and sometimes they have to be nominated.

Theatre prizes

De Gieskes-Strijbis Podiumprijs is awarded each year to two makers who contribute to the quality and diversity of the performing arts sector in the Netherlands. This award consists of € 60,000 euro.

BNG Nieuwe Theatermakersprijs a theatre award for young talent under the age of 35. The winner is chosen by a jury of professionals (programmers and dramatists) during the Dutch Theatre Festival. The winner wins € 45,000 to retake the winning production.

De Troffel The best concept for a performance will be granted € 7,500 euro and the chance to realise this idea during the Festival Cement.

VSCD prizes

  • Louis d’Or The Louis d'Or is a gold medal that is awarded every year for what the jury considers the most impressive male supporting actor’s role in the Dutch theatre season. The award is named after the actor Louis Bouwmeester and was presented for the first time in 1955.
  • Theo d’ Or Theatre/acting award for the best female main role of a season. The award was first presented in 1955.
  • Arlecchino Award for the best male supporting role.
  • Colombina Award for the most impressive female supporting actress’ role in the Dutch theatre season.
  • Prosceniumprijs Dutch theatre award for scenography. The award is for the person, body or group (company, director or producer) who has made an essential contribution to directing, décor, costume, dramaturgy, musical backing, etc.
  • Mimeprijs Award for the best mime player of the season in the field of performance, direction, choreography, etc. The mime award is a bronze statuette made by Eric Claus.
  • Gouden Krekels There are two annual awards for youth theatre: the Gouden Krekel for the most impressive stage performance of the year and the Gouden Krekel for the most impressive production of the year.
  • Poelifinario Cabaret award for the most impressive programme of the season.
  • Neerlands Hoop Cabaret award for the most promising dramatist.
  • Oeuvreprijs Award for an outstanding oeuvre in the Dutch performing arts industry.

Kunstbende young people’s organisation to promote talent (13-18 years) that organises the Kunstbende competition. The winner of the first prize is given a place in the Kunstbende collective, a coaching programme and a master class at Artez.

Top Naeff Prijs is an incentive award for promising students in their final year at one of the courses in the performing arts at the Academy of Theatre and Dance in Amsterdam in the event of an ‘exceptional performance, on the basis of which it is likely that the arrival of the student(s) in question will signify an enrichment of the existing practice of dance and/or theatre in the Netherlands’.

Charlotte Köhler Prijs is an award that the Prince Bernhard Cultural Foundation presents every year on the recommendation of a jury of experts to a young, talented theatre designer whose past work shows signs of promise.

Genesiuspenning is awarded each year by Tekstpierement to a theatrepersonality and performing artist with impressive talent. 

De Gouden Notekraker is the award of artists for artists. The Zilveren Notekraker is an incentive award for promising talent.

Erik Vos Prijs This biennial award of € 5,000 euro is intended to honour young theatremakers who are recognised as possessing outstanding talent.

Wim Bary Stipendium is awarded once every two years to a talent that has manifested itself in the theater field; a young theater maker. It concerns an award of € 7,500 and the winner must not be older than 35 years.

The Next! is awarded annually to a maker or group that promises to make a performance in which the mission of DNA Next! is propagated. Diversity and inclusivity in the broadest sense are the starting point. This award concerns a maximum amount of € 25,000.

Toneelschrijfprijs Each year, this playwriting prize is awarded to the author of the best originally Dutch-language stage work. The winner has a chance to win a cash prize of €10,000. The nominees each win €1,000. The Toneelschrijfprijs is organised by the Performing Arts Fund NL.

Dance competitions and awards

Jiří Kylián-ring was presented to Jiří Kylián as a token of appreciation for his unflagging enthusiasm and inspiring and innovative choreographies. The owner is asked to pass the ring on to an artist who, like him or her, is an inspiring and innovative figure in the dance world.

Prijzen Dansersfonds gves away three different awards: the Incentive award, the Honorary award and a Special award to dancers and choreographers.

Prijs van de Nederlandse Dansdagen Maastricht is intended for exceptional choreographers who have already put on a number of innovative projects in the professional circuit but are not yet in receipt of structural funding. Both choreographers who put on their own productions and choreographers who work for companies are eligible for the award as long as they have been working in the Netherlands for some time.

Prijs van de Nederlandse Dansdagen Jong Publiek is intended for a talented maker that contributes to the innovation of dance for a young audience in the Netherlands.

De Zwanen The Association of Theatre and Concert Hall Directors (VSCD) presents several awards for the performing arts that target performances by famous artists and producers that can be seen in many venues. The purpose of the awards is to honour the performing artists themselves, but also to increase the familiarity of the public and the media with the performing arts concerned as a whole.

BNG Bank Excellent Talent Dans Award In 2014 BNG and the production house Korzo in The Hague launched the BNG Bank Excellent Talent Award. This award supports talent in the field of choreography and consists of a sum of € 50,000 euros to finance a tour: the Excellent Talent Tour. The aim is to support talented young artists with the  next stage in their career. 

Rotterdam International Duet Choreography Competition (RIDCC) The aim of this competition is to stimulate and offer opportunities to choreographers from all over the world. Thanks to this competition, the XL Production Award, the Audience Award and the Partner Awards that will be offered by several renowned dance companies and institutions the new choreographers will get the opportunity to develop themselves further by integrating in the professional dance world.

International dance awards

Prix de Lausanne is a particularly prestigious international competition for young ballet dancers between the ages of 15 and 18 who are not yet professionals. There are various awards.

Benois de la danse is presented every year to ballet dancers and choreographers who have stood out internationally. Igone de Jongh and Cédric Ignace from Het Nationale Ballet are among previous nominees. The award was created by the International Union of the Workers of Choreography and was first presented in the Bolshoi theatre in Moscow in 1991.

Musical awards

Musical Awards are set up by the Musical Awards Foundation on the initiative of Joop van den Ende to honour exceptional performances by performing artists in musical productions.

Youth performances awards

Niekie van den Berg theatre award is an initiative of Impresariaat Uit de Kunst (IUDK) and was awarded for the first time in 2019. The award includes an amount of € 1,500 to be invested in a new theatre production. Theatre maker Niekie van den Berg (1968 - 2016) made many youth performances. By linking her name to this award, IUDK wants to keep the memory of Niekie and her ideals alive.