ISH Open Nights 2025

Eva Scherpenisse | Roukaskass

With Roukaskass, Power of Passion brings a vibrant, humorous and energetic dance performance that brings to life the origins of the Ivorian dance style of the same name. From traditional African dance, the performance takes you through the shift from villages to the city, the influence of technology and Western culture, and the rise of urban dance in Abidjan. This timeline full of rhythm, acrobatics and powerful choreography shows how Roukaskass evolved into a dance style that eventually flows through to today's popular Afrobeat. With infectious beats, powerful group choreography and colorful costumes, Roukaskass honors the origins of contemporary dance hypes and shows where they really came from.

Meet Eva.

Keshaw Manna | Metamorphosis: The Art of Dying

Metamorphosis: The Art of Dying is a personal solo about the power of letting go, rebirth and personal growth. Like a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly, Keshaw Manna takes you through various stages of rigidity, destruction, transition and rebirth. Inspired by books and films, such as by Kafka, Nolan and Zimmer, this piece translates existential change into powerful hip-hop and break movements and transformative music.

Meet Keshaw.

Wennah Wilkers | ROOTED

In this powerful duet, two young women Wennah Wilkers and Sandra Hilaerts take you on an intimate journey through their shared Filipino roots and underground club culture. In the performance ROOTED, they connect personal stories, values and identity through house and vogue.

ROOTED explores how origins and dance meet: what norms and values do they carry with them, and how are they expressed through movement? Alternately, the women dance together and alone, with a mix of tight choreography and free improvisation, to live music that connects with Filipino music. A personal portrait of culture, identity and connection.

Meet the makers

Dive into their interviews and bios, and explore a world full of dance, bold experiments, and original thinking on this page.

About ISH Open Nights

Every year, ISH Dance Collective invites three new creators to develop an existing idea for choreography into a short piece. For the 2025 edition, these are Keshaw Manna, Wennah Wijkers and Eva Scherpenisse. The creators rehearse in ISH's studio, edit the performance and present it in the theater. ISH Open Nights fall under the ISH Talent pillar, in which ISH supports talented, new creators in their professional development.

"The talent development program Open Nights actually produces fine performances by definition, because the creators are totally energized by a short and powerful creative process. If there is then also an outlier in between you may speak of a wonderful evening."

Theatererkrant about ISH Open Nights 2024.