Choreography duo Lunatics & Poets have won the BNG Dance Award 2026. Anna Jacobs and Hanna van der Meer were presented with the award at the Korzo theatre and artists’ centre. Their performance Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun made a deep impression on the jury. Thanks to the award, the duo will be able to continue working on the piece at Korzo next season and tour the work to nine Dutch theatres as part of DansClick #28.
The jury praises the way Lunatics & Poets intertwine the personal and the universal. In a time of major societal shifts, the creators consciously choose the small and human. Their work invites slowing down, reflection, and personal interpretation, and shows a clear, unique artistic signature.
With the BNG Dance Award, the jury supports choreographers who develop a strong personal voice in a field where performance spaces and resources are under pressure. The award provides creators with the opportunity to showcase their work nationally and connect with theaters, programmers, and new audiences.
This year, the jury carefully selected the winner of the BNG Dance Award, who will be featured in the upcoming season during DansClick #28. The jury appreciates the joint effort of the participating theaters and the BNG Dance Award to make new choreography talent visible and sustainably supported.Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun by Lunatics & Poets will tour during DansClick #28 alongside Unwritten by Faizah Grootens, resident artist at Korzo. The performances are framed with video portraits. Afterward, the audience engages in conversation with creators and dancers during the Après Danse. DansClick actively connects choreographers, audiences, and programmers, forming a unique springboard for a new generation of dance makers.
From the first image, Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun captivated the jury. A clothesline with white laundry divides the stage, while an intimately entwined couple moves as one body through the space. The image evokes the fragile intimacy of a lifetime together. In this tender performance about loss and mourning, Jacobs and Van der Meer depict a future that is not taken for granted.
The work of Lunatics & Poets is poetic, yet never without substance. The creators leave room for the viewer without losing the work's expressive power. The performance is open, yet outspoken; carefully balancing on the fine line the choreographers themselves have drawn. This creates an emotional world where the audience is invited to enter and discover their own meaning.
By bringing large themes like love, loss, and longing back to the intimate, the work feels urgent and relatable. The jury sees this as a strong artistic choice, executed with precision and craftsmanship. Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun reminds us of what ultimately matters: living together.
The jury sees in Lunatics & Poets an idiosyncratic and sensitive craftsmanship that will deepen in the coming years. Their work is charming, carefully constructed, and touches on large, universal themes through the subtle use of dance. With the BNG Dance Award, the creators are given the space to further develop their artistic language and present their work nationally.
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun by Lunatics & Poets will tour during DansClick #28 alongside Unwritten by Faizah Grootens, resident artist at Korzo. The performances are framed with video portraits. Afterward, the audience engages in conversation with creators and dancers during the Après Danse. DansClick actively connects choreographers, audiences, and programmers, forming a unique springboard for a new generation of dance makers.
The BNG Dance Award is awarded annually by the BNG Culture Fund to encourage emerging Dutch talent in realizing their productions and to offer talented choreographers with national and even international potential a significant step forward in their careers. The fund does this in collaboration with Korzo, the house for movement in The Hague and producer of DansClick.
The independent jury is chaired by choreographer and former winner Mohamed Yusuf Boss. Other jury members are Nitchka Wefers Bettink (Korzo), Mischa van Leeuwen (RIDCC), Janneke Schmeitz (Parkstad Limburg Theaters / schrit_tmacher), and Susanne Visser (Cultuurhuis De Klinker).
Anna Jacobs and Hanna van der Meer form Lunatics & Poets. They studied at the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance in London and previously trained at the National Ballet Academy and ArtEZ. Both also obtained a master's in Fashion at ArtEZ and Artemis, which strongly influences their interdisciplinary approach to dance.
Their duet I am a poem, there is no way out won multiple international awards, including the Club Guy & Roni Production Award (RIDCC). Previous theater productions toured extensively at home and abroad. Additionally, they create installations and film work at the intersection of dance, fashion, and visual art.
Photo: Michel Groen