April 12th, 2023

Roel Voorintholt appointed to Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau
On the occasion of his fortieth anniversary at Introdans

Roel Voorintholt, artistic director of Introdans, received a Royal Decoration from Mayor Marcouch on Wednesday evening of April 12th during the special anniversary programme in Musis Arnhem. At the celebration of his fortieth anniversary at Introdans, Voorintholt was appointed to Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau in the presence of the patroness of Introdans Princess Margriet. A phenomenal honour, for his many years of contribution to dance.

Mayor Marcouch said in his speech: “In dance all your life and still keeping both feet on the ground, that is true virtuosity. You have made an impression all over the world. But most of all here in Arnhem. I just spoke about your loyalty to your own principles, dancing is for everyone. But almost as impressive is your loyalty to Introdans and to this city. (..) I love that you are rooted here. I like to call Arnhem the cultural capital of the East. The fact that I can say this with conviction is thanks to people like you. You have not only done a lot for dance and for the acceptance of people who need acceptance, but also for our Arnhem.”

In the festive surprise gala, a journey was made along the career of Roel Voorintholt and fragments of his favorite ballets were danced. Roel Voorintholt has been involved with the dance company for forty years, first as a dancer, later as artistic director of the Ensemble for Youth and since 2005 as artistic director.

Fragments of Voorintholt’s favorite ballets were danced in the anniversary programme, by Lucinda Childs, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Hans van Manen, Jiří Kylián, Ton Wiggers and Andonis Foniadakis, among others.

Previous decorations and honours
For his great services to dance, Voorintholt has already received several prizes, such as the Arnhems Meisje (1993) and the Perspektiefprijs (1997). In 2004 he was decorated as a Knight in the Order of Orange Nassau. In 2008, the Circle of Dutch Theater Critics honored him for his efforts to ‘upgrade youth dance’ with the Prize of Critics. In 2012, Voorintholt was awarded the Arnhemse Piet for the way in which he put Arnhem on the map. He received the Oeuvre Prize of the Danspubliekprijs (2014) and the Gouden Zwaan (2015) for his important contribution to Dutch dance. The Jiří Kylián Ring followed in 2016. In 2019 he received the Speciale Prijs of the Dansersfonds ’79.