The 20th edition of the Holland Dance festival delivered performances that stunned and delighted, taking audiences from nightmarish urban noir to airborne exuberance. Nederlands Dans Theater opened the festival with Horses, a 2024 production by Spanish choreographer Marcos Morau. Suited dancers maneuvered around streetlight-like props on a raw, exposed stage. A shadowy figure prowled the edges while another moved a vehicle in the background. The lighting, designed by Tom Visser, cast long, twisting shadows that transformed the stage into a living film noir. Horses begins with instinctive solo movements suggesting predator and prey, gradually expanding into ensemble sequences where dancers’ bodies bend, melt, and morph. Vaudeville-like interludes overlay Andrzej Panufnik’s tense strings with comical sound effects, creating a sense of danger mixed with dark humor. By the finale, the dancers build a communal shelter from the stage’s props, accompanied by Caroline Shaw’s And the Swallow, transforming a haunting performance into a tribute to human ingenuity. The festival also featured Jan Martens’s Kid in a Candy Shop, paired in NDT’s double bill Wildsong. Set to Julia Wolfe’s Pretty, the piece juxtaposed spectral slow-motion movement with sudden, high-energy sequences. British naturalist F. Percy Smith’s 1910 film The Birth of a Flower was projected behind the dancers, creating a kaleidoscopic backdrop where humans mirrored nature’s growth in abstract forms. Choreography under Hanna Kulenty’s GG Concerto later had dancers bouncing and hopping in pick-and-mix routines, blending precision with playful spectacle. Compagnie Tiuri presented Please Hold My Hand, a dance-theatre work for performers with and without disabilities. Director Jordy Dik explored the trauma of femicide through intimate rituals, duets, and collective movement. Red petals fell like autumn leaves, sometimes resembling blood, highlighting the tension between tenderness and violence. The piece included moments of humor, care, and communal support, creating a powerful reflection on resilience and solidarity. HubClub, an inclusive platform for disabled and non-disabled performers, hosted short works like Fernando Melo’s The Longest Distance Between Two Points. Dancers manipulated planks as both barriers and support, performing human-made borders to Steve Reich’s Music for Pieces of Wood. Inbal Pinto’s Salty Pink and Boulevard of Broken Dreams showcased playful yet unsettling choreography, blending circus spirit, trompe l’oeil effects, and metaphorical costumes. Conny Janssen’s Manoeuvres offered a lighter interlude, turning everyday canteen moments into irresistible, playful dance. Gauthier Dance’s FireWorks provided a festival highlight with an exuberant celebration of 40 years of Theaterhaus Stuttgart. The program included over a dozen short works, culminating in Andonis Foniadakis’s trampoline Bolero+. Dancers bounced and spun to Ravel’s epic rhythms in a playful, infectious finale that left the audience capturing every moment on their phones. Other highlights included Johan Inger’s A Thousand Thoughts, a haunting duet to Kronos Quartet’s Bells blended with Swedish folk music, and Virginie Brunelle’s Carousel, where dancers’ revolving encounters reflected Philip Glass’s evocative score. Alejandro Cerrudo’s Lickety-Split, set to Devendra Banhart’s music, offered carefree duets and playful interactions, demonstrating the festival’s mix of skill, humor, and daring creativity. The Holland Dance festival highlights bold choreography and inventive staging, celebrating human ingenuity, artistic risk-taking, and the joy of performance. From eerie, suspenseful urban landscapes to trampoline-fueled exuberance, the festival’s 20th edition confirmed its place as a daring and unforgettable event in the dance calendar.