Queen Máxima of the Netherlands visited the Nederlands Dans Theatre (NDT) in The Hague on Tuesday to hear how the dance company is adjusting to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Queen was shown around by Emily Molnar, the Artistic Director of NDT, who took her to watch a dance lesson. She learned how dancers have continued their craft via online practices and have reached audiences through online links. She also spoke to Managing Director Willemijn Maas during her visit and toured the costume department.
Queen Máxima spoke to the head of the atelier regarding how they design and make the costumes for their performances. She also learned how the technical team films performances to stream them to their online audience.
Before concluding her visit, Máxima spoke to the dancers about their experiences during the pandemic; they shared what it was like to perform without an audience and what they hope for the future. The dancers then performed a duet for the Queen.
The NDT said after Her Majesty’s visit: “We were very honoured to receive Queen Máxima in our home at Lucent Danstheater on Tuesday, March 16! She visited our company to talk with our Artistic Director Emily Molnar and Managing Director Willemijn Maas about how we are holding up during the corona pandemic, and how we continue to work on maintaining quality, creating interesting online programming and how we keep reaching our audiences.”
They added a message to the Queen, saying: “Many thanks for your visit!”
