They have backgrounds in modern dance, hip hop, popping, electro and more. Lloydscompany and Danseateliers are guiding new creators Dorrit Griffioen, Oumar Jalloh, Bo Jacobs and Anna Raiola through seven weeks of work on a new piece. These will premiere on 5 February in Rotterdam.

At One Night’s Dance, the annual talent development programme for emerging dance makers, Lloydscompany and Dansateliers always supervise four makers in their research and creative process. They also learn from each other in joint feedback sessions about their choreography, dramaturgy, music, creative production and communication.

The creators

For Dorrit Griffioen, dance is a language that everyone speaks, a way to connect, share stories and communicate beyond words. In her work, she seeks authenticity, connection and the power of intuitive movement. During her studies in Paris, Dorrit was introduced to various dance styles and found her home in hip hop. She immerses herself in hip hop freestyle and battles and explores how she can bring that raw energy into the theatre.

Bo Jacobs developed a movement language that combines physical precision with emotional depth after training at Fontys School of the Arts (Contemporary Urban). She combines her movements with text, music or scenography. She invites the audience to feel, question and transform. She has danced with Nürnberg Ballet (Germany), Wayne McGregor (La Biennale Danza Venezia, Italy) and IID Company (Netherlands), among others. She also creates choreographies such as LIMP (Amsterdam Fringe Festival 2024), The Great Forgetting (Hannover Ballett 2024), Unveiling Echoes (Nederlandse Dans Dagen 2025) and Huidschrift (Schrittmacher Festival 2025).

Oumar Jalloh started breakdancing at a young age. This is how he took his first steps as a professional artist in the Dutch hip-hop scene. He became acquainted with electro and contemporary dance and focused his work more on film and theatre. He further expands the art forms in his work by combining memes, fashion and scenography into artistic and expressive scenes. In order to be authentic, freedom in creative expression is central to him. He goes beyond what some people consider normal or acceptable; he dares to show strangeness.

Anna Raiola is a contemporary dancer, born in the United States to Italian and Mexican parents. At the age of 18, she moved to Rotterdam to study at Codarts University of the Arts, where she graduated in 2021. All these cultures sparked her interest in themes such as connectedness and identity. She explores the interplay between softness and strength, based on everyday gestures. Anna's work is characterised by theatricality. She works for various choreographers and is now developing her own artistic voice.

Photos: Michelle Urbiztondo