Mischa van Leeuwen
When Mischa van Leeuwen, as a student at the National Ballet Academy, was allowed to dance in Ed Wubbe's Perfect Skin in 1997, a whole new world opened up for him.
"At the academy, you mainly focus on pure classical work; I even danced in Swan Lake and Nutcracker & Mouse King. But the fact that you could do something completely different with the same ballet technique, and that you could just be yourself, was a revelation. After the last performance, I was so - positively - touched that I burst into tears."
Unfortunately, there is no dance contract available at that time. So he went to do an internship at the Komische Oper in Berlin. "But I absolutely couldn't settle in there." Three months later he is back in the Netherlands. A work experience place offered a solution: in 1998 he was taken on at Scapino after all.
Lifebuoy
An Amsterdam street urchin. Mischa has never made a secret of the fact that his childhood was not all rosy. "There was little warmth at home, so I was always out on the streets. Playing football, getting into mischief. Actually, I was quite shy, but to survive on the streets you have to have a big mouth."
The dance films with John Travolta, Saturday Night Fever and Grease, struck a chord. "A tough guy, very 'slick', but also with a sensitive side. That appealed to me." At six, Mischa ended up at Hans de Hoog's ballet school in Amsterdam's Wibautstraat. "Dancing was my lifeline. Although I had to fight many a battle even after that, because according to my street friends, ballet was totally 'not done'."
Performing in Carré: which Amsterdammer doesn't dream of that?
Characteristic head
The feeling he had during his first Scapino performances has, he says, always remained. "You only change yourself, you grow, as a person and a performer. I came in as a young dog with an eagerness to learn, who always did everything at 120 percent. In the last ten years I have found out that that is not necessary: that you do not always have to go flat out to be strong and present on stage." The fact that he manages to catch the audience's eye these days even when he is just standing still, he says, has to do with increased self-confidence, with knowing who you are. Laughs: "And with my characteristic head, of course!"
Curriculum Vitae
Born
1977, Wieringen (moved to Amsterdam three months after birth)
Education
National Ballet Academy
With Scapino since
1998
Scholarships, awards and prizes
Order of merit, Stichting Dansersfonds ’79 - 2011
Party
Scapino is his home, but because of the number of choreographers he has worked with, he often feels like a 'freelancer within a company'. Working with former resident choreographers Georg Reischl and Marco Goecke has made a deep impression on him. Amanda Miller's Four for Nothing, in which he had his first speaking role, and Ed Wubbe's Kathleen and TING! are also among his favourites. "TING!, in which I play the clown with a sinister edge, was really a party. Certainly when we performed it at Carré - which Amsterdammer doesn't dream of - and when my son Isar was allowed to take part in the final performance."
Isar was born from a previous relationship, meanwhile he also has a second child with fellow dancer Maya Roest: Ada, born in 2021. With Maya, he also started the Rotterdam International Duet Choreography Competition in 2018, to give opportunities to young choreographers. Asked about its huge success, he jokingly says it "looks good on his CV".
Then, seriously: "I am happy with the opportunities we can give to young choreographers. And of course it would be nice if all the experience I have gained with RIDCC could translate into a leading artistic position in the future. But my ambition is mainly to be happy, if everything in my life goes smoothly, I am more than satisfied."
Photography: Khalid Amakran | Interview: Astrid van Leeuwen
In essence, I am still the same street urchin. I still tend to follow the codes of the street, but I have learned to be sensible.
Danced in a.o.
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Oscar
Carré en Scapino Ballet presenteren: Oscar, een hommage aan Oscar Carré met dans, theater, circus én live muziek van Blaudzun. Exclusief te zien in Carré. -
The Square2
Four young makers meet eachother in The Square2, a new full-length production of Scapino Ballet Rotterdam. -
Made in Rotterdam
Scapino Ballet Rotterdam presents four new works, performed and created by Scapino dancers. -
The Great Bean
Circus, illusionism, variety and dance: The Great Bean takes place in the atmosphere of the roaring twenties, the emergence of jazz, Hollywood and vaudeville. -
The Blend
Scapino starts the new season at the Van Nelle Fabriek, Rotterdam icon and world heritage monument. -
Music in Motion
The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and Scapino Ballet Rotterdam have joined forces for a new video project: Music in motion. -
3D International
Three cities. Three world premieres. Three dance companies: GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, Staatstheater Mainz and Scapino Ballet Rotterdam. -
Pearl
World class dance, stunning costumes and mesmerising music by composers like Vivaldi. -
Holland & Le Chat Noir
The superb, theatrical dance of this captivating diptych transports audiences to the Golden Age and the Paris Revue. Two iconic pieces by choreographer Ed Wubbe in one program. -
All Hands on Deck
Scapino and Släpstick (formerly know as Wëreldbänd) bring out the best in each other with superb combinations of dance, physical comedy, slapstick, music and theatre. -
TWOOLS 18
TWOOLS 18 appears to be the last in the series. It is a worthy finale with world premieres by choreographers Ryan Djojokarso, Joeri Dubbe and Maciej Kuzminski. -
TING!
Dance, music and circus come together on and above a rotating arena to create an enchanting spectacle. -
Made in Rotterdam
Scapino Ballet Rotterdam presents six new works, danced and created by Scapino dancers. -
Pablo
Pablo is an exciting spectacle with dance, theater and orchestra inspired by the lifetime of Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. -
TING!
Dance, music and circus come together on and above a rotating arena to create an enchanting spectacle. -
TWOOLS 17
Under the motto "More dance does not fit in" Scapino Ballet Rotterdam presents TWOOLS17. In 75 minutes 22 dancers dance in 8 pieces by 7 choreographers. -
TWOOLS 16
Six world premiers from choreographers like Marcos Morau, Itamar Serussi en Ed Wubbe. Met live muziek van Michiel Borstlap and Katharina Gross. -
TWOOLS 15
TWOOLS celebrates its fifteenth edition with, according to the flyer, "a kaleidoscopic dance-zap evening in which dancers, technicians ánd spectators have to move fast." -
TWOOLS at the opera
The most beautiful music from various operas, five choreographers, all the Scapino dancers, a beautiful décor and a planned murder of the dance. -
TWOOLS 11
Seven choreographers are taking part in the 11th edition of TWOOLS: Marina Mascarell Martinez, Jérôme Delbey, Thom Stuart, Lucas Jervies, Loïc Perela, Georg Reischl and Ed Wubbe. -
TWOOLS INTERNAT10NAL
It is a celebration because TWOOLS is turning ten. So far, the format has offered a stage to nearly forty choreographers, many of them young, most of them working freelance in the Netherlands.