Faizah Grootens

Korzo, one of the creative partners in DANSLOKAAL, nominates choreographer Faizah Grootens for the thirteenth edition of the talent development project. In 2025 she will create new work with the dancers of Conny Janssen Danst.

Faizah Grootens (1987, Curaçao) is a performer and choreographer with Caribbean roots. In her work, she translates everyday situations and observations into physical compositions. What she observes—whether a gesture, a glance, or a rhythm—forms the basis of her choreographies. Since 2025, she has been affiliated with Korzo in The Hague as a resident maker.

Through her choreographies, Faizah explores themes of softness, strength, and solidarity. Her Creole heritage is ever-present in this exploration: in the rhythms that pulse like a shared heartbeat, in a single sentence spoken in Papiamentu, or more subtly—in the use of a Curaçaoan instrument like the benta, woven into the music. In her movement, the connection to her roots and to Caribbean dance traditions remains palpable.

Grootens studied at the Amsterdam University of the Arts and the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana, Cuba. As a dancer, she has collaborated with a range of international choreographers, including Laleget Danza, Maurice Causey, and Gabri Christa. As a choreographer, she has worked with various companies and festivals such as the Holland Dance Festival, Battery Dance Company, Laleget Danza (Mexico), and Taller Coreográfico de la UNAM (Mexico). Her choreographies have been performed both nationally and internationally—from the Julidans Festival in the Netherlands to the Kalamata Dance Festival in Greece, and in museums and theaters across Cuba, Mexico, New York, Curaçao, and Aruba. In 2023, her work was honored with the Leo Spreksel Award.