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» Best Performing Arts Amsterdam
Music, dance, theatre, and performance art headline the cultural calendars in all of Night+Day’s cool cities. We combed through dozens of annual performing arts festivals worldwide, and here are the best of the best.
Best Performing Arts Festivals in....
Best Performing Arts Festivals
Amsterdam
Grachtenfestival (Canal Festival) Third week in August, various venues, 020.421.4542
Free for Prinsengrachtconcert, other concerts free–€20 grachtenfestival.nl
The Draw: Classical concerts staged in Amsterdam’s most historically, culturally, and architecturally significant venues: private houses and gardens, museums, public squares, historic buildings, and concert halls. The Scene: Classical-music aficionados and the merely curious revel in atmospheric locations, taking in a program of nearly 100 outstanding performances (usually beginning on a Sunday), the highpoint of which is the Prinsengrachtconcert. It features the festival’s top talents, but it’s the open-air location at the junction of two of the city’s most attractive canals that packs ’em in. Hot Tip: Rooms in the Pulitzer Hotel (Prinsengracht 315, starwood.com) overlook the concert area, offering the best views of the action.
North Sea Jazz Festival
Last week in July, Rotterdam, various venues
Day tickets €65, 3-day tickets €155, all-event VIP tickets €320 northseajazz.nl
The Draw: The world’s largest jazz festival, North Sea Jazz boasts a stunning lineup of jazz performers alongside a who’s who of stars representing all styles of music. The Scene: Hard-core jazz fans consider North Sea Jazz a place of pilgrimage, but a schedule chock full of diverse pop, R&B, and world-beat performers ensures there’s something for everyone. Visiting celebrity musicians fill city-center hotels and join festival-goers taking in some of the best concerts and events, while those on a budget retire to campgrounds where the party continues unabated. Hot Tip: Can’t attend the festival proper? Check out northsearoundtown.com to view a schedule of related music-themed events and art exhibitions that run for weeks before and after the main event.
Sensation & Black
Sensation: first weekend in July; Black: second weekend in July,
Amsterdam Arena, Arena Boulevard 1 East sensation.nl, black.eu
The Draw: It might be a stretch to call these annual parties (formerly White Sensation and Black Sensation) a festival, but the two world-class dance events, staged a week apart, bring together the planet’s most revered DJs and a coterie of sideshow performances that promise to thrill. The Scene: 40,000 hardcore partiers dress the part—all white for the house- and trance-themed "Sensation," and all black for the edgier, hard-style “Black” event—and dance until dawn to tunes spun by a who’s who of the electronic music world. Pride of place is held for Dutch exports such as Ferry Corsten, Armin van Buuren, and mega-star Tiësto, but the nights are long, and the next generation of DJ-superstars also get the chance to impress the gorgeous throngs. Hot Tip: Buy your tickets very early (id-t.com), and spring for the VIP pass, which allows access to exclusive lounges and cool-down spots, as well as service at less crowded bars.
