Henk van Dijk

© NN

»I feel like a journalist, reporting a live event in order to make a score of the choreography as a tool for future reproduction.«

 

Henk van Dijk, born in Amsterdam in 1952, is a renowned cameraman of dance. As a dance student he started filming ballets with a single video camera, following the suggestion of choreographer Hans van Manen who had been filming his own ballets for some years. He soon became a professional cameraman and, in 1975, was offered an engagement by the Dutch National Ballet as a Video Master, which he kept for 43 years, until his retirement in 2018.

As a freelancer, Henk van Dijk has worked for many other dance companies in The Netherlands and abroad, including Nederlands Dans Theater, Introdans Arnhem, Scapino Ballet Rotterdam and the Forsythe Company. Henk van Dijk also produced numerous documentaries, tv-commercials and video collages for historic dance events like jubilee celebrations and award ceremonies. His video archive has expanded over the years to over 5000 entries and many of his recordings are represented in mayor dance archives like the Nederlands Theater Instituut, Beeld en Geluid, the American Dance Archive, the Forsythe Archive and the Nureyev Foundation.

In 1979, when video technology allowed instant reproduction of camera images on a big screen, Hans van Manen created his iconic ballet »Live«. For the first time, the cameraman had an integrated role in the choreography, following the dancers onstage and outside the auditorium. The ballet has been performed with dancers from Het Nationale Ballet all over the world, throughout Europe and Russia and from Houston to Hong Kong with Henk van Dijk as »first cast« for over 40 years. »›Live‹ is the absolute highlight in my career, combining my skills as a performing dancer and a cameraman«, the filmmaker admits. »Filming all the different casts through the years, from first cast Coleen Davis to Diana Vishneva, there is always an intimate relationship happening on the spot, through the lens.«

Currently, Henk van Dijk is working on clips of Het Nationale Ballet productions, making the 60-year history of the company accessible online.