On Monday 30 September at 17:30, the Top Naeff Prize, the André Veltkamp Grant and the Henny Kamerman Dancer Prize were awarded in the hall of the Academy of Theatre and Dance, Jodenbreestraat 3 in Amsterdam.  

- This year's Top Naeff Prize 2024 was awarded to Annabel Koele, a graduate of the Mime School. 
- The André Veltkamp Grant 2024 went to Chun Shing Au, a graduate of the DAS Theatre master's programme, for the performance G.O. Box No. 211.
- The Henny Kamerman Dancer Prize 2024 was awarded to Maria Gomez Becerra (NBA bachelor of classical ballet teacher) and Yasmin Diktaş (Dance in Education).

Presenting the evening was Pleun Swart (graduating from the Stage Production). Roman Derwig and  Raquel Hanekroot (students of Amsterdam Drama & Contemporary Music Academy) gave a performance. Alumni and previous award winners Kirsty Baker, Thibaud Dooms and Tim Vervenne also attended this special evening.

The Top Naeff Prize jury on award winner Annabel Koele:
This year's laureate is someone who is true to their own playing. A player who does not play demonstratively but is someone who creates. She turns her playing into poetic interactions that engage the imagination. She is true to the scene. You catch what is happening without being able to put your finger on it immediately. She creates a mystery that you can follow, but which the head does not always understand. She tells universal stories, but not according to the usual paths. Concept, play and content complement each other organically and flow into each other. She is always surprising and averse to clichés. With this, she may not always fit into existing systems, but we expect, that with continued development, she will become her own added value within the field. The Top Naeff Prize 2024 goes to a beautiful and pure contemporary performer: Annabel Koele
> Download: the jury report

Top Naeff Prize judges: Tim van Dongen, Sabrina van Halderen, Belle van Heerikhuizen, Lois Maat and Christiaan Mooij.

The André Veltkamp Grant committee on Chun Shing Au:
The object theatre performance G.O. Box No. 211 by Chun Shing Au takes as its starting point a correspondence between two befriended artists, one free here in Amsterdam, the other caught in Hong Kong after the big demonstrations in 2019. A narrative with and about paper, about that which lives between the lines and does not tolerate language, about self-censorship and desire. Quietly and carefully, impressive images unfold and explore the relationship between masking, writing and repression. Very precisely, the simple blank paper transforms time and space. In it, new relationships between performer, audience and material constantly emerge: monumental sets, small maquettes, from claustrophobic to vast, from zen-garden to toy shop. The jury was impressed by the care and balance between research, personal and political necessity and form research in object theatre. Chun managed to involve us in his urgent quest and we are curious to see the development of the personal story, the relationship with his imprisoned colleague and the development of the performance that might come out of it. It is a privilege to potentially contribute to that with this grant.
> Download the committee report

André Veltkamp Scholarship committee members: Kirsty Baker, Floortje Bakkeren, Inge Koks, Gemma van Kruijsbergen, Frank Noorland, Dorothea Sinnema.

The Henny Kamerman Dancer Prize jury on Maria Gomez Becerra and Yasmin Diktaş
Maria Gomez Becerra managed to drag the jury into her passion to connect ballet more with society in Colombia from the very beginning. As a child herself, she never got to see a live ballet performance, as ballet culturally does not yet have a big place in Colombian society. Maria, with her project, is keen to change that. The jury is confident that Maria's project can potentially change lives of children with the same ambition for a career in dance.
Yasmin Diktaş is a young ambitious dance teacher with a wonderful social vision. She believes in the healing and therapeutic power of dance and enjoys putting this to use at asylum seekers' centres, among others. For her presentation, Yasmin brought along eight dedicated dancers, who had travelled to Amsterdam especially to support Yasmin in her project. The jury finds this project absolutely worth supporting and hopes it will contribute to daring to express and process complex situations and emotions through dance.
> Read more

Henny Kamerman Dancer Prize judges: Honey Eavis, Dalton Jansen, Wendy Tadrous-Paulusma, Jimat Pelupessy.

Oldest theatre student prize 
The Top Naeff Prize is the oldest theatre student prize in the country. The prize is named after writer Top Naeff, who was, among other things, a leading theatre critic. The Top Naeff Prize is traditionally awarded as an incentive prize to promising talent from the Amsterdam School of Drama & Contemporary Music (ATKA) or the Mime Opleiding. The winner receives an unrestricted sum of €1,000. 

Award for outstanding graduation production 
The André Veltkamp Award is intended for a graduation production that excels through involvement with today's society. The scholarship is named after André Veltkamp, director from 1997 to 2010 of the Theaterschool (since September 2016 Academy of Theatre and Dance). The scholarship is for a final performance that deserves a second life after the Academy. The winner receives an amount of €1,000 and customised production support for the revival of the performance. 

Dancer award for most outstanding dancer 
For the second time this year, the ATD Fund is awarding Henny Kamerman Dancer Prize, the prize for the most innovative dancer/maker of the past academic year. The award is named after Henny Kamerman, who built and directed the Jazz Theatre and Show Musical Dance programme (later called UC/JMD) from the late 1980s until 2002. The winner will receive a free to spend amount of €1,000. 

New Scholarship - Ria Higler Fund contributes to tuition fees for SNDO students
This year, the Ria Higler Scholarship was announced at the awards ceremony for the first time. Ria Higler (1950-2023) was a teacher at the SNDO whose vision of dance and dedication to training the next generation of choreographers left an indelible mark on the school and on the lives and artistic paths of hundreds of our alumni and students. The Ria Higler Fund is in recognition of Ria's legacy and a continuation of the support she gave students for more than four decades.
The Ria Higler Fund aims to partially alleviate financial barriers by contributing to the tuition fees of students from countries outside the European Union. With the recent increases in tuition fees in the Netherlands for these international students, many aspiring choreographers face great challenges in accessing educational opportunities at the SNDO. With this fund, we aim to make SNDO more accessible to talented people from different socio-economic backgrounds.
The jury of the Ria Higler Fund consists of SNDO alumni Mami Kang, core team member Bruno Listopad and the initiator of the fund, artistic director of SNDO Bojana Mladenović.
 

About the ATD Fund
The ATD Fund supports students from all programmes at the Academy of Theatre and Dance to complete their education and make the step into the professional field. The fund does this by awarding prizes and contributions. And it is much needed. Anna Drijver is chairman of the fund's board. 

Want to contribute? 
Anyone can contribute to the ATD Fund and it is much needed! 
Visit www.atdfonds.nl for more information.