The Swans, the annual ‘Oscars’ of the Dutch dance world, are presented by the VSCD, the Association of Theatres and Concert Halls, for the categories ‘most impressive dance achievement’ and ‘most impressive dance production’. All nominated companies, choreographers and dancers have been conspicuous the previous season for their exceptional artistic quality.

There is also a Golden Swan, which will be awarded to a person who made an important contribution to the Dutch dance world with his of her dance career. It's not possible to nominate people for the Golden Swan and it will not be awarded every year.

The Swans were awarded on October 12 in the southern Dutch city of Maastricht.

2018 Winners of The Swans:

The Swan for the most impressive dance production was awarded to choreographer Stephen Shropshire for his work "We Are Nowhere Else But Here".

The Swan for most impressive dance performance was awarded to NDT dancer Guido Dutilh for his role in choreographer Marco Goecke's "Wir sagen uns Dunkles".

In addition to these prices there was a prize by the organization of the festival for promising choreographic talent that was awarded to choreographer Dunja Jocic and a prize for Young Public, which went to a company called ‘155’.

The De Chatel Award, an initiative of Choreographer Krisztina de Châtel on the occasion of her 75th birthday, was awarded to Florentina Holzinger and her architect.

For over forty years Krisztina de Châtel has been a pioneer in the dance field, creating innovative ballets at the intersection of architecture and dance. Krisztina de Chatel was honored this year with an exhibition called "The Third Space". By exposing her most emblematic work, installations and films, one could experience her unique artistic vision and choreographic oeuvre.

inner best dance performance: dancer Guido Dutilh in NDT1 Wir sagen uns Dunkles by Marco Goecke.