Jakop Ahlbom

Jakop Ahlbom came to the Netherlands from Sweden in the early nineteen nineties to pursue his training at the Mime School in Amsterdam. After graduating he collaborated with various choreographers as an actor, choreographer and director. Since 2000 he has worked under his own name to create an individual and idiosyncratic oeuvre. He linked up with ICK as associated artist for the period 2013-2016 and will continue to extend and deepen the relationship after that. In 2016 Ahlbom created Swan Lake with the whole dance ensemble of ICK. It's a modern adaptation of the classic Swan Lake with live music by Alamo Race Track. In 2018, ICK and Theater de Meervaart will jointly support Ahlbom's project: Le Bal.

Upon his graduation in 1998, Jakop Ahlbom was awarded the Top Naeff award for most promising student. His choreographic talent was noted, as well as the poetic moments he managed to create and the bravura, energy and physical strength he released in his performers. The jury described him as a keen, outstanding and profuse talent.

It was a special challenge for Jakop Ahlbom to create his first full-evening's dance production at ICK. His theatrical work is known for the range of ingredients with which he constructs his performances, which include mime, acrobatics and physical comedy. Dance is one of the cornerstones of his work. In collaboration with film director Boudewijn Koole he made the short dance film Off Ground, which won various international awards with world famous dancer Louise Lecavalier in the leading role.

Recently, he made the performances Innenschau (2010), Lebensraum (2012), Het Leven een Gebruiksaanwijzing (2013), Bug (2014) and Horror (2014). On an invitation from Staatstheater Mainz he created Der Prozess in 2015, based on the book of that title (1915) by Franz Kafka.