With ADE now close to a month away, ADE Arts & Culture reveals a new wave of events on the meeting point of music, theatre, and movement. This next chapter brings together raw physical expression, theatrical reinventions of nightlife, and sound as a tool for both memory and transformation. From reimagined strip clubs and surreal rave musicals to walking tours and roots reggae legacies, the program invites audiences to experience electronic music culture through unexpected perspectives.
Alice in Thunderland @ Theater De Landing
Go down the rabbit hole into a surreal club night where art and nightlife collide. Curated by R3LN4CHT, 'Alice in Thunderland' blurs the lines between performance and rave. Immersive, chaotic, glamorous, and playful, it features theatre maker Stephanie Louwrier alongside guest artists for an unpredictable night of beats, characters, and encounters.
XTC: The Electronic Musical @ Desmet Studio's
Created by Vicu Bazan Szelest, this theatre-club experience tells the story of Max, an ex-clubber trying to piece his life back together after nightlife excess. A roaming camera projects the unfolding narrative across dancers, actors, and a DJ set, merging live performance with electronic music in a redemptive story of love and connection. This immersive 60-minute format in which audience members stand and move around the room debuts at ADE at Desmet Studio's.
Striptopia @ TillaTec
At TillaTec, a former technical college, stripping is reimagined as an art form. Striptopia invites audiences into a two-hour show that celebrates pole dance, drag, and performance. Built on fair and inclusive values, the project challenges social norms and reclaims the strip club as a space of artistry and celebration.
Movement as collective expression
Why Not – OFF VENUE 2025 @ De Sloot
Thu 23rd & Fri 24th - 18:00 [with dinner] or 19:30 [only tour] /21:50
The walking tour returns to Amsterdam Nieuw-West, turning the streets into a stage where everyday life becomes art. Along the route, audiences encounter performances and interventions, from provocative strip shows to reflections on humanity and ephemerality. The experience can be paired with dinner at Restaurant De Sering before the tour.
OFF VENUE Workshop: Disambiguation @ Theater Frascati
In this workshop, participants will take the atmosphere of the nightclub and translate it into movement. Through Elisa Zuppini’s ensemble, participants will be introduced to her movement practice, and learn sequences from the choreography, they will then be invited to interpret it through guided improvisations, forming co-ordinated freedom and moving in a collective unconsciousness, where ambiguity becomes a generative force.
Sound and storytelling
Hothead Radio
Hothead Radio brings a range of projects to ADE, with its centerpiece a live A/V performance at the Eye Film Museum. Archival sounds and moving images merge in an exploration of cinema’s past, present, and future. Afterwards, artists Lauren Duffus and Shawdii host a panel reflecting on their inspirations and the dialogue between sound and visuals.
Kebra Ethiopia Sound System @ Garage Noord
Originating from Kwa-Thema, South Africa, Kebra Ethiopia celebrates 20 years of roots reggae and Rastafarian culture. Known for their hand-built speaker sets, they bring a message of unity, humility, and community upliftment. At Garage Noord, they play on the Dutch Covenant Soundsystem, honoring a legacy that has carried their sound around the world.
Restrhythm @ Park Amsterdam
Third-year Music Theatre students from ArtEZ take over the skatepark at Park Amsterdam, teaming up with EDM producer POEZENKIND. Together they push boundaries, exploring movement that oscillates between rest and rave, control and release, bliss and stillness. The result is a raw performance where sound, movement, and dramatic intensity collide.
Arts & Culture continues to expand the frame of electronic music. These projects point to the many ways sound and performance can challenge conventions and open new perspectives.
The complete program will be announced in the coming weeks. Individual tickets are available through ADE’s program, and the ADE Pro Pass is available here.
ADE is organised by the Amsterdam Dance Event Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to nurturing electronic music, its culture and its industry worldwide. The organisation devotes itself to stimulating development, innovation and talent, gathering the global industry and laying a foundation for future generations.
About ADE
The Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE), an initiative of Buma, has grown into the world’s largest and most influential club-based festival and conference for electronic music. The event continues to grow and develop each year, featuring over 3,000 artists and 600 speakers in almost 200 venues. The five-day event attracts visitors from over 150 countries and features every conceivable aspect of electronic music culture, with dedicated conference programming, an extensive Arts & Culture programme, live music and DJ/artist performances, all spread across the city of Amsterdam.
ADE – Electronic Music Gathers Here
The Amsterdam Dance Event is organised by The Amsterdam Dance Event Foundation. Founding partner: Buma
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