Elements of Freestyle

Inspired by the styles of the streets, ISH has been bringing hip hop dance and urban sports to theatre for almost 25 years. Their performances combine contemporary street forms with traditional disciplines such as ballet, theatre, and classical music. ISH is a collective of those who can think differently, free of formats and restrictions, united by the notion that boundaries are futile. United by the realisation that borders do not exist, ISH creates dance out of elements that are not immediately recognisable. Besides the performances, there are programmes through ISH Academy, ISH Community and ISH Talent, which focus on children and youth, new talent and the hip hop community.

Filipino-born and raised in Belgium, Marco Gerris is a dancer and choreographer, and the founder and artistic director of ISH Dance Collective. Always on the move and filled with creative energy, he pursued his studies at the Antwerp Theatre School Herman Teirlinck, the Higher Institute for Dance Pedagogy and Open Living Theatre. In the late 1990s, he pledged his heart to Amsterdam, where he starts working as a dancer, skater and actor. Besides creating within dance and urban sports, Gerris was also seen for two years as a judge in popular television series So You Think You Can Dance, as a judge on The Freestyle Games and a guest judge at Project Dans. He was awarded the prestigious Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Prize in 2020, and has also won The Netherlands' leading dance awards: the Swan (VSCD Dance Awards), for most impressive dance production of 2024 with the performance Rhythm & Flow.

Arnold Put is a b-boy and was introduced to breakdance in 1998. Two years later he formed a breaking crew with five other breakers called Come Correct. They competed in battles and became national Dutch champions in 2004 and 2005. He also became the Dutch champion in 2005 in the individual battles of The Dutch Bboy Championships. After competing, his crew focused more on creating shows and are still performing to this day. In 2012, Arnold joined ISH Dance Collective and has since performed in several theatre shows.

Dietrich Pott, also known as b-boy Dietje, dances at the highest level in the international battle scene. Whether it’s Red Bull BC One, Juste Deboute or Notorious IBE—Dietje was there!

He earned his spurs in battle scenes in theatre. His power moves and talent contributed to breakdance becoming an art form in its own right. Dietrich has danced in several ISH shows such as FTBLL, Elements of Freestyle, Narnia, Ignite and Jungle Book. As one of the founders of the Surinamese hip hop/breakdance group Myztikalz, he won the battle of the Year Caricom in 2009. Five years ago, Pott took his first steps as a creator. A clear handwriting is visible in his work, strongly linked to his explosive and spectacular break style and his Surinamese roots.

Born in a small town in Italy, Matilde started her dance journey at the age of three. At age 13, she started her professional training first in Italy and then moved to the Netherlands to complete it at Codarts Rotterdam as a contemporary dancer. The development of her existing movement language happened in the eight years of collaboration with Amenti collective, where she could exchange and confront herself with various street dance styles, which enriched her language and gave her the possibility to create a unique style.

Former World Champion Sven Boekhorst started skating in the early 1990s in Den Bosch, Netherlands. In 2000, he won every contest, which includes winning the Triple Crown (winning X-Games, Gravity Games and World Championships). In his years as a professional skater, he also had a character in a videogame, Aggressive Inline, and performed three weeks in a big theatre show on Broadway, NYC. After all the experiences from skating as a professional, Sven decided to take his career to the next level by starting SB Events, a company that provides professional skating shows for different kind of events, adjustable to every situation.

Jelle is a driven athlete known for his high jumps, no stranger to the inline skating world. He has won impressive titles at several (inter)national competitions such as FISE and Winterclash. In 2015, Jelle was scouted by ISH during the Dutch television programme The Freestyle Games, where he made it to the final three.

Dez became obsessed with BMX Flatland, the art of doing tricks on the BMX without using obstacle, at a young age. He has fallen in love with the sport and the lifestyle that comes with it.

For more than a decade, Dez has claimed his spot in the world top of the BMX Flatland sport and in the entertainment business, performing and competing around the world at the highest level. He won multiple international competitions and performed at Eurovision Songfestival for millions of live viewers. For ISH, Dez played in Elements of Freestyle in The Netherlands.

Pim was born in Den Bosch, the Netherlands, in 1994 and started skating in high school at the age of 13, after he traded in soccer for skateboarding. After winning several awards and a 3rd place at the NK Miniramp in 2016, he joined ISH Dance Collective.

Daryl started freestyle basketball in 2004 and became Dutch champion in 2007 and 2008. In 2008, he discovered breaking and developed a unique and creative fusion of both styles. In that same year, he joined the leading freestyle basketball team Luv4dagame and toured Europe with them performing on various stages for big brands.

His background in freestyle basketball gave him an innovative foundation to breaking, leading to success in major battles like Red Bull BC One Holland Cypher, Hip Opsession, World Breaking Classics and many more. With his crews Mekarõn and EXG, he won national and international titles, including the Dutch Bboy Championship in 2015 and 2019.

Siebe is a real urban parkour guy. He dares to push his limits and steps over all his fears. He is addicted to the freedom, speed and adrenaline of the sport. At the age of eighteen, he became the Dutch freerunner Champion and has now become the Dutch Speed Champion six times. In the last few years Siebe, had the opportunity to do many great collaborations with companies such as Sony, InterSport, Mentos, etc.

Liziano, better known in the scene as LAGO, is a professional parkour athlete representing TeamNL. His ten-plus years of experience include influences from both sport and the arts—from inline skating to dance—giving his movement a unique control and rhythm. From training on the streets of Rotterdam to claiming bronze at the 2024 Parkour World Cup, LAGO brings presence to every space he moves through. Whether performing, competing, or simply flowing, he lets the movement speak.

Elsa Le Moigne is a French cellist and improviser based in the Netherlands. She is an all-round performer engaging in many diverse projects such as the interdisciplinary theatre production The Underground (Club Guy and Roni, Nite, Asko Schönberg, HIIIT), performing with the Metropole Orkest and collaborating with pop singers such as Asaf Avidan, as well as visual artists. She also leads her own project, ZaZoo, which competed in the Jonge Makers Prijs and Jazz in the Park competition.

Elsa is also active as a composer and arranger, having released her first interdisciplinary piece Entretisser in collaboration with dancer Suzie Babin. In 2024, she played in performances that received the 3rd prize of the Jonge Makers Prijs with the Isle Quartet and the best performance award of the Oskar Back Prijs with Quintijn van Heek. She graduated with a jazz master’s degree from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and with a classical bachelor’s degree from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague.

Teddy Sicking is a Dutch violinist and is currently in her third year of a Double Bachelor’s degree in jazz and classical violin at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. In 2023, she was concert master of the Jong Metropole orchestra and received the Keep an Eye Outstanding Talent Award 2023. She’s active as a jazz and classical soloist and is front woman of her own jazz fusion band, TJ’s Pretty People, for which she composes and arranges and experiments with the combination of vocals, instrumentals and electric effects. In January 2024, TJ’s Pretty People reached the finals of the Jonge Makers Prize of the Nederlands Vioolconcours.