“Oh, I am home again. This is what we often hear from youngsters entering Dynamo.” Manager Nancy van Loon tells us how the building contributes to developing young people’s talents.
On the principle of ‘inspiring, learning, working’, Dynamo offers youngsters the change to grow and to create their future in music, dance, sports and culture. “There is nothing as dynamic and changing as the youth. I’m happy that the building adapts to this. Even after ten years, it still offers the young people the conditions to develop themselves successfully. Such a large building, on this spot in the city; it shows that youngsters matter. They feel this too. They get a buzz from being allowed to work on their passion. This way, the energy for developing talent starts flowing. Eindhoven, Dynamo and diederendirrix can be proud of that. No other city in the Netherlands has such a place.”
“Before Dynamo moved into this building in 2005, it was mainly focused on marginalised young people. That’s why the building is shithead proof, transparent and without any frills.” Nancy van Loon explains, “Now we are here for everyone. The nice thing about the building is that different groups move alongside each other. There isn’t a single group that claims space and when people want to work together they approach each other. Hiphoppers, lovers of Hardcore, metalheads but also young mothers feel at ease in the building. The red of the atrium remains a point of discussion, but also the metalheads have accepted it for lack of a good alternative.”
“The nice thing about the building is that different groups move alongside each other.”
Initially, Dynamo had to get used to the new building. How could the maximum number of new visitors be reached? How could the rooms be programmed in the best way? The first three years were dominated by production and logistical experiments. It was then that the ticket sales office was moved from the hall to outside. “We gradually came to understand that Dynamo is not a rock & pop music venue which must have a full house. No, our main task is talent development. It is essential for us that young people become active. The building helps us. Without the main hall there could not be 300 volunteers wanting to book a band there or wanting to train for a dance performance. The Ruggeds, who used to do their dance training in the Heuvelgalerie, came to us one day asking if they could use our halls. Now they run a successful urban dance studio and perform home and abroad. Fresku also started here.”
““We gradually came to understand that Dynamo is not a rock & pop music venue which must have a full house. No, our main task is talent development. It is essential for us that young people become active.”
Meanwhile, Dynamo reaches up to 90.000 youngsters per year. 300 youngsters walk through its doors on a daily basis. It is also financially sound and the local councils understand the importance of talent development. “We wouldn’t have reached this point without this flexible building. After ten years, Dynamo is a strong brand. We want to expand the concept so it is suitable for other cities too. But we do emphasise that the building is an essential condition. As a city, if you want to have effect with youth work, then the building and the facilities need to be in order. Whisking away the youth? Then Dynamo doesn’t join in.”