During the first edition of the Rotterdam summer carnival, in 1983, it was officially called the ‘Antillean summer carnival’, but that has long since ceased to be the case. In the editions that followed, new cultures and nationalities joined each year, from Surinamese to Brazilians and Ghanaians living in the Netherlands, making the street party a little more exuberant. When at some point even Groningers and Drenthe started to dance, they knew for sure that the tradition was unbreakable.
Or well, almost unbreakable, because the carnival has been canceled for the past two years due to the pandemic, with the result that photographer Guus Dubbelman was able to capture an impressive overtaking maneuver of suppressed desire this year. He saw professional dancers and amateur dancers all over Rotterdam, he saw the voluptuous delight of the audience, the feathers, the sparkling stones, the brass bands and an atmosphere where it doesn’t matter whether you are tight or a little more generous.
For the first time this year, in addition to a queen of the summer carnival, a king was also chosen, because inclusivity is important and men can also enjoy dressing up and tinkering with colorful floats. An attempt was made at the square in front of Rotterdam Central breaking the world record for the largest salsa dance ever, which happened when 1,523 people danced together the Cuban Rueda de Casino. In the Witte de Withstraat, the carefree nature of the weekend reigned, there were the twisting couples at the Blaak, there was food, drink, costumes and the absence of embarrassment everywhere, there were dancing women in satin suits who were fully aware of the desire which they summoned from the men on the side. And when the sun came out, the T-shirts flapped in the warm wind.
The summer carnival in Rotterdam is the exact opposite of ‘act normal, because then you act crazy enough’. And that’s a good thing, because life is already so ordinary, so why not dance in the street during the day?
