Mark van Bergen

Electronic Dance Music Culture, Well-being, Sociology of Popular Music, Arts, Media

I am a writer, lecturer, and researcher (PhD candidate) on electronic dance music (EDM) culture. Currently, I'm doing a PhD on the relationship between participation in EDM events and well-being.

As a journalist I have been writing about EDM culture since 2000, for newspapers, magazines, and websites (such as my own founded dance portal This Is Our House). In 2013, I released my first book: Dutch Dance, about 25 years of the infamous scene in the Netherlands. This first national overview of EDM culture was rewarded with the Pop Media Prize, the most important award for music journalism in the Netherlands. In 2018, it got its international, updated successor, celebrating 30 years of house music. DUTCH DANCE 1988-2018 was released as the official Amsterdam Dance Event book. Other book projects include Thunderdome, and Awakenings – 20 Years of Techno.

Since 2014, I am a lecturer at Fontys' University of Applied Sciences in my hometown Tilburg. I have founded a semester program for bachelor students aspiring to carve out careers behind the scenes of the electronic dance music industry.

In 2024, after a pilot study on techno events and well-being, I embarked on the earlier mentioned PhD research at Tilburg University. I am a regular speaker in panels and media, from ADE to The New York Times.

Founder, lecturer and coach of the minor Dance Industry at Fontys University of Applied Sciences, Tilburg 

My first supervisor is Peter Achterberg, Professor Sociology at Tilburg University. Also supervising are Pauwke Berkers, Professor Sociology of Popular Music (Erasmus University, Rotterdam), and Falk Hübner, Professor of Artistic Connective Practices at Fontys University of the Arts in Tilburg. Also contributing with advice is Dr. Bram Peper, lecturer Sociology at Tilburg University.