Dutch National Ballet presents

Back to ballet – classic George Balanchine, Marius Petipa, Agrippina Vaganova, Rudi van Dantzig, Ted Brandsen en Rachel Beaujean

Tue 13 Oct 20:15 hours
Thu 15 Oct - 20:15 hours Cancelled Cancelled
Sat 17 Oct - 20:15 hours Cancelled Cancelled
Sat 24 Oct - 20:15 hours Cancelled Cancelled
Sun 25 Oct - 14:00 hours Cancelled Cancelled
Sun 01 Nov - 14:00 hours Cancelled Cancelled
Tue 03 Nov - 20:15 hours Cancelled Cancelled
Mon 09 Nov - 20:15 hours Cancelled Cancelled
Wed 11 Nov - 20:15 hours Cancelled Cancelled
Tickets sold

classic

Duration 1:30

Breaks 0

IN DECEMBER, YOU COULD ENJOY LIVESTREAMS OF BACK TO BALLET - CLASSIC ONLINE HERE.

DUE TO THE TIGHTENED CORONA MEASURES, WE WERE FORCED TO CANCEL ALL PHYSICAL PERFORMANCES OF BACK TO BALLET - CLASSIC. YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION HERE: OPERABALLET.NL/CORONA-UPDATE

 

Back to Ballet Classic trailer

Safe visit

We have taken careful measures to ensure a safe visit to our theatre, including careful observation of the compulsory 1.5 metre distance in the auditorium and in the foyer.

For more information:

Valse Fantaisie - Balanchine
Valse Fantaisie - George Balanchine
Valse Fantaisie - George Balanchine
Paquita - Beaujean naar Petipa
Paquita - Petipa / Beaujean
Paquita - Petipa / Beaujean
Het Zwanenmeer
Het Zwanenmeer
Le Corsaire
Le Corsaire
Le Corsaire

Programme

The programme includes highlights from the classical ballet repertoire.

Valse Fantaisie

Valse Fantaisie by George Balanchine, a virtuoso ballet full of jumps, pointe work and 'pas de chats', was originally presented as the second part of Glinkiana (1967), choreographed after four different compositions by Mikhail Glinka. The music, reminiscent of the waltzes of Frederic Chopin, is fast and light, and was nicknamed 'the melancholic waltz'. The female dancers move together around a single male dancer in a whirl of perpetual motion. It is pure dance, full of dynamics and rhythm.
 
Choreography George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust
Music Mikhail Glinka ('Valse Fantaisie in B minor')
Costumes Oliver Haller
Lighting Wijnand van der Horst
 

SWAN LAKE

Pas de Deux from the 2nd Act
 
Swan Lake (1895) is one of the masterpieces of nineteenth-century Russian imperial ballet. Composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and choreographer Marius Petipa managed to bring both music and dance to the highest level. The pas de deux that Odette dances in the second act with prince Siegfried is considered a miracle of lyricism and poetry in the art of dance.
 
Choreography Rudi van Dantzig, after Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov 
Music Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Set and costumes Toer van Schayk

Lighting Jan Hofstra

 

CLASSICAL SYMPHONY

This choreography is not part of the stream Back to Ballet - classic which will be available on our online platform from 31 October.

Choreographer and director of Dutch National Ballet Ted Brandsen created Classical Symphony for the male dancers in the company. With this choreography, he provides us with his own interpretation of the theme ‘Back to Ballet’. For the occasion of the company’s annual Gala in 2014, Ted Brandsen created Vivace, set to the music of the final part of Sergei Prokofiev's Classical Symphony. He now expands his creation for this programme.The male dancers move athletically and masterly to the music of Prokofjev. 

Choreography Ted Brandsen
Music Sergei Prokofjev, Symphony nr. 1 in D major, Larghetto, Gavotte, Finale
 

LE CORSAIRE

Pas de deux
 
The spectacular pas de deux from Le Corsaire was created in the late 19th century, and could be interpreted as an ode to the virtuosity of classical ballet. Its technical and expressive requirements have rendered it a favouvrite among soloists. In recent years, Dutch National Ballet's principals Maia Makhateli and Young Gyu Choi have made an international name for themselves with this pas de deux.
 
Choreography Samuil Andrianov, Agrippina Vaganova, Vakhtang Chabukiani
Music Riccardo Drigo, Ludwig Minkus & Boris Fitinhof-Schell, orchestration by W. McDermott, adjusted by J. Williams
Lighting Bert Dalhuysen
 

Paquita

With majestic elegance, a star couple and various soloists shine amidst the dancers of the corps de ballet. There will also be children dancing in the performance (except on 25-10 and 09-11). In her version of Marius Petipa's Paquita, associate artistic director Rachel Beaujean shines a fresh light on the pure dance divertissement from the narrative 19th-century ballet. Beaujean gives this ballet classic the schwung that suits our times.
 
Choreography Rachel Beaujean, after Marius Petipa 
Music Ludwig Minkus, Edouard Delvedez, Adolphe Adam, Riccardo Drigo, Nikolai Tscherepnin, Gustavovich Gerber, arr. John Lanchbery & David Coleman, adjusted by J. Williams
Sets and costumes François-Noël Cherpin
Lighting Hans-Åke Sjöquist

 

Paquita - studio
Classical Symphonie - studio
Le Corsaire - studio
Valse Fantaisie - studio
Paquita - studio

ORCHESTRA

Dutch Ballet Orchestra conducted by Koen Kessels

Dutch Ballet Orchestra
Since its inception in 1965, the orchestra has been proud to accompany its partners, Dutch National Ballet and Nederlands Dans Theater. The working method is unique in the Netherlands. Dutch Ballet Orchestra, with Matthew Rowe as principal conductor, consists of a regular core of 45 musicians, supported where necessary by highly qualified guest performers. This gives the orchestra its unique character: flexible, dynamic and high-quality.

More information:

DUTCH BALLET ORCHESTRA

 

    Thu 09 Jul Paquita - De Volkskrant

    'Pointe variations like Bengali fireworks'

    Thu 09 Jul Valse Fantaisie - Theaterkrant

    '...a virtuoso ballet full of jumps, pointe work and 'pas de chats' (literally: cat jumps), with the male as a central figure.'

    Thu 09 Jul Pas de deux Het Zwanenmeer - Theaterkrant

    'And, of course, Swan Lake is not to be missed. Once again it becomes apparent how spicy a pas de deux is for a man, with the balancing of his partner, the meticulous weight transfers and numerous high lifts.'

George Balanchine

Choreographer

George Balanchine made quite a mark on the development of theatrical dance - he is the maestro of story-less musical ballet. His ballets mostly stand out because of their architectonic composition of choreographic patterns and dance themes.

Marius Petipa

Choreographer

Marius Petipa (1818-1910), son of the French ballet master Jean Petipa, made his debut as dancer in 1828, in a version of Pierre Gardel’s Le Dansomanie staged by his father. In 1847, he was engaged as a dancer with the Imperial Theatres in St Petersburg. Seven years later, he became a teacher at the Imperial Ballet School in the same city.

Rachel Beaujean

Associate Artistic Director

Rachel Beaujean (Helmond, 1959) joined Dutch National Ballet in 1977 and was promoted to soloist in 1981. She took up the position of ballet mistress in 1997 and has held the post of head of the artistic staff since 2003. Since September 2017, Rachel Beaujean has been Associate Artistic Director.

Ted Brandsen

Director of Dutch National Ballet, Resident Choreographer

Ted Brandsen danced with Dutch National Ballet from 1981 to 1991. In 1991, he retired from dancing in favour of concentrating on choreography. In 1998, Brandsen was appointed artistic director of West Australian Ballet in Perth. At the beginning of 2002, Brandsen returned to Dutch National Ballet, initially in the position of assistant artistic director and resident choreographer and since 2003 as artistic director of the company. Ted Brandsen has been the director of Dutch National Ballet since August 2012.

Photos: Michel Schnater, Marc Haegeman, Angela Sterling, Altin Kaftira

 

Main sponsor Junior Company