Dutch National Ballet + ISH Dance Collective

Dorian

Ernst Meisner and Marco Gerris

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Dates

11 May-16 Jun 2023

Location

Dutch National Opera & Ballet, Main Stage + Tour

Running time

2:00, incl. 1 interval

Tickets

n.a.

Dance thriller based on the famous book by Oscar Wilde

Following the successes of Narnia and GRIMM, Dorian (14+) is the third joint production by choreographers Ernst Meisner and Marco Gerris. For their adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray, the famous book by Oscar Wilde from 1891, the two choreographers have opted for a thriller-like approach, filled with tension and suspense, for adults and adolescents. This time, dancers from Dutch National Ballet will also be joining dancers from the Junior Company and ISH Dance Collective.

Photo: Marta Syrko

Immersive mix of hiphop and ballet

In their production, Meisner and Gerris follow the storyline of Wilde’s novel, but place it in an eccentric contemporary setting. The protagonist Dorian goes over the top in his craving for beauty and adoration, and suffers the consequences. He ends up in a downward spiral, becoming trapped in a labyrinth where he can no longer tell reality from fantasy. As in Narnia and GRIMM, Meisner and Gerris once again blend different dance styles in an exciting and immersive mix of hiphop and ballet.

New music performed live

Joey Roukens, one of today’s best-known young composers in the Netherlands, is writing a new, full-length score especially for Dorian. In recent years, he has composed works for various Dutch and international orchestras, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, where he was composer in residence. Meisner and Roukens previously worked together on the ballet In Transit. In the larger theatres, Roukens’ new composition will be performed live by Dutch Ballet Orchestra.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde’s philosophical novel The Picture of Dorian Gray is about being totally wrapped up in the pursuit of eternal youth. The protagonist Dorian Gray wants to stay as young and handsome as the portrait painted by his friend Basil, wishing that his likeness in the painting would grow older and uglier in his place.

Credits

Co-production Dutch National Ballet & ISH Dance Collective

Choreography Ernst Meisner and Marco Gerris
Music Joey Roukens
Set and costume design  Dieuweke van Reij
Lighting design  Mike den Ottolander
Electronic sounds and effects  Rik Ronner
Live illustrator Luca Stappers
Ballet master Caroline Iura
Intimacy coordinator Markoesa Hamer

Dancers ISH Dance Collective
Pom Arnold, Joley Groeizaam, Liam McCall, Tyrone Menig, Oscar Starink, Kevin Thompson, Sophie Tukker, Lars de Vos and Lucinda Wessels

Dutch National Ballet
Anna Tsygankova, Qian Liu, Giorgi Potskhishvili, Koyo Yamamoto and Isaac Mueller
Junior Company
2nd year: Lily Carbone, Victoria Glazunova, Nicola Jones, Polina Loschchylina, Kate Myklukha, Louisella Vogt, Luca Abdel-Nour, Gabriel Rajah and Sven de Wilde
1st year: Poppi Eccleston, Skya Powney, Carolina Ribaldone, Bo-Ann Zehl, Robin Park, Soshi Suzuki, Francesco Venturi and Vincent Fell

Musical accompaniment (performances in the larger theatres)
Dutch National Ballet Orchestra conducted by Karel Deseure

Ernst Meisner

Choreography

Marco Gerris

Choreography

Trailer thumbnail, Giorgi Potskhishvili en Oscar Starink

The making of Dorian thumbnail; dansers in de studio

Five reasons to look forward to Dorian

Dutch National Ballet-ISH Dance Collective | Photo: Michel Schnater

Dutch Ballet Orchestra

Dutch Ballet Orchestra’s mission is ‘to inspire movement in dance’. Since its inception in 1965, the orchestra has been the proud musical partner of Dutch National Ballet and Nederlands Dans Theater. In every performance, the orchestra searches for inspiring synergy between music and dance, in order to give the audience a magical experience.

Dutch Ballet Orchestra

Led by principal conductor Matthew Rowe, Dutch Ballet Orchestra is the leading orchestra for dance in the Netherlands. The orchestra accompanies performances ranging from traditional ballet to modern dance, alongside and is active in music education and talent development.

Besides performances with Dutch National Ballet and Nederlands Dans Theater, Dutch Ballet Orchestra has a long tradition of innovative – and award-winning – family performances. For instance, Creatures (in collaboration with ISH) received the international Young Audiences Music Award, and the production Hansel and Gretel (in collaboration with Orkater) won various Musical Awards. In these productions, the musicians play from memory, without a conductor and in costumes, so that they form an integral part of the performance. And finally, Dutch Ballet Orchestra has a long-term partnership with the Dutch National Ballet Academy. They are therefore involved in the music curriculum for pupils and students, facilitate student visits to orchestra rehearsals and provide music for the academy’s end-of-year performance, where possible.

hetballetorkest.nl/en

14 June

Voted best performance of 2022-2023 season in the "dance and performance" category:
Overwhelming adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray, with clever vistas into the toxic consequences of chasing an unrealistic ideal of beauty.

14 May

Dorian delivers great commentary in an overwhelming fusion of dance, music, video art and scenography

12 May

[...] a sensuous, swirling and brilliantly danced version of the novel [...].

12 May

Great dance in beautifully crafted fairy tale.

12 May

Composer Joey Roukens is a storyteller pur sang in all possible moods and tempi.

Podcast - Dorian

The podcast below (spoken in Dutch) features Ernst Meisner and Marco Gerris discussing the following topics:

What is the essence of Dorian nowadays according to the choreographers?
How do the two worlds of classical ballet and hip-hop work together?
Why an intimacy coordinator?
What can we expect from this collaboration in the future?

The conversation is framed by small music clips composed by Joey Roukens. At the time of recording this interview, no official recordings of the music were yet available.