Dutch National Ballet presents

BACK TO BALLET - classic Watch the performance online

Sat 28 Nov - 20:15 hours Livestream Livestream
Fri 04 Dec - 20:15 hours Livestream Livestream
Wed 09 Dec - 20:15 hours Livestream Livestream
Sat 12 Dec - 20:15 hours Livestream Livestream

Live at your home

Duration 01:27

In these turbulent times, Back to Ballet - classic takes you back to the core of classical ballet. Our soloists shine with heartwarming roles in timeless and moving ballets like Le Corsaire, Swan Lake and Paquita. After a few sold out performances for a limited audience, we bring Back to Ballet - classic back for 4 more evenings, live in your living room and with a different cast of soloists every evening. Tune in to one of the livestreams on 28 November or 4, 9 or 12 December and enjoy this unique performance safely at home!

Livestreams on 28 November and 4, 9 en 12 December

Do you want to experience Back to Ballet - classic live at your home? Then buy a ticket following this roadmap:
 
  • Click on the desired date in the ticket bar or click above on the button with the desired date to watch Back to Ballet - classic for only €12,50.
  • We ask for a one-time registration. This will take less than 1 minute and can be done with your Gmail or your Facebook account. You can also choose to create an account with your own email address.
  • Note: you cannot login with the account you normally use when you purchase tickets for performances in our theatre. You have to register again.
  • After you have created an account, you will be logged in automatically. Click again on 'I want access'. You will be directed to the payment module.
  • Once you have entered the payment module, choose wich payment method you want to use: iDeal or Creditcard. Fill in the details and click on 'Pay'. You will then be redirected to the video page within the website of Dutch National Opera & Ballet. Important: If you have paid using iDeal, you are not automatically redirect to the webshop. You have to click on 'Back to webshop' to be redirected. 
  • When you have been redirected to the webshop, you will see the text 'Succes!' appear on your screen. This means the payment was succesful. Click on the button 'Go to video' to return to the stream.
  • If you do not immediately see the text 'You have purchased the video" where you first saw the text "I want access", refresh/reload this page. A way to refresh the page is by using the 'f5' key on your keyboard.

 

Has the purchase been succesful?

You can enjoy Back to Ballet - classic live on the date you have chosen: Saturday 28 November or Friday 4, Wednesday 9 or Saturday 12 December. On the day of the performance you receive a welcome email with a link to the online performance. Log in on this page again in order to watch the online performance. Our online doors will open one hour before the start of the performance, at 19:15. Start the livestream of the performance on time and experience Back to Ballet - classic at home!

Please note! These online performances are livestreams. Make sure you purchase your ticket on time and that you are ready well in advance of the start of the online performance. The performance will not be available afterwards.

 

Frequently asked questions
Do you need more help? These are examples of frequently asked questions:
How do I get access to a certain stream?
Can I also watch a paid stream without an account?

Is your question not listed above? Click here for technical support. For other questions, send an e-mail to video.support@operaballet.nl or call 020 6255 455. The ticket office is available from Monday until Friday from 12.00 until 18.00 hours and Saturday, Sunday and holidays from 12.00 until 15.00 hours.

 

Do you want to support Dutch National Ballet? You are always welcome to give more via the following button:

 
 

Premiere cast on 28 November

In the online performance on 28 November, you can admire the cast of soloists that danced the offline premiere of Back to Ballet - classic. The casts of soloists that will dance the four performances can be found below. But please note: all cast lists are with reservation.

Soloisists 28 November Soloists 4 December  Soloists 9 December  Soloists 12 December

Back to Ballet Classic trailer

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

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

 

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

ORCHESTRA

Dutch Ballet Orchestra conducted by Matthew Rowe

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

 

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