Programme
Over the past weeks we streamed some of the most beautiful performances that have been shown on our stage in recent years. A unique opportunity to see or relive a number of highlights for the first time.
Dawson 25 years @ HNB
Missed it
HF: The Prometheus Project
Now on view
Watch | WORLD PREMIERE THE PROMETHEUS PROJECT
HOLLAND FESTIVAL 2020
Out of love for mankind, Prometheus defied the gods by stealing their fire and sharing it with man. For The Prometheus Project, choreographers Remi Wörtmeyer, Wubkje Kuindersma and Ernst Meisner create solos departing from different aspects of the Prometheus myth. Their creations are set to piano music by Ludwig Van Beethoven.
Originally, the three choreographers were to join forces on the Beethoven ballet Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus, on the occasion of the composer’s 250th birthday. Now the playing field for the performing arts has changed, so has this new creation. Now, the three choreographers will each create a solo inspired by the myth of Prometheus, set to different parts of Beethoven's 32 variations in c-minor for piano.
Remi Wörtmeyer: Prometheus’s Flame
In his solo for dancer Erica Horwood, Remi Wörtmeyer concentrates on the element of fire. He explores two sides of the phenomenon: fire is associated with warmth and human intimacy on the one hand, and with immense and destructive power on the other. For his new work, Wörtmeyer draws inspiration from Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, which is based on the myth of Prometheus.
Wubkje Kuindersma: Prometheus
For her solo, Dutch choreographer Wubkje Kuindersma departs from the inner fire that we as human beings all carry within us. This new work is created especially for Timothy van Poucke.
Ernst Meisner: Eagle
Prometheus was severely punished by the gods for stealing their fire. He was bound to a rock, where each day an eagle was sent to eat his liver, which would then grow back overnight to be eaten again the next day. In his solo for Sem Sjouke, Ernst Meisner departs from the perspective of the eagle.
Missed it | David Dawson 25 years @ Dutch National Ballet
From Saturday June 13th we will stream two ballets by David Dawson: Citizen Nowhere, a solo danced by Edo Wijnen, and Overture. David Dawson gives his very own twist to the classical ballet technique. His work is inventive and architectural, but at the same time it is imbued with a great emotional intensity. In June, we're celebrating that Dawson was intensely associated with our company during 25 years: first as a dancer, then as a resident choreographer, and since 2015 as an Artistic Associate.
DAVID DAWSON 25 YEARS AT DUTCH NATIONAL BALLET
25 years ago, David Dawson joined our company as a dancer. Soon his exceptional choreographic talent became clear. In 2000 he created his first large-scale production for our company, while he was still a dancer at the time: A Million Kisses to my Skin, and its success led to a highly successful international career. From 2004 to 2006, David was resident choreographer with Dutch National Ballet, and he has been our company's Artistic Associate since 2015.
His work is performed by many major international ballet companies, including Semperoper Ballett, San Francisco Ballet, Mariinsky Ballet, English National Ballet, The Royal Ballet, Bayerisches Staatsballett, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Staatsballett Berlin, Boston Ballet and Vienna State Opera Ballet. He has won numerous awards for his work, including the Benois de la Danse (2003), and a Golden Mask (2006), and he has been nominated for two Golden Swans (2003 and 2013), a second Benois de la Danse (2010), and most recently The Isadora Duncan Dance Award (2019).
Dutch National Ballet regularly performs new and existing work by David, including Timelapse (Mnemosyne) (2011), Overture (2013), Empire Noir (2016), Citizen Nowhere (2017), Tristan + Isolde (2018) and Requiem (2019), and very soon his highly anticipated The Four Seasons. David Dawson's unique style is deeply rooted in classical ballet, which he stretches to its limits, giving it both clarity and deep emotionality. Enjoy these highlights from David’s work with us at Dutch National Ballet.
Citizen Nowhere
The starting point for this solo work was Antoine de Saint-Exupery's 'Le Petit Prince', but David Dawson and composer Szymon Brzóska were also strongly influenced by current events during the creation process. As a result, this little prince stands for, among other things, the lonely, stateless refugee. Dancer Edo Wijnen was nominated for his role in Citizen Nowhere for the 'Zwaan' for most impressive dance performance.
Dutch Ballet Orchestra conducted by Phillip Ellis
Soloist: Edo Wijnen
Overture
David Dawson found the first inspiration for his choreography Overture in 'The four quartets', a spiritual and comprehensive poem by T.S. Eliot. His composer Szymon Brzoska and the members of his team also studied the poem and gave their interpretation of it. The British choreographer prefers his creation to be experienced as a 'visual work of art': 'it is an interplay of decor, light, music, costumes and choreography; they influence each other, and therefore also me'. Costumes are by Yumiko Takeshima, former dancer of Dutch National Ballet
Dutch Ballet Orchestra conducted by Matthew Rowe
David Dawson 25 years @ Dutch National Ballet: Cast and Credits
'His work is a gorgeous thing to look at. Dawson is a choreographer with his eye on the big picture, making use of the vast stage, organising his dancers into pleasing architecture. For Dawson, it’s a highly respectable homecoming' - Lindsey Winship | Evening Standard
Soloist Edo Wijnen invites you:
Missed it | GRIMM
In the world of GRIMM, Cinderella walks in sneakers and other familiar fairy tale characters are all given a funky twist. This is no sugar-coated fable, but a modern-day romp in which ballet and hip-hop dancers propel each other to ever greater heights.
A co-creation by Ernst Meisner (Junior Company/HNB) and Marco Gerris (ISH), GRIMM fuses the stories of Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel into one big adventure in which all the characters dance ‘happily ever after’.
'GRIMM is without doubt the most imaginative dance performance of this theatre season. (...) Seize your chance!' - TROUW, 2018
Announcement GRIMM
Ernst Meisner and Marco Gerris invite you to GRIMM.
Main sponsor Junior Company
Partners Junior Company
Partner GRIMM
Partners ISH Dance Collective
Missed it | Paquita | Penumbra | No Time Before Time
With: Paquita by Rachel Beaujean to Marius Petipa, Penumbra by Remi Wörtmeyer and No Time Before Time by Ernst Meisner.
Paquita
Alongside a star principal couple, numerous principals and soloists shine with majestic elegance midst the corps de ballet. In the version that Associate Artistic Director Rachel Beaujean made of Marius Petipa's Paquita, she shines a fresh light on the pure dance divertissement from the narrative 19th-century ballet played at the Spanish court. In her production, Beaujean wants to give a modern-day ‘schwung’ to the grand pas classique from Paquita, the pas de trois and the mazurka danced by children.
Principals: Anna Tsygankova and Matthew Golding
Dutch Ballet Orchestra conducted by Matthew Rowe
'Bengali fireworks of pointe variations' - De Volkskrant about Paquita
Penumbra
Principal, choreographer and artist Remi Wörtmeyer made a pas-de-deux to music by Rachmaninov. The music inspired him to create a choreography in which two lovers meet in the shadow of the night. The relationship Wörtmeyer sketches is full of melancholy. A duet without sharp lines, without beginning or end, in which one flowing movement leads to the other as a continuous stream of changing experiences. Principals: Anna Ol and Artur Shesterikov
Piano: Olga Khoziainova
No Time Before Time
Choreographer and artistic coordinator of the Junior Company, Ernst Meisner, created No Time Before Time for the dancers of the Junior Company, Dutch National Ballet's youth company. The dazzling, energetic work to Alexander Balanescu's eponymous piece of music seems to be written for them. In creating this work, there was plenty of room for experimentation and input from the dancers of the Junior Company itself; so the choreography for, with and about them became one of their own. Danced by Junior Company
Dutch Ballet Orchestra conducted by Matthew Rowe
Principal Anna Ol invites you:
Missed it | MATA HARI
In the spring of 2016 the large-scale production Mata Hari by choreographer and artistic director Ted Brandsen premiered with great success.
The story of the Dutch spy and dancer Mata Hari - born in 1876 as Margaret Geertruida Zelle - still appeals to the imagination. The girl from Friesland became an internationally celebrated dancer, a star who wounded all the men around her finger, a strong woman who - ultimately accused of treason - was executed in 1917.
With principal Anna Tsygankova as Mata Hari.
Dutch Ballet Orchestra conducted by Matthew Rowe
'The scope is breathtaking. The ballet finds its heart in the woman herself. Anna Tsygankova brings her talent and charisma to the role, creating a woman of leonine courage and one we genuinely care about ...' - Dancing Times
Music: Tarik O'Regan
Tip: take a look at the 5-part mini-series: THE MAKING-OF MATA HARI
Principal Anna Tsygankova invites you:
Missed it | Hans van Manen: Part Two until saturday 23 May
Hans van Manen - resident choreographer with Dutch National Ballet - has an impressive oeuvre of more than 120 ballets to his name. All are of a timeless beauty and are danced by top companies all over the world. In Hans van Manen: Part Two, the company treats you to three more highlights from his oeuvre: Sarcasmen, Two Gold Variations and the documentary Creating Without Words.
Sarcasmen piano: Olga Khoziainova
Two Gold variations Dutch Ballet Orchestra conducted by Matthew Rowe
Cast
Sarcasmen: Anna Tsygankova - Constantine Allen; piano: Olga Khoziainova
Two Gold Variations: Igone de Jongh – Jozef Varga,Young Gyu Choi – Pascalle Paerel, James Stout – Erica Horwood, Semyon Velichko – Milena Sidorova, Edo Wijnen – Wendeline Wijkstra, Roman Artyushkin – Tess Sturmann, Matthew Pawlicki-Sinclair – Floor Eimers; percussion: Arjan Roos, Kevin Alderwaldt
'Van Manen is and remains the great master in clarity, in building tension curves and in unerringly meeting the core in relationships between people.'
- NRC Handelsblad
The stream can be viewed until Saturday 23 May 19.00.
Announcement Part Two: Ted Brandsen in conversation with Hans van Manen:
Missed it | Swan Lake
Swan Lake, the moving and romantic ballet to the beautiful music of Tchaikovsky, is often called the 'ballet of ballets'. A ballet that you must have seen at least once in your life.
This version by choreographer Rudi van Dantzig was regarded by almost all newspapers as a milestone of dance history in the Netherlands but also as far surpassing most other interpretations of Swan Lake. Choreographer and set and costume designer Toer van Schayk designed the imposing sets and costumes that bring to life the ‘golden’ paintings of the seventeenth-century Dutch masters.
Dutch Ballet Orchestra conducted by Boris Gruzin
With principals Maia Makhateli and Daniel Camargo in the leading roles. See the full cast list.
For more information: Ballet of ballets, Swan lake
The stream will appeared here Saturday, May 9th and was online for another two weeks after that.
Principal James Stout is inviting you:
No longer available: HANS VAN MANEN: Part One
The mastery of the Dutch choreographer Hans van Manen has been recognised for many decades. He has an impressive oeuvre of more than 120 ballets to his name, almost all of which are of a timeless beauty and which are danced by top companies all over the world. Hans van Manen is associated as a resident choreographer to Dutch National Ballet. In Hans van Manen: Part One, we treat you to three very diverse highlights from his oeuvre.
Trois Gnossiennes is a wonderful pas de deux about surrender, trust and harmony to the quiet music of Satie.
Solo is a raging relay, a 'solo' for three, because, as Van Manen stated at the time, Bach's Violin Partita cannot be danced by one person because of its murderous tempo. Immediately after the premiere, the ballet was already labelled 'a masterpiece in six minutes'.
Adagio Hammerklavier is now truly a classic, inspired by the adagio in Beethoven's music, Van Manen explored how slow a movement can be. Or, as he once typified his ode, 'a wheel that, after a move, just runs, just doesn't fall over'.
Dancers / piano
Trois Gnossiennes (2019) - dancers: Igone de Jongh and Austrian guest principal Jakob Feyferlik; piano: Olga Khoziainova
Solo (2011) - dancers: Juanjo Arqués, Sefton Clarke and Felipe Diaz
Adagio Hammerklavier (2016) - dancers: Anna Ol - Artur Shesterikov, Anna Tsygankova - Daniel Camargo, Igone de Jongh - Jozef Varga; piano: Olga Khoziainova; Dutch Ballet Orchestra conducted by Matthew Rowe
Adjunct-artistiek directeur Rachel Beaujean nodigt u uit:
No longer available: Coppelia
For the libretto of Coppelia, choreographer and artistic director of Dutch National Ballet Ted Brandsen worked closely with Janine Brogt, who has plenty of experience in adapting the classics for theatre and opera. Sieb Posthuma (1960 – 2014) created a colourful and magical world for Coppelia, so that the audience feels as though they have stepped into an illustrated book, thanks also to the imaginative and ‘retro-futuristic’ ballet costumes designed by François- Noël Cherpin.
Dutch Ballet Orchestra conducted by Koen Kessels
See the full cast list. Look here for more information: Coppelia
Helped by Posthuma's sets and the indestructible score of Léo Delibes, Brandsen makes it a cheerful party. - Het Parool
Principal Vito Mazzeo invites you:
No longer available: The sleeping beauty
The golden crown jewel of classical ballet, The Sleeping Beauty. The Dutch National Ballet has already kissed this beautiful fairytale18 times to life. Choreographer Sir Peter Wright worked with designer Philip Prowse, who immersed the fairytale in breathtaking gold. Read more here: The Sleeping Beauty
Dutch Ballet Orchestra conducted by Boris Gruzin
Dizzying pirouettes, breathtaking pointe work and high jumps (...) The audience couldn't get enough of Peter Wright's sumptuous staging at the premiere. - Het Parool
Announcement: principal Maia Makhateli invites you:
No longer available: The Nutcracker & the Mouse King
Saturday April 11th we streamed the performance The Nutcracker & the Mouse King on our online platform. Together with Wayne Eagling, Van Schayk has renamed the time-honoured Nutcracker story into a primeval Dutch production, which takes you unnoticed to the festive fantasy world of Clara.
Experience the ballet classic The Nutcracker & the Mouse King. This enchanting production by choreographers Toer van Schayk and Wayne Eagling has already conquered thousands of hearts. Enjoy this famous ballet fairy tale! It's live on our website until 18 April 5 pm (CET).
Dutch Ballet Orchestra conducted by Koen Kessels
Choreographer and set and costume designer Toer van Schayk invites you:
No longer available: ballet classic Don Quichotte
We have broadcasted the full ballet Don Quichotte. The ballet is a choreography by Alexei Ratmansky full of virtuosity, zest for life and Spanish temperament.
With Dutch Ballet Orchestra conducted by Kevin Rhodes
"Alexei Ratmansky's production is the best version of this classical-romantic ballet." - De Telegraaf
Principal Anna Tsygankova is inviting you:
