Dutch National Ballet presents
THE DAYS ARE GETTING LIGHTER
In The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, skaters glide over Amsterdam’s canals and a living room is magically transformed into a snowy forest. The magic of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King is enough to make the long dark days appear to be getting lighter! This acclaimed version of the classic fairy-tale ballet has won the hearts or more than 275,000 spectators.
In short
Choreographers Wayne Eagling and Toer van Schayk have adapted the age-old story of The Nutcracker to meet the high demands of today’s audiences. The sets are truly magical to behold, and the ballet itself is more energetic and dynamic than previous incarnations. Impressive group scenes are punctuated by technically challenging and brilliant solos. The audience is steadily lured into a magical world, where the line between reality and imagination becomes beautifully blurred.


Toer van Schayk
Choreographer, set- and costume designerToer van Schayk (Amsterdam, 1936) took his first ballet lessons with Iraïl Gadeskov and went on to train with Sonia Gaskell. From 1955 to 1959, he danced with Gaskell’s company, Nederlands Ballet, but interrupted his dancing career to complete his training as a sculptor at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague.
Dancers
Who is dancing when?
Clara Prince Nutcracker
Th 17 December 2015 20.15 Anna Tsygankova Jozef Varga James Stout
Sa 19 December 2015 20.15 Anna Tsygankova Daniel Camargo James Stout
Su 20 December 2015 14.00 Anna Ol Remi Wörtmeyer Young Gyu Choi
Tu 22 December 2015 14.00 Anna Ol Remi Wörtmeyer Young Gyu Choi
Tu 22 December 2015 20.15 Maia Makhateli Artur Shesterikov Young Gyu Choi
Th 24 December 2015 14.00 Maia Makhateli Artur Shesterikov Young Gyu Choi
Fr 25 December 2015 14.00 kerst Anna Tsygankova Matthew Golding James Stout
Su 27 December 2015 14.00 Anna Tsygankova Matthew Golding James Stout
Mo 28 December 2015 14.00 Igone de Jongh Jozef Varga Jared Wright
Mo 28 December 2015 20.15 Michaela DePrince Remi Wörtmeyer Oscar Valdes
We 30 December 2015 14.00 Sasha Mukhamedov Casey Herd James Stout
We 30 December 2015 20.15 Qian Liu Young Gyu Choi Edo Wijnen
Th 31 December 2015 14.00 Michaela DePrince Remi Wörtmeyer Oscar Valdes
Fr 1 January 2016 14.00 Qian Liu Young Gyu Choi Edo Wijnen
This castlist is always subject to change
Creation
On the eve of St Nicholas, in Amsterdam around 1810, Clara Staalboom and her brother Frits and sister Louise are getting ready for the festivities in their house on the canal. As their guests arrive, kindly St Nicholas gifts Clara with a nutcracker doll, and Frits a soldier’s uniform, complete with swordd. The children are elated, but when Clara goes to bed that night, her heavenly dream of dancing with the Nutcracker is turned into a nightmare - she is haunted by the Mouse King and his army of mice (danced by children from the National Ballet Academy).
Van Schayk’s delightful sets and costumes for The Nutcracker and the Mouse King are inspired by the work of the Dutch masters of the Golden Age. In the golden 1980s, Toer van Schayk was one of the three famous ‘Vans’ (Hans van Manen, Rudi van Dantzig and Toer van Schayk) of Dutch National Ballet. Toer was not only renowned as a dancer and later as a choreographer, but also as a sculptor, painter and set and costume designer. Van Schayk is also known as ‘Leonardo da Vinci on the Amstel’.
For everybody from 8 years and older.
Music
Dutch Ballet Orchestra, conducted by Ermanno Florio and Ariane Matiakh
Dutch Ballet Orchestra
This year, Dutch Ballet Orchestra is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Since its foundation in 1965, the orchestra has been proud to accompany Dutch National Ballet and Nederlands Dans Theater as a regular partner.
Through Dutch Ballet Orchestra, music and dance come together to form a wonderful experience: from classical ballet to modern dance, and from music education to talent development.
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 a unique character: incredibly flexible, dynamic and high-quality.
Dutch Ballet Orchestra is an orchestra with a mission, to achieve the ultimate synergy between dance and music.
Children's Choir De Kickers led by Lorenzo Papolo