Dancing apart together

With many new creations by young choreographers and work by top choreographers such as Hans van Manen and David Dawson, the opening production of the new season forms a unique collage. Born from limitations but also from new possibilities in today's world, Dancing Apart Together lets you experience the rich and pure simplicity of ballet today. In a theatre that has reopened again after a long time, and at a safe distance!

Safety

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.

Creative responses to today's world

Dancing Apart Together is the creative response to the situation we find ourselves in at this moment. On the programme are existing works, as well as new creations by choreographers who, each in their own way, give shape to ballet in the Netherlands today.

Distance and proximity

Social distancing has been a way of living for months. Do we still dare to touch each other? The need for closeness and intimacy is perhaps stronger than ever. And how can togetherness take shape when distance is still the safer option? These considerations consitute the thematic starting point for the programme.

Working with what we have

Also in a broader sense, the possibilities in today's world have informed the programme. For Dancing Apart Together, we work with choreographers who are somehow connected to our house, and we do without large sets and newly made costumes, aiming to create something new from what is already there. Just like in our current society. This programme is therefore just as much about new values.

String orchestra and piano

A string orchestra and piano currently currently form the basis for the musical part of the programme. The reduced orchestral strength poses limitations. At the same time, however, it provides a focus in musical choices and offers opportunities for new, creative impulses.

The Programme

From established names to young creators, from modern classics to brand-new new works. On the programme of Dancing Apart Together are:

Ted Brandsen - Romanian Folk Dances, Kaddish, Frolicsome Finale and Slot

Ted Brandsen, choreographer and director of the Dutch National Ballet, responds creatively to today's world with four new short choreographies, Romanian Folk Dances, Kaddish, Frolicsome Finale and Slot. These works serve to link together the other choreographies, forging Dancing Apart Together into an inspiring whole.

Juanjo Arqués - Solos from MANOEUVRE 

Spanish choreographer Juanjo Arqués, Young Creative Associate with Dutch National Ballet, presens a preview from his work MANOEUVRE, which will have its full world premiere later as part of our Back to Ballet programme. Arqués sets the work to Shaker Loops by John Adams (winner of the Erasmus Prize 2019), in which the movements of waves have been transformed into sound. MANOEUVRE is an exploration of male sensitivity.

Sedrig Verwoert - L’Autre Côté 

Dancer and choroeographer Sedrig Verwoert creates with L’Autre Côté a new work for this performance. He has created several works in recent years, including Oyster (Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Amsterdam), The Ritual (Ballet Academy Amsterdam), They/Them and N**** Swan (the latter two in collaboration with Christian Yav). For They/Them he was awarded the BNG Bank Dance Prize 2019. In the same year, he received the Leo Spreksel Award and he was artist-in-residence with contemporary arts centre De Appel in Amsterdam. His work The hard rocks will seem soft to us was presented in the Dutch National Ballet’s programme Dancing Diversity 2019. Sedrig also recently contributed to Beyoncé's visual album Black is King.

Milena Sidorova - Reset

As a dancer with the Dutch National Ballet, Milena Sidorova has already created her own distinct work for New Moves and the Junior Company. During the corona crisis, she also created a digital ballet to music by Dutch band Di-rect. For Dancing Apart Together she has been creating a new choreography: Reset.

David Dawson - On The Nature of Daylight

Also on the programme is On the Nature of Daylight by our Associate Artist David Dawson. In this creation from 2007, Dawson explores true love. It is something we all search for. Yet, how are we to find our ideal partner? By chance or by choice? And what happens if we simply fail to meet up with the right person? A piece about the perfectly ordinary yet extraordinary mystery of love, choreographed to music by Max Richter that is balm to the soul.

Ernst Meisner - Largo

Artistic coordinator of the Junior Company, Ernst Meisner, creates Largo for the young talents of this group. In this strange time where so much is not possible, a new generation of young dancers is eager to develop themselves further. They are (just like everyone else) put on hold for a while, but they are ready to show themselves.

Annabelle Lopez Ochoa - Quasicrystal

Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, choreographer of Last Resistance and Frida at Dutch National Ballet, creates a new work for 8 dancers, Quasicrystal to music by Henryk Gorecki. The theme for her new creation is the longing for contact, and the anger and resistance we face when we lack it.

Hans van Manen - Solo

"To make compromises is part of the artistic process," says famous Dutch choreographer Hans van Manen. He often consciously imposed restrictions on himself in the creative process in order to achieve greater expression. On the programme is his acclaimed Solo to Bach's 'Partita for Violin': a 'solo' for three consecutive dancers, since, as Van Manen stated at the time, Bach's Violin Partita cannot be performed by just one person because of its murderous tempo. Immediately after the premiere, the ballet was labelled 'a masterpiece in six minutes'.