Elisabeth Tonev

Own path 

At the age of ten, Elisabeth left her parents’ ballet school to go to the Staatliche Ballettschule in Berlin. Her training there went extremely smoothly. “I had great teachers and lots of friends, and of course it helped that I could just keep living at home.” From the age of sixteen, when she was still a student, she regularly danced in the big classical productions by Staatsballett Berlin. “That felt like a huge honour: performing with such a fantastic company, and one where both my parents had danced too.” But at the same time, the latter fact was also a reason for Elisabeth not wanting to remain in Berlin after completing her training. “Rather than following in their footsteps in every single respect, I wanted to choose my own path.” 

During her final year of training, she met Rachel Beaujean (associate artistic director of Dutch National Ballet) at a ballet intensive in Paris. Rachel invited her to audition for the Junior Company. “On agreement with Rachel, I first completed my education, then went to Amsterdam. I could hardly believe I was offered a contract. I thought I’d have to do loads of auditions, but I was so fortunate that a ‘door’ opened straight away.” 

Hans van Manen's Live 

Her memories of her time with the Junior Company, in the 2019/2020 season, are all good ones. “It’s so wonderful to have a transition like that between school and a professional company. And apart from that, I made friends for life.” After just one year, Elisabeth was given an élève contract with Dutch National Ballet, and immediately in her first season she and fellow élève Davi Ramos were chosen by Rachel Beaujean to dance Hans van Manen’s Live. “I was so new to the group”, she says, “that I barely realised what an exceptional chance I’d been given. But that’s probably as well, because it meant I could dance the ballet with relatively little anxiety.” She immediately fell for Van Manen and his work. “Although in the beginning, I was a bit intimidated, because Hans is such a legend; his style and approach are totally unique. I especially love the absolute gender equality in his ballets and his aversion to acting and mannerisms. He wants to see your true, raw, pure self.”

Great heights 

After that, promotions followed in rapid succession, and in July 2023 Elisabeth moved up to the rank of soloist, after replacing an injured dancer in Grand Pas Classique on Dutch National Ballet’s tour of the United States. “It was an unforgettable experience. We were dancing at a wonderful open-air theatre in Sun Valley, and even had to be given extra oxygen because of the high altitude.” 

She could never have imagined her career taking off so fast, she says. “I’ve had so many opportunities, and with each new season and each new role I love this profession even more.” Highlights up to now, besides the ballets of Van Manen, also include her collaborations with David Dawson and William Forsythe. And certainly also her first Sleeping Beauty and her first rehearsals for The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. “Even though I never got to dance the latter ballet, due to the corona restrictions at the time, it was so fantastic just to be working on the role of Clara with ballet master Guillaume Graffin.” 
 

Sincere and individual 

As a dancer, Elisabeth wants to be as sincere and as individual as possible. “There are so many fantastic dancers, and of course it’s very inspiring to watch others – but not to imitate them. When you dance, you have to get personally involved and dare to be yourself. That’s something I’ve learnt from Hans van Manen, because let’s face it, in the end that individuality is what it’s all about!”

Text: Astrid van Leeuwen